Author: Arnold Ridout

Mundon ride 24 August 2014

The weather respected the tradition of being excellent for our rides.  Nine of us sortied to Chelmsford by train and then followed Sustrans national route 1 from there to Maldon and back, with a diversion to Mundon with its 14th  centruy church and “petrified” oaks.  Very picturesque and extremently pleasant.  Thanks to Chris for leading us.  Mundon Oaks - 24th August 2014 1 (2)

Above: The oaks, but no bikes.

Below:  A high spot en route, this time with bikes.

 

Mundon Oaks Ride - 24th August 2014 2 (1)

Readout from this week’s meeting and other news

On Tuesday night we had a very pleasant saunter down the canals to a pub in Canary Wharf that turned out to be called the Ledger – and back.  Some business was transacted as refreshments were taken.
  • We were sympathetic to a collective response to the latest river crossing consultation.

    It is  available here:  tfl.gov.uk/new-river-crossings   Do respond as an individual if you are so inclined but whether you do or not let me know what you think and I will collate a newham cycllists response.  The consultation closes 12 September.

  • Cody Dock, a regular stop on our Newham Ride has been shortlisted for a publicly voted grant (£120,000) for a wild flower park.  I will let you know when polling is open.

  • Newham and TfL, with assistance from us, are continuing to look at possible quietways and have looked  at: Greenway improvements, a possible Roding Valley way, a northern route from Stratford to Ilford and the Forest Gate to North Woolwich route.  These, with the Lea Valley (which is already planned and funded), a southern west-east route (which emerged during the ward audits) and from hte Excel to UEL, would make an excellent foundation for a Newham network of quietways.

  • We will consider the Space for Cycling follow up in September.

  • We are progressing with the possibility of making our 7 September Newham Ride a Councillor focussed rideg; and a meeting with Councillor Christie, who has been notified of recent instances of disappearing cycle racks and registered his concern.

  • We decided to  participate with Atkins in their survey of freight traffic on Stratford High St (see below)

  • We agreed to contribute to Olawale attending the cycle design courses run by Urban Design for London.

  • I am awaiting a meeting with Council officers on Crossrail improvements around Manor Park station.  If you would like to see the (very early pictures) and comment please let me know.
Other news
  • The 25 bus route has been chosen to trial a sensor system to improve cycle safety.
  • Our next meeting will be on 1 September (venue to be confirmed but probably Coffee E7).  A representative from Atkins will be attending to consult on freight in Stratford High St.
  • The Essex ride is on 24 August.

    Arnold

Readout from the June monthly meeting

  • A pleasant ride up the canal last Monday (30 June) with just a bit of business.  First we will run a furher evening ride on Tuesday 5 August for those who have not fled on holiday.  Usual 7.00pm start at the corner of Sebert and Woodgrange Rds.  We will wend our way off road to  Canary Wharf for refreshment.
  • The French themed ride  is on for Sunday 6 July.  Breakfast from 9.30 at the View Tube, depart after 10.15.
  • Three of us attended an informal update with Newham Coucil on outstanding cycle issues.  In a nutshell:Olympic Park, CS2 from Stratford to Ilford, Westfield – not off the radar but no news.

    Quietways - Four of us looked today at the Greenway, the Roding Valley way and the Stratford -Ilford quietway with 2 TfL Officers and Richard from Newham Council, particularly scoping out improvemetns to the Greenway and creating a Stratford to Ilford quietway.  The Roding Valley has local funding for a study.  The Council are also actively pursuing  Woolwich to Forest Gate and West Ham to East Ham quietways

    Removal of cycle  parking at Leyton Rd and Romford Rd – to be looked into , since when the position on Romford Rd has become worse and more than half the pavement has been removed for car parking.

    Cycle contraflows on Cramere and Sheringham Rd – definitively blocked at the political level, as was a 20mph limit in Upper St.

    Warton Rd – the Council are looking at a separate cycle lane through the a separate arch in the railway.

    Cycle officer-  the funding from TfL for this is not being used for a full blown cycle officer but is being devoted to cycling purposes.

Evening Ride 30 June

We will use our usual Monday evening meeting slot for another summer evening ride, following the success of last month’s.  This time we will be taking a short ride up the Lea Valley to the Princess of Wales pub at Lea Bridge.  Meet at the corner of Sebert and Woodgrange Roads at 7.00pm.  Stratford pick up at the corner of Chobham and Leyton Roads at 7.15pm.

