Blog

Our numbers were down for the first indoor meeting for over a year at a comfortable new venue in East Ham.

• We heard about members’ progress on the Joyriders Challenge
• We discussed the outcome of the positive catch up meeting with Newham Council. There is (funded) progress with the existing scheme of 7 Low Traffic neighbourhoods and the ongoing roll out of School Streets. Work is about to begin on Romford Rd improvements and there is a funded plan in place for the Leyton Rd from the borough boundary to Stratford. There are early signs that further low traffic neighbourhoods may come on stream. We have emphasised the importance of ourselves being involved at the planning stage. Also it would be useful to reappraise “old” low traffic neighbourhoods. A revision of the Cycling Issues Chart in the light of this meeting will be posted on this site.
• Other infrastructure developments are dominated by large planning applications and planning framework documents. We are pursuing our policy of encouraging development money for cycle infrastructure from major developments and ensuring that documents outlining future planning in the borough reflects the need for improvement in active travel.
• On future events: Our ride calendar is in place. We decided to continue our partnership with the AAA Saturday Children’s Cycling Club. This involves a session of bike maintenance in Canning Town and Stratford with, the following week a ride for the children. Fix Your Ride at Woodgrange Market starts again on 12 March. We decided also to organise a feeder ride to the Freecycle on the weekend of 28/9 May. Free ride leader and ride marshalling training is available from LCC over the next few weeks. We have received a request for cycle assistance for the Moonwalk overnight on 14/15 may. If you would like to participate in any of these events please let me know.
• We decided to approach the Council about the apparent default to “Cyclists Dismount” where there are works that have disrupted cycle provision. Recent experience has shown that this is not always necessary and that works often require better signage.
• Our annual meeting will take place on April 25. Details to be confirmed.

If you would like further information on any of these topics or other matters concerning cycling in Newham please get in touch.

Arnold

16 of us gathered together via Zoom for a meeting that focussed on catching up on our current activities.

Since the November meeting there had been a good deal of activity. We had provided formal consultation responses on the Royal Docks Cycling and Walking Strategy, Newham Council’s Local Plan refresh and the Prince Regent Lane Bus Priority Scheme. In addition to specific details relating to each consultation our responses drew on some common and familiar themes:

• A robust approach to installing Low Traffic Neighbourhoods;
• A need for better north-south routes in Newham;
• The potential for better leverage for cycle schemes from major developments;
• The need for bus schemes to improve (and not hinder) active travel;
• Bus lanes to operate 24 hours;
• 20 mph speed limit;
• Enforcement of parking rules.

We have also chased up on: installation of the cameras to enforce the closure in Corporation St; improvement of Penny Brookes St and ;drop kerbs for access to the newly opened Gainsborough Bridge in the Olympic Park.

By way of good news Newham are making permanent 2 of the Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (Maryland and Odessa) . We hope this is a sign of continuing progress in installing all of the 7 funded schemes.

We discussed the issue of access to the new City Hall which had given rise to significant social media activity. The closure of Dock St is a serious blockage to cycle access which we have raised in consultations but needs to be pursued further.

In December we met with Thames Water and Newham Council in relation to the Greenway/Stratford High Street works. The situation has improved.

We are in preliminary discussions with medics from Barts Health Trust on liaison in promoting cycling for health and wellbeing.

We were updated in progress (or lack of it) in getting Marshgate Lane maintained to a reasonable standard for cycling.

It was decided that the time was ripe to seek another catch up meeting with Newham Council to discuss these and other infrastucture issues.

The news from LCC was that the Climate Safe Streets campaign in the lead up to the local elections in May has had its soft launch. We have contributed our list of 5 specific Newham “asks” to be part of that campaign.

We are putting together our rides calendar and will be looking at liaising with other local groups which organise rides.

We discussed what we might do to promote the recent changes to the Highway Code. If you are interested in helping make a short film on Sunday 6 February let me know.

