Author: NewCycling

Newcastle, we have a problem – let’s tackle it together

News, Press

We call on the council to act in accordance with their own policy for land use and transport planning: the Local Plan. For links and relevant excerpts see below. The Local Plan describes and defines the problem as well as gives solutions. We also include map overlays showing the scale of Newcastle City Council’s plans for Blue House in relation to well-known local sites. Katja Leyendecker, chair newcycling.org, says “Taking account of the Local Plan, it is to our greatest surprise that the council wants to build a motor highway slicing through the neighbourhoods of Newcastle. We ask the Cabinet[…]

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Newcastle Blue House: proven spare road capacity, green corridor and failing political system

Press

Newcycling were taken aback by the plans for the Northern Access Corridor between Blue House to Haddricks. These are motorway-scale plans that do not belong in the heart of Newcastle. The project will damage communities and the economy. The road traffic along this corridor has actually substantially reduced, baselined against 2000, 2005, and 2010, see file attached below. Hence, the current plans make no sense. Furthermore, Newcastle needs to prioritise active travel to cement its regional status. A link to the full technical response is given below. Katja Leyendecker, chair of newcycling.org, says “People do not want to live on[…]

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Gross Greenwash on Blue House roundabout

News, Politics, Press

This is a swift response to the Blue House roundabout plans, which we deem unacceptable. A longer, technical, response will follow. UPDATE 3 August 2016 detailed response published here. INITIAL RESPONSE The plans for this junction are fundamentally wrong. Only with real transport planning, tackling the real problems, can we see Newcastle’s policies of mode shift and transport transition realised. Only then, can council spatially prioritise walking and cycling and create the ground conditions for mass cycling. Newcastle has a primary ring road system A1/A19, and first of all its local road network must be assessed for its space, whilst keeping[…]

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Council address 6 July 2016, Civic Centre

Uncategorised

Sally Watson gave a five-minute address to Full Council on 6 July 2016. We think the meeting has been recorded by Newcastle City Council. We intend to publish Cllr Ged Bell’s reply, should we receive it. Video available here (including Ged Bell’s reply). In the last few years, Newcastle has started to make progress towards constructing a city which is fit for cycling. Cycling is on the agenda, and we are delighted to note that debates are now positive and constructive. We all now appreciate, I think, that cycling is a key ingredient in building an inclusive transport system. Providing[…]

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A charter for sensible road safety

Press

A community group has released a plea to local authorities and responsible agencies to make road safety relevant to our modern times. RELEVANT AND PROPORTIONATE ROAD SAFETY We want to see construction of a good quality cycle network in Newcastle and Tyne and Wear. So it is in the woeful absence of sensible cycling and walking infrastructure, that we ask the council to adopt a much stronger position in the interim. Drivers, by simple laws of physics, hold the (horse) power on the road. In a just system it is only logical that the one who holds the power and[…]

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Equality in expenditure? Not so.

Press

A community group once more is getting concerned about the mixed messages on investment, spending and work programmes of an authority carrying out planning and transport duties. It’s been 1.5 years since the group highlighted the confusion about transport expenditure and planning practices to the authorities. Yet the same problems remain to today, and it may even get worse with the arrival of devolution. Katja Leyendecker, chair of newcycling.org, says “Newcastle states ambition and says it wants the city to become a Cycle City. Yet it is hard to understand how they are going about it. There certainly is ambition[…]

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How ambitious are the political statements for cycling?

Uncategorised

Before the local elections, we asked political parties for statements. We received three statements, and say thank-you to these parties. In order of receipt these can be acessed here: Green Party (949 words) Labour Party (425 words) Liberal Democrat Party (785 words) Politics and city policies Being a political campaign engaging with decision-makers, we are keen to understand party positions. We are keen to know the gap we have to bridge between creating a Cycle City and a respective party’s ambition. Of course there are city policies to adhere to, too. And, still, we would like to see much more[…]

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‘Cycling Fallacies’ website launches

Press

road.cc (21 May 2016) http://road.cc/content/news/190805-%E2%80%98cycling-fallacies%E2%80%99-website-launches-today New Cycling Chair Katja Leyendecker said “This tool http://cyclingfallacies.com/en/ will really free up our time for the important stuff! It’s so vital for campaigners to keep a good focus, be able to deal with distractions quickly and accurately, and debunk time-wasting spurious claims effectively. The Cycling Fallacies website will enable us to spend more of our volunteering time on positively campaigning for change.”

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GB Cycling Embassy launches CyclingFallacies.com to debunk arguements cycling advocates face

Press

Cycling Industry News (20 May 2016) https://cyclingindustry.news/gb-cycling-embassy-launches-cyclingfallacies-to-debunk-arguements-cycling-advocates-face/ Newcycling Chair Katja Leyendecker said “This tool http://cyclingfallacies.com/en/ will really free up our time for the important stuff! It’s so vital for campaigners to keep a good focus, be able to deal with distractions quickly and accurately, and debunk time-wasting spurious claims effectively. The Cycling Fallacies website will enable us to spend more of our volunteering time on positively campaigning for change.”

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