An Olympic Park Theme

Reminder – our evening ride/meeting 
Will take place on Tuesday evening 3 June.  Meet outside CoffeeE7 (corner of Woodgrange and Sebert Rds) at  7pm, or corner of Henniker Rd and Leyton Rd at 7.15.  After a ride around the Olympic Park we will end up at the Wanstead Tap cafe in Forest Gate which is being opened specially.

Olympic Park Cycling

Two question to Boris on a matter we have been pressing.  Answers are polite as far as the ODA/LLDC planners are concerned.  They messed up in the face of clear warnings from LCC, and now Newham council tax payers are having to shell out for remedial work:

“Olympic Park Cycling (1) Question No: 2014/1669

Andrew Boff

Please could you update me on the progress of re-examining the plans for cycling infrastructure across the Chobham Manor development, as you committed to do in answer to my question on the topic in December (Question 2013/4696)?

Written response from the Mayor

The approved Reserved Matters application for Chobham Manor has removed the need for cyclists to dismount at junctions on Chobham Manor. Cyclists will now travel on the road, rather than dismounting at junctions.

This is appropriate due to the low level of motor traffic expected in the area and follows reasoning that on local streets – such as those in Chobham Manor – if cars know they must share with cycles they will travel at a slower speed.

My cycling commissioner, Andrew Gilligan, is working with the LLDC and Westfield to improve cycling provision across Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Olympic Park Cycling (2)Question No: 2014/1670

Andrew Boff

Will you remodel the cycle track on Westfield Avenue in the Olympic Park where cyclists currently have to dodge concrete cobbles every 15m or so? Why did your team allow for such a substandard track to be built?

Written response from the Mayor

Westfield Avenue, while part of the wider London Legacy Development Corporation’s (LLDC) area, is part of the Westfield Stratford City estate, sitting outside Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

The original plans for the cycleway were submitted prior to the London 2012 Games and were approved by the Olympic Delivery Authority in line with then guidelines on cycling.

Standards and aspirations have risen since those times. I have asked the LLDC and my cycling advisor, Andrew Gilligan, to work with Westfield Stratford City and others in the area to improve the public realm and cycling as part of a wider Park review.”

Hackney Cycling Conference 6 June

If anyone would like like to go (Newham Cyclists will reimburse the cost)  please let me (Arnold) know.

This is how the conference is billed:

“The major funding committed for London highlights a growing political will for ambitious and innovative approaches to improve the public realm and encourage more people to cycle on our road network. With huge commitment for such change, what is the future of London’s landscape?

With schemes such as Mini-Holland set to create substantial and transformative change along with the extension of cycle superhighways and funding for Quietways, key questions and challenges start to arise around cycling design standards. How will the competition for space be managed? Is there a need to reallocate road space? How do we encourage and increase cycling numbers without taking away space from modes other than the private car, should we cut into bus lanes and muscle in on footways?

As London’s number one borough for cycling, the Hackney Cycling Conference offers unrivalled access and opportunity to explore these issues with a cross-sector mix of transport professionals, politicians, academics and campaigners that are involved in influencing an increase in safe cycling in the UK.

Confirmed speakers include                                                                                   

- Andrew Gilligan, London Cycling Commissioner

- Klaus Bondham, Director at Danish Cyclists’ Federation

- John Dales, Director of Urban Movement

- Brian Deegan & Paul Lavelle, Transport for London

- Peter Piet, Steer Davies Gleave & Roy Thompson, Royal Borough or Kingston upon Thames

- Dr Rachel Aldred, Senior Lecturer in Transport, University of Westminster

- Tom Bogdanowicz, London Cycling Campaign

- David Dansky, Cycle Training UK “

British Cycling led ride Saturday 31 May

We have been notified that there are still places left on a British Cycling led ride of 14 miles described as “a leisurely circuit of Newham and Tower Hamlets using almost entirely traffic free off road paths”.  It starts at the View Tube at 10 am. To book a place go to:

 

goskyride.com/Search/Details?eventid=42144&DCMP=emc-gsr-ec-SRL-Newham2

 

 