We discussed the benefits of having volunteers trained (by the Metropolitan Police) to mark bikes as part of their campaign to recruit volunteers – https://www.met.police.uk/car/careers/met/police-volunteer-roles/community-based-volunteers/overview/

We were encouraged, as individuals, to respond to Newham Council’s budget proposals which appears to be light on commitment to fund active travel: https://www.newham.gov.uk/council/engagement-newham-council-budget-2021

We decided to hold our annual meeting at the end of April and discussed possible venues for this and for face to face monthly meetings.

Going forward the Committee of Newham Cyclists will be changing. We will be looking to improve both gender balance and diversity.

If you would like any further information on any of these items please get in touch.

We were again meeting via Zoom.

The Walking and Cycling Project Manager from LLDC, Monique Van Den Hurk, kindly joined us and our discussion with her occupied the main part of the meeting. She explained her role and outlined some of the forthcoming projects. These represented slow but welcome progress in correcting the disappointing original cycle provision in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the Westfield area.

The discussion afterwards covered specific schemes ; but also included the more general issues of the conflict between pedestrians and cyclists in the Park, the usage of the Park for commuter and utility cycling, the need for traffic management plans for forthcoming major developments.

If you have any specific QUEP points let us know and we can pick them up with Monique and via our representation on the LLDC Strategic Active Travel Group.

In view of the forthcoming Climate Safe Streets Campaign we discussed what Newham Specific “asks” should be fed into that campaign. The results of the straw poll will be worked up by our infrastructure team and the rest of the Committee.

Other points arising:

• LCC are refreshing their diversity and inclusion policy and will be reaching out to local groups. This will be a useful stimulus for us to consider anew our outreach and the diversity and inclusion of the group in representing the increasingly diverse range of those cycling in Newham.
• Changes to Riverside Rd and Bisson Rd area linked to the Stratford high Street works disadvantage those cycling.
• We have been participating in the consultations on Newham Council’s refreshment of its Local Plan in respect of transport. This has the potential to be of great benefit over the medium to long term in leveraging benefit to cycle provision from future developments in the borough. The Council’s new approach demonstrates a greater appreciation of the need to promote active travel, but could usefully tighten up on delivery.
• We have also been liaising with the planners of the Royal Docks Enterprise Zone and the the Wider Opportunity area and its surrounding area. Again the planners show appreciation of the need to good cycle facilities. Our interventions have been aimed particularly at providing more specific detail.
• We are looking to deliver Christmas parcels for Magpie by bike on 10 and 11 December. This is an opportunity to demonstrate and publicise the potential of sustainable delivery.
• Our Christmas Social will take place on the evening of 13 December at the Wanstead Tap.

If you would like any more details on any of the above or on any other matter pertaining to cycling in Newham please get in touch.

Arnold

We reverted back to Zoom for this meeting. Issues discussed were:

• Infrastructure developments in the light of our catch up meeting on 1 October with Newham Council and a meeting with the Royal Docks team who were putting together a walking and cycling strategy.
  
  We have been asked to attend a workshop for the transport section of the revision of the Local Plan.
  
  There is a ride of the south section of the Roding Way on Friday 29 October which is open to all.
  
  Whilst low traffic neighbourhoods across the north of Newham make Quietway 6 less critical there is still a major safety issue at Temple Mills Lane and we should be wary of supporting signing this as a safe cycleway.
  
  
• John outlined the initiative he was taking for outreach in the Plaistow area and in conjunction with Living Streets. We discussed ideas for progressing this in the new year and in particular the implications of supporting a cycle buddy scheme.
  
  
• In addition to the Roding ride on 29 October we are planning support sessions for the Ambition, Aspire, Achieve children’s cycle club on 6 and 20 November, a Fix Your Ride at Woodgrange Market on 13 November and a local ride in association with GoParks on 14 November.
  
  
• We will be looking to put on a Christmas lights Ride on 12 December and a Christmas Social sometime in the second week of December
  
  

If you would like further information on any of the matters raised at this meeting or any other local cycling matters please get in touch.

Arnold