September 2012 – Page 2 – Newcastle Cycling Campaign

4C = City Chiefs Cycling Challenge 2012

18th September 2012 Katja Uncategorized

We took our decision-makers for another ride – metaphorically speaking. The part was made up of Cllr Henri Murison and Harvey Emms from Newcastle City Council, by liveable cities experts: Richard Smith of Action Streets and Neil Murphy of Beyond Green and a number of campaign members. Starting at Swan House roundabout we observed the aggressive multilane gyratory and its inadequate provision for walking and cycle alongside the fast moving traffic. As the southern gateway into Newcastle, it’s not very welcoming place, and people – walking and cycling – get squeezed through very small spaces. Then we cycled on to[…]

Gateshead Council Cycle Forum

18th September 2012 Scott Uncategorized

Gateshead Council’s quarterly Cycle Forum. This has moved from the Old Town Hall to Gateshead International Stadium.

Concerns over ROW outsourcing

15th September 2012 Katja Uncategorized

From: Newcastle Cycling Campaign Date: 15 September 2012 09:39 To: Linda Arkley (NT Mayour) and Vivienne Geary (NT Legal) Dear Linda Dear Vivienne Through our contacts we hear that there are plans to outsource the provision of services associated with the rights of way (ROW) network in your area. We are concerned that this could have a negative impact on the bridleways and cycleways that are important to us for commuting to places of work, recreation and local access, general active travel, health and wellbeing of the region’s residents may they be walking or taking to the bicycle or horse.[…]

Newcastle Bicycle Festival – celebrating cycle culture

15th September 2012 Katja Uncategorized

15 September 2012 What’s the perfect reason to celebrate all things bicycle, cycling and its vibrant community? Do you need one? Come along and see for yourself at the Newcastle Bicycle Festival. The festival – two weekends of Cycle Celebrations – kicks off in earnest on Friday 21 September 2012 at 17:30 with a mass bike ride to the Star & Shadow cinema. Simply meet at Haymarket with your bicycle. Or alternatively – for the even more playful – an Alley Cat has been organised. Intrigued? Check out the festival programme. Katja Leyendecker of the festival organisation committee says “The[…]

Twenty – what’s in it for us?

15th September 2012 Katja Uncategorized

Yesterday Newcastle City Council said it had analysed data that showed their 20mph speed limits reduce collisions and incidents: – Chronicle http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/communities/fenham/2012/09/14/newcastle-s-20mph-speed-limits-reduce-accidents-72703-31833408/ – Newcastle City Council press release http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/news-story/drop-accidents-city-streets Without having seen the figures it’s hard to comment in detail. The feeling is however one of “well done” and “of course it would”. The conversion which took place in six phases over three years now sees “of the 3,813 streets and roads in the city – including primary routes and A and B roads – all 3,438 neighbourhood streets carry a 20 mph speed limit, representing 90% of all routes[…]

1CORE – we’ve kept our comment short this time

13th September 2012 Katja Uncategorized

Date: 12 September 2012 20:43 Subject: Re: Planning Newcastle’s Future – Consultation Events To: Planning & Housing Cc: Cllr Henri Murison, David Slater Dear Henri Dear David OUR RESPONSE TO THE CORE STRATEGY AND URBAN CORE AREA ACTION PLAN We want to keep this short as we have also commented previously. We do think much more must be done to create a place for people. A place is nothing without its people, and more emphasis must be put on residents, their health and wellbeing, wealth and opportunities. Transport is a major aspect on that journey to a sustainable place, and[…]

News clippping – Bus drivers on bikes

12th September 2012 NewCycling Press

Road.cc (12 September 2012). Bus drivers on bikes – Stagecoach Cycle to Work scheme breaks £1 million barrier – Company staff also among those attending Newcastle Cycling Campaign cycle awareness day in June (12 September 2012) http://road.cc/content/news/66480-bus-drivers-bikes-stagecoach-cycle-work-scheme-breaks-%C2%A31-million-barrier In June this year, Newcastle Cycling Campaign organised the city’s first cycle awareness workshop, with campaign member Tanja Cooper, who organised the event, saying: “The management of all major bus operators in Newcastle – Arriva, GoAhead, Nexus and Stagecoach – fully supported the workshop. “An evenly split group of 20 cyclists and bus drivers and managers attended. “There seemed to be a little[…]

Newcastle and Gateshead Score Low For Cycling

2nd September 2012 Scott Uncategorized

This week the Campaign for Better Transport released their 2012 Car Dependency Scorecard. In the scorecard, Gateshead was ranked last in the category for Walking and Cycling, with Newcastle also ranking low at 22nd (out of 26). In the scorecard, the Future Plans for Newcastle and Gateshead are also seen as a problem as they seem to have no measures to address the low Walking and Cycling scores for the area. Gateshead has a particular issue with only around half of children cycling or walking to school, which has contributed towards it’s low ranking. Locally Sunderland compared significantly better, but[…]