Readout from April 2014 Meeting

We fitted in a lot of decisions and a lot of discussion.  Please note the many dates for your diary.
We decided:
  • To run a stall at Forest Gate Festival on 21 June and ensure one way or another that there was also a Dr Bike. Also to explore the possibility of a bike marking session from the Met Police.  Let me know if you could do a stint on the tall for however long or short a period.
  • To man a stall at the Forest Gate flea market on 18 May (subject to confirmation that we can).  This could be used for the Space for Cycling Campaign which will still be current.  Again if you could do a stint let me know.
  • To run a feeder ride with Tower Hamlets to the LCC central London ride on 17 May co-ordinating also with Redbridge.  There will be a met in forest Gate and a fixed pick up at a suitable point in Stratford.  We will go through the Olympic Park and by canal to the Green Bridge to meet Tower Hamlets Wheelers.  Again let me know if you would like to assist (essentially backmarking the group).
  • Our fourth Newham Ride will be on 7 September (subject to being able to access Cody Dock).
  • To print business type cards to distribute with our contact details.  Bill’s mock up met with universal delight.
  • To update our general leaflet and get it professionally printed.
  • To add  British Cycling rides in and around the Olympic Park and the Lea Valley to our events calendar.
  • To design and purchase a pop up banner.
  • To explore the possibilities for publicity in the margins of the Tour de France on 7 July.
  • To categorise our rides.
  • To run the Rainham March ride on 5 October
  • To publicise convenient group rides - 20 July to Southend and 27 July to Cambridge.
  • To convert our next meeting into an evening ride around the Olympic Park ending up at the  Brewery Tap cafe in Forest Gate.  Due to Bank Holiday (when there will not be our usual Monday meeting) this will take place on Tuesday 3 June starting at Forest Gate market site (corner of Sebert and Woodgrange Roads) at 7.00pm aiming to get back to the cafe at 8.30pm.  Please note that this is a change of date from that discussed at the meeting due to availability of the cafe.  As it will be opening specially for us can you please let me know if you are wishing to come along, so we have an idea of numbers.
As if all that was not enough we also managed to fit discussion on the reaction from local candidates to the space for Cycling Campaign (poor, despite our efforts which were selected for special plaudits by the LCC) and an in depth discussion of cycle provisions and culture in the light of the recent presentation at the Dutch embassy.
A final date reminder – ride to the petrified oaks of Mundon deep in the Essex countryside on 24 August. 
 
Thanks to everyone for their contributions to a lively meeting.
Arnold

Readout from Annual Meeting of 31 March

An interesting and lively meeting.  On the formal side we approved an annual report and accounts. Arnold Ridout  and Kerena Fussell were elected as joint co-ordinatorsand Bill Bremner re-appointed as Treasurer.
We had wide ranging discussions:
  • Richard outlined the positive future for potentially transformative cycle provision, funded from a variety of sources) despite the fact that Newham had not achieved mini-Holland status.  Still very much on the radar are:  quietways (Stratford to Ilford, Stratford to East ham, improvements to the Greenway, improvement to the Greenway.  A new “Roding Way” along the line of the A 406 was being considered; the extension of CS2 to Ilford remained in the lap of TfL; removal of the Stratford gyratory is now on the TfL junctions improvement programme.
  • Olawale reported on progress on the ward audit.  The intensive series of rides had taken place which has identified over 500 schemes for minor works to improve permeability.  Cycle contraflows in quiet one way streets dominate, but also there were some significant link-path creation and improvement possibilities.  There would shortly be a consultation on prioritisation for the £100,000 per year funding available over the next three years.  We will try to make photos available.
  • We have completed our ward asks for the LCC’s Space for Cycling campaign and everyone was encouraged to use the LCC website to lobby local councillors.  This should raise the profile of cycling.   We considered favourably a feeder ride to the “Big Ride” in central London on 17 May.  An idea for events was to have stalls in markets with Dr Bike.
  • The first Newham Ride was considered a successful start to our rides season.  We need to ensure photos are available for future publicity by obtaining consents of even doing a special photo shoot.  We will fix a late summer autumn version and advertise British Cycling Olympic Park/Lea Valley rides.  Additionally we will continue with some weekend rides in conjunction with Tower Hamlets and Hackney.  Our summer meetings will be short evening rides/picnics.
  • We decided to consider further whether to support the Stop Silvertown Tunnel campaign.
  • Karena outlined progress on communications.  We will seek to progress further with Twitter feeds, and produce small publicity cards/leaflets which can be left at strategic spots such as the View Tube.