Pedalpushers News

http://axelrod.plus.com/ppmw/images/9/9e/Poster.pdf

(Our entry for the Cambridge Cycle Campaign Conference Poster Competition) [soft link]

From the Eurostar website:

From 7 April you will be able to reserve a place for your bike *on the same train that you are travelling on*. (This is subject to space being available). This service operates on our London, Paris and Brussels routes only and will give you added assurance of knowing that your bike is travelling with you.

You can make a reservation or find out more about this service by calling us on 08705 850 850 or visit the EuroDespatch Centre in person at St Pancras International. Charges are £20 one way and it’s necessary to quote your Eurostar reference or show your ticket.

This puts Eurostar on parity with low cost airlines such as Ryanair on cycle carriage, but with the benefit of offering you a carbon neutral journey.

This change in policy has come about as the result of sustained lobbying by cycle campaigners such as the CTC and Camden Cycle Campaign. (If Eurostar had realised that by moving to St Pancras they came under the purview of Camden CC they might have decided to stay put! )

==posted by Simon== [soft link]

Funding confirmed for Supertram Specials

Steve Marsden, our new CTC Cycling Development Officer for South Yorkshire, has gained agreement to make up any shortfall in cost for the Supertram Specials onwards - we just need to send him numbers of people and their names and postcodes as outcomes for his job, plus some photos for publicity.

Hope to see lots of you enjoying and supporting the Cyclists' Special on March 30th.

(p.s. If you need to drive your bikes to Cathedral to take part in this event, see this map for parking. However, please cycle if you can - traffic is light in Sheffield City Centre on sunday morning and we'd like to keep it that way!)

Amazingly, the UK winner is... SHEFFIELD

press release here http://tinyurl.com/22sczd

pics and poem by the Bard of Barnsley here: http://tinyurl.com/2yb7k2

press releases from all ten winning towns and cities here:
http://www.mobilityweek.eu/Mobility-Week-Award-2008

blog here: http://www.mobilityweek.eu/blog/

The press release says "The city of Sheffield permanently closed a busy street to motorised traffic and installed cycle stands." Perhaps someone from the council can tell us what street that was exactly?

===posted by Simon=== [soft link]

Cycling has made the front page of the Sheffield Telegraph.

The headline is "Cycle Safety Plea - Motorists urged to take more care as road toll rises"

This is the follow-on from the presentation by Road Safety at the last Cycle Forum.

Not online - 80p from your newsagent

Simon [soft link]

Out of our area, but!

This is the proposed new route for cyclists to replace the A3 at Hindhead
(the Devils Punchbowl) :
















Apparently the National Trust use it to wash their
Land Rovers...
















The A3 is to be dualled at this location and put in a tunnel, avoiding
the scenic National Trust estate. All well and good, but what cyclists wanted
was for a narrow section of the old A3 to be preserved as a cycle route.

All is not lost however as the Old Portsmouth Rd has been re-surfaced:-











(This would have been the route Nelson used when he went down to Portsmouth to join the fleet)





[soft link]

You may wish to sign the following petition, which is on the PM's website.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/20limit/ [soft link]

Click Here

Normal Site (See Editor's post below)

The London Friday Night Ride sounds like fun... [soft link]

Derbyshire County Council has put out an excellent leaflet promoting the attractions of the Three Valleys - Moss, Drone & Rother. For a copy contact the Project Team at Tapton Lock, Chesterfield - 01246 441035 - or take a ride down there.

Barnsley has also put out a leaflet promoting the TPT in the Barnsley area- a variable section of the trail - available by calling the TPT office on 01226772574

==posted by Simon== [soft link]

Plans for the Wicker go to SCC cabinet tomorrow.

See http://www.thestar.co.uk/headlines/Major-makeover-for-The-Wicker.3573388.jp


==posted by Simon== [soft link]

A petition has been set up, calling on the Government to reopen the railway from Manchester to Sheffield via Woodhead. Sign this online at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Woodhead/

==posted by Simon== [soft link]

SYPTE is surveying users of cycle parking at Stations and Interchanges in South Yorkshire.

