Newcastle Cycling Campaign wants your stories. According to the Cophagenize Index UK cities do not fare well for biking. But luckily it is the holiday season and we travel, take in new impressions, possibly by bike, possibly experiencing bike-friendly places.
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Katja reports about cycling access
Germany : access all areas This story is part of our youReport series. It is common in German towns and cities to provide widespread pedestriansation in centres. City centres in Germany seem to be alive, teeming with people, shopping or whiling their time away, enjoying the atmosphere and surroundings. It is also common to provide a fair amount of cycling access… The photos below show some examples from North Germany that I have collated over the past years. It covers Braunschweig, Wolfenbüttel, Hanover and Bremen (in no particular order). This comes highly topical at a time when we managed to[…]
Read moreNorthumberland Street report
We have obtained a report [60Mb – slow loading] from Newcastle City Council that has a thorough look at Northumberland Street, its street environment and interaction with people, how the space works (or not) as a destination. We’ve only seen it now, but the report was completed last year. Here are some of the conclusions and recommendations. There are a few quick wins to raise the project profile and engage with new partners. The most amazing bit is that the report then goes on to right-out recommend trialling bike use in Northumberland Street between 17:00 – 10:00. This is really[…]
Read moreKatja addressing full council
Thank you Lord Mayor I stood here in the same spot almost three years ago in 2010 – I hope some of you might remember that occasion. I was recently reminded of just how much cycling is an important local issue when I read in the Chronicle the good news that Gateshead Council is investing £1.5m to make it easier for people to visit their new Trinity Square by bike. This route is crucial as it represents the connection between Gateshead and Newcastle. When I stood here three years ago I presented a petition to Council asking for your political[…]
Read moreHot air and still no safe space
Whilst other cities reportedly move forward, reaping the benefits of bike-friendly design and putting wings on bicycle culture such as the 7% bike modal share in Seville (achieved in remarkable short time) and Velo-City Vienna – Newcastle could not be further from this future today. It is a city that cannot make up its mind about where it stands with “rebalancing the relationship between road users in favour of modes of transport that diminish carbon emissions” [source Cycle Plan]. It stands divided. It pushes cyclists away then pulls us in again – maybe that roller-coaster of an emotional ride is[…]
Read moreGrey Street deserves better
Exactly a year ago we questioned the safety of Grey Street. It could be a wonderful place for people. It’s got all the potential. The debate however has not moved on. Read about what happened on 13 June 2012 here
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Central Station
To: Goodwin, Adam; Dyke, Samantha; Streetworks Cc: Forbes, Nick (Cllr); Kingsland, Joanne (Cllr); O’Brien, Geoffrey (Cllr); Talbot, Marion (Cllr); Bill Dodds; Heather Evans; Bryn Dowson Subject: Fwd: Central Gateway – Proposed TRO In response to the above TRO, we would like to offer our views on the scheme for the spatial redesign of the Central Station Gateway and the process that has been used to produce the plans for this scheme. We thank the council and the officers involved for the way in which the stakeholder consultation process has been carried out. The use of an iterative consultation process in drawing[…]
Read moreNational bike bash in Newcastle
This weekend Newcastle Cycling Campaign will host the annual meeting of the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain. Cycling the city on the proposed Strategic Cycle Routes as well as chatting campaigning strategy will all be included in the packed two-day agenda [link below]. City cycling gets serious – making cycling as easy as riding a bicycle. There is much talk about cycling, nationally and locally, yet translating into little action, especially outside London. The serious money to adapt our towns and cities, roads and streets, has not been made available. The design expertise and creativity is also in its infancy[…]
Read moreMessing-around in the City Centre
The Safe Cycling petition has its three year anniversary on 2 June 2013. Whilst we now have warm words, a super Cycle Plan and a Cycle City Ambition bid document good enough to be adopted as Newcastle’s works programme – we aren’t impressed with physical progress; and roadspace has yet to be fairly apportioned to cycling. You may have been one of the over 800 petition signatories who told us in 2010, that the 24hr bike ban on Northumberland Street doesn’t make sense to you. Discontent with Northumberland Street was mentioned most often, but closely followed by these locations: Central[…]
Read more4C = City Chiefs Cycling Challenge 2012
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[…]
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