Month: November 2013

News:

In the past month

• Our suggestions for Henniker Rd and Oxford Rd in Stratford have been taken up by Newham Council.
• LCC have submitted objections to the cycle facilities in and around the new Chobham Manor development in the Olympic Park, which dispay the usual tendency of developments in the Olympic Park to provide the minimumcycle provision required by planning guidance and dress up poor quality facilities as something good for cyclists.
• We have participated in a post implementation audit of the CS2 extension which picked up lots of small points where the provision is unecessarily sub-optimal. These will be recorded for future reference but the main priority was seen as improving CS2 from Bow to Aldgate (including the Bow flyover).

Coming up;

• Karena is attending the seminar on Thursday hosted by our London Assembly Member, John Biggs, on CS2. We disussed our main bugbears, but if you have any you would like to draw attention to please post them on this site for Karena to take up.
• The Bike Jumble Sale at the view tube will also have bike marking. There are still some spaces if you would like to have a stall there.
• Our annual meeting will be on 31 March 2014.

Rides 2014:

• We will be looking to run Newham Rides on 15 March (linked to Velodrome event); either the beginning or the end of Kike Week (whihc is 15-22 June), 8 July (the day after the London stage of the Tour de France) and 20 September (the Waterfront Festival). Planning will continue on these and longer rides over the winter. Possibly also a ride linked to WWI commemorations.
• In addition to co-ordinating with Tower Hamlets Wheelers next year we will publicise the Hackey Cyclists series of social rides.

The website

• This was our main item of discussion. The experimental pilot is going well. If you would like to see it, the current temporary address is

https://newhamcyclists.robideas.com/

Please bear in mind that this is the exprimnetal site as is the existing content, which is not to be relied upon. All feedback on the layout of the site and what you would like to see covered by it gratefully received.

• We thought we had progressed enough to obtain a propoer domain name and go live in the New Year. Watch this space.

It has been an eventful time.

On 22 October a group from Hackney , Newham, Tower Hamlets and LCC headquarters carried out a ride around the Olympic Park and Westfield. A depressing exercise which confirmed the points we have been making throughout the planning process: the cycle provision could be much better; it rarely improves on the minimum laid down in planning guidance; and at times fails even to meet even these standards. Unfortunately the obduracy or Westfield and the complacency of the Olympic Delivery Authority (now transformed into the London Legacy Development Corporation) will result unnecessary expenditure of further public money bringing these brand new area up to standard. it should not have happened.

On 27 October we ran our last ride before the winter sets in – a leisurely and mostly off road ride to the RSPB site at Rainham Marsh and then up the Ingrebourne Valley to Upminister. The weather was pleasant and even the stiff breeze seemed to give us a helping hand whatever direction we cycled. We are now planning our rides for 2014.

The CS2 extension along Stratford High Street has opened (although has not yet been completed). Not perfect but one of the better cycle provisions in London. This progress was sadly marred by the tragic death of another cyclist at TfL’s ill thought through scheme at the Bow Flyover. On 15 November a group from LCC headquarters and ourselves made a post implementation study. The results will feed into our ongoing discussions with Newham Council on its excellent mini-Holland bid (for TFL funding to transform cycling in pilot areas of outer London) and no doubt into the wider Cycle Superhighway upgrading proposals.

In connection with mini-Holland bid we carried out a ride with the Council to study possible routes between Canning Town and Stratford. Whilst the crossing the District and C2C railway lines represents a real problem, the exercise demonstrated the huge potential for permeability in urban Newham – which is a key element of the bid.

We have further provided input into cycle schemes provided for Henniker Rd and Oxford Rd, Stratford; these received a sympathetic reception. We also opposed extending parking on the pavement in Katherine Road, East Ham and have been told this scheme has been abandoned.

It is evident that Newham Council, with its new approach to cycling, is working hard on the details of its mini-Holland bid. We wait in hope as success carries the prospect of transforming cycling in Newham.