A downloadable version of the survey is available online here. The form can be returned by post to SYPTE, PO Box 801, Exchange Street, Sheffield S2 5YT.

If you ever park your bike at a South Yorkshire Stations or Interchange please fill in the form. [soft link]

One of cycle campaigning's great characters, Gordon Selway, died whilst sitting quietly on a train on Sunday.

Pedal Pushers members may remember his presence at our conference at the Earth Centre a few years back. He was not only a CTC Councillor for the West Midlands but held a string of voluntary campaigning and advocacy causes locally and nationally including FoE, Railfuture, Transport 2000, CPRE and serving as a district councillor. His erudition eloquence and humour on cycling matters was second to none.

You can find tributes to Gordon on the CTC Forum at http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=9416 and an obituary at
http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4050

==posted by Simon== [soft link]

CCN News November 2007

CTC Cycle Digest No.52, November 2007 [soft link]

News from the European Twowheel Retailers' Association:

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 6, 2007

The European Parliament and the Council have reached an agreement on the 3rd Railway Package, which includes the Regulation on Railway Passengers Rights and Obligations. Much to ETRA and ECF's surprise, in the Common Position, the provision relating to the transport of bicycles, which was adopted by a very large majority in the Parliament, has been completely eroded. Parliament voted an obligation to have space available on all trains for the transport of bicycles.

That obligation is now replaced by Article 5 stating: "Railway undertakings shall enable passengers to bring bicycles on to the train, where appropriate for a fee, if they are easy to handle, if this does not adversely affect the specific rail service, and if the rolling-stock so permits."

This article gives railway companies plenty of opportunities to refuse the carriage of bicycles. Whats more, as a result of Article 2.4 and 2.5, the member states may exempt railway companies from carrying bicycles on domestic trains for up to 15 years and on urban, suburban and regional trains for an indefinite period of time.

As a result of Article 2.7, the member states must inform the Commission of such exemptions. The Commission is allowed to take action should the exemption not be in accordance with the Regulation. No later than 7 years after the publication of the Regulation in the Official Journal, the Commission must submit to Parliament and Council a report on these exemptions. Finally, the railway companies have an obligation to provide information on accessibility and access conditions for bicycles.

We were informed that this complete change from imposing the transport of bicycles to allowing the transport of bicycles was forced through at the very end of the negotiations under pressure of the Council and the Commission.
It is now up to our members, the national organisation, to monitor and lobby their national railway companies. They will have to make sure that they do not abuse of the possibility not to carry bicycles. At the same time, they will have to convince them to carry bicycles.

In the meantime, ETRA and ECF will continue our efforts for the establishment of European legislation that stimulates the combination of bike and train. We will also continue to raise awareness in the European institutions of the need for facilitating that combination.

We find the reluctance of the member states and of the Commission to seriously develop bike transport by train regrettable and all the more peculiar in the light of the ongoing debate on sustainability. [soft link]

We've all looked forward to the Facility of the Month from Warrington Cycle Campaign, and now its been turned into a book that everyone can laugh at from cyclists to traffic engineers!!!

You can now get it from the publishers. And at £4.99 for a hard back copy its great value.

To get a copy of Crap Cycle Lanes, go to www.eye-books.com

The more that are sold then the better the message gets across that cycling needs equitable sharing of the roads first and "Crap Cycle Lanes" last.

All the WCC royalties are going to the Cyclists Defence Fund. [soft link]

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Free-vests-for-cyclists.3405372.jp


SHEFFIELD Council is giving free high-visibility yellow vests to cyclists to reduce the risk of them being involved in collisions.
Last year three cyclists were killed and 33 seriously injured in accidents in Sheffield, and crashes involving bikes averaged one every three days.

But the chances of collision are vastly reduced when high visibility clothing is worn. About 60 per cent of crashes involve a driver who may have "looked but did not see" a cyclist - and florescent clothing can make all the difference.

Sheffield Cycle Campaign will be helping on Wednesday Oct 31st by putting stickers on cycle parking publicising the offer. [soft link]

TV presenter Adam Hart-Davis has had his collection of cycles stolen from his home in Bristol. He posted this to the Velovision forum:

While I was away on holiday this month, burglars smashed their way into my garage (crowbars etc.) and stole the following cycles (which were locked to Sheffield stands inside):

Trice Explorer red/orange/blue, frame no 3048, with black rear rack, suspension, 81 gears, side bar-bag fixing etc.

