The Newcastle Cycling Campaign asks for political leadership and action, tells Newcastle Councillor responsible for cycling what exactly is needed, and expresses dismay towards recent road works in North Tyneside.
Heartened by last year's engagement and action on Brighton Grove, we've written to Newcastle's local politician responsible for cycling, Cllr Nigel Todd, and ask for action. We've outlined the following four achievable targets for completion by 31 March 2012:
1. Allow cycling on Northumberland Street and make a start with out-of-shopping hours, as highlighted by the Safe Cycling petition in 2010
2. Map cycle lanes and give them double-yellow-line status (no parking in cycle lanes), as suggested by our patron Prof Stephen Singleton
Newcastle Cycling Campaign and Newcastle City Council joined forces with the city’s major bus operators and hosted the first ever cycling awareness workshop on 27 June 2012, to improve safety on our streets.
Campaign chair Katja Leyendecker: “Talk to cyclists and they’ll tell you that tensions on our roads are on the up. Any preventative measure to alleviate this must a good thing. Alongside asking for safe space for cyclists, we want to start a road user debate. “
On 27 June 2012 we joined forces with Newcastle City Council and Newcastle's four bus companies to host the first ever cycling awareness workshop with bus drivers in Newcastle to improve road safety on our streets. Here some quick comments from the Campaign organisers:
With recent changes to the health landscape, we've written to the three Directors of Public Health in Tyneside alerting them to how cycling's contribution to health will help towards their goal of a healthier Tyneside. For cycling to truly thrive, spending on infrastructure is vital, and we look towards health directors to use their new influence over council spending. Here's the letter:
On Wednesday locals came flocking to the Cricket Club to discuss getting around safely in Jesmond, walking and cycling. The bike racks were parked up with thirty local people attending and keen to make their view heard.
Tony Waterston, Transition Jesmond, set the scene "Jesmond is ideal cycling territory but at present there is heavy traffic and no safe spaces for cyclists. So few children cycle to school, few ladies cycle to the shops and not many older gents cycle to work. We plan to change this.
Nationally cycling safety has been a real talking point over the last weeks, and may turn into a vote winner for the London mayoral election. There were numerous examples of Big Rides, Pedal on Parliaments, Select Committees and other events and initiatives, all picking up on this important subject of making cycling safer and open it up to the general public.
