BCC Cycling Advisory Group: June 2008
PushBikes attended in strength! The following is a personal report on the discussion and shouldn't be confused with the formal minutes.
1) Cycling Strategy Consultation:
- 200 responses, seemed mainly to be from current cyclists.
- strong support for targets not being stretching enough. In discussion, strong case put for concentrating on actually doing things then measuring the effect rather than arguing/wasting resources on monitoring outcomes vaguely related to specific interventions.
- strong support for arterial routes vs back street routes but
pointed out that the questions were so general that no reliable
conclusion about preferences could be drawn.
In discussion, PushBikes strongly argued for a clear set of criteria for arterial routes, so that routes could be sited on or parallel to the motor corridor depending on the circumstances. - strong support for 'driver education' but general agreement that this was unlikely to change behaviour or be cost effective.
Generally meeting felt that:
- defining some specific projects and measuring the outcomes was more important than more unstructured consultations or super committees.
- publishing standards for evaluating cycling provision ie routes should be continuous, shared pededestrian/cycling on pavements was worst option and rarely justified.......
- restraining cars was essential in any strategy to increase the use of public transport & cycling, but the difficulty was selling the idea to motorists.
2) Cycle Training
Cycle training is seen as a big opportunity and will be 'driven' -(pardon the word) by Bikeability/BikeIt resources- again with 'partners' including PushBikes
3) Capital Program
Although BCC keep on saying they have capital available it still seems to take for ever to get any spent on real projects.
Also it's very difficult to know what is happening until it's happened - as an example senior PB members who have taken an active interest in the Selly Oak bypass still had unanswered queries about the cycle provision.
The following capital projects were well under way:
- Harborne Walkway upgrade
- Cole Valey route has been completed
- North Birmingham Connect 2 route
British Waterways have been given funds to improve
signage along towpaths. There was a discussion about the perennial
problem of the poor/nil maintenance of the towpaths on substantial
sections of the network - eg Lapworth Loop.
How to involve them more actively in the community working to
improve cycling & walking in the region was queried.