Trice Pixie white, frame no 2121

Birdy red, frame no P9032778, aluminium rack

British Eagle Trail MTB pink/yellow, 17 yrs old, serial no 00308/9; police security register no 52 998 00085

Al Carter Hondo Creek 500LX MTB blue/grey, 14 yrs old, serial no 4920513654; police security register no 52 998 00086

If any of these cycles crosses your path, please phone Redland Police Station (Bristol) 0117 945 4423, quoting crime ref. B/2699/20092007/01 (PC2699 Matt Lonsdale).

Many thanks,

Adam Hart-Davis 27 September [soft link]

GREAT news! Connect2 is through to the TV vote!

Connect2 is in the final running for £50 million pounds to improve walking and cycling in 79 communities throughout the whole of the UK.

As of today, BIG have launched their own promotional campaign and website,
with a Connect2 page at:
http://www.thepeoples50million.org.uk/projects/connect2

Online voting will open at 9am on Monday 26 November 2007. We NEED your help
to really make a difference. [soft link]

The best ever cycle touring video is here. [soft link]

Sheffield Cycle Campaign along with the City Cycle Forum is mounting a campaign about cycle parking at the Station. Although recent improvements have seen cycling parking doubled, this is still not enough to meet demand and the lack of any cycle lockers is a major omission.

Your CTC Right to Ride rep has already posted a letter and you can find a copy of it here. . By all means use this letter as a basis for your own, but if you can find your own words it would be even better - be polite though!

The person to write to is
Paul Barnfield
Sheffield Station
Sheaf Street
Sheffield
South Yorkshire
S1 2BP

And here are a few other people you could contact:

Tim Shoveller is the MD of the the incoming Franchise, East Midlands Trains, operated by Stagecoach. Use the enquiry form at
http://www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/genenquiry.php

or email getintouch@eastmidlandstrains.co.uk


Passenger Focus is the independent national rail consumer watchdog.
http://www.railpassengers.org.uk/about-us/

Get writing!

==posted by Simon== [soft link]

VOTE FOR THE CONNECT2 PROJECT IN DECEMBER!!!

The Connect2 project (http://www.sustransconnect2.org.uk/) is competing against five other projects for funding of £50 million from the `Big Lottery Fund's Living Landmarks: The People's Millions' which is to be decided by public television vote in December this year.

The objective of the Connect2 project is to create traffic-free walking and cycling routes across the U.K., creating closer communities, promoting healthier living and protecting our environment.

The main Connect2 project in the Sheffield area is an ambitious scheme to link up communities to the revitalised Chesterfield Canal, the Sheffield Tram and to the Rother Valley. Our November Ride from the Supertram Cyclists Special will explore the possibilities in this area.



On the reserve list is the iconic Sheaf Valley foot and cycle bridge to connect the revitalised Hyde Park area with Pond St and the city centre.



TO VOTE, THERE ARE 2 SIMPLE STEPS:

STEP1) REGISTER WITH CONNECT2, using one of the following methods: - Text `Connect2' to 80010 - Visit www.sustransconnect2.org.uk and register on the website - Send your full name, mobile and email address to the following address, indicating that you want to be kept informed of Connect2 e-news: Sustrans, Freepost BS 7739, Bristol, BS1 5FA

STEP 2) CONNECT2 WILL CONTACT YOU CLOSE TO THE VOTING TIME, INFORMING YOU WHEN AND HOW TO VOTE FOR THE CONNECT2 PROJECT.

Many thanks in advance for supporting the Connect2 project. And please, please forward this to friends, family, work colleagues etc. whom you think would support this exciting UK-wide project. [soft link]

With help from our friends from Warrington...

http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/david-byrne-celebrates-nyc-bicycling-in-style/ [soft link]

Click here (Facebook account required) [soft link]

See http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/looking-to-make-cycling-safer-in-nyc [soft link]