Get Britain Cycling

[CTCREP]

Earlier Simon said:-

CTCREP,

How would you do that, how would it actually work ?

How would you make a cyclist's journey from say Marple Station to Stockport Town Hall at 8am safer ? Apart from encouraging him to take the bus.[/font]


The proposed route is to extend Connect 2, which at present ends at Otterspool, by upgrading the track between Otterspool and Bredbury Hall and then onwards into Stockport for the Town Hall, Station, Stockport and Aquinas Colleges. It also connects to the TPT which eventually could bring more cycling visitors to Marple and benefit the local cafes etc, and help prevent them closing. Of course this requires the support of Stockport Council which up till now is more interested in self promotion by spending thousands on Stockport MBC Park entrance signs which have no practical purpose rather than providing suitable Information Boards and direction signs that would cater for its  residents,  visitors and businesses, but we live in hope.

As to your theory that cyclists are crazy, surely you should be asking who is doing the knocking off and why. You suggest you can only cycle in Amsterdam, well this is just the start of trying to make Manchester more like Amsterdam and we hope everyone will agree with that.

[simonesaffron]

Simone all the evidence is that there is a critical mass of cyclist after which safety improves significantly. More cyclists on the roads the safer we all are. I cycle to Stockport everyday at about 9am and its perfectly safe.

In theory Wheels I can relate to your assertion but in my experience the reality doesn't support it.

I've known perhaps 30 cyclists over the years to varying personal degrees and virtually everyone of them has a story about how they "went down" off their bike. A very good friend of mine was almost killed cycling to work. He fell off his bike and unbelieveably a car ran over him. Needless to say he still cycles to work. I actually know a cyclist who was knocked down by an ambulance and another one who was run over by another cyclist. You see, cyclists are all crazy, you'd have to be crazy to cycle down Stockport Rd on a January morning at 8am. You'll never get a cyclist off his bike and he won't be happy until he's converted the rest of us. Duke says that he can't play football anymore because of a cycling accident but that won't stop him cycling. That's another example that supports my theory that cyclists are crazy. Although on reflection Duke has posted a picture of Mick Channon in a Southampton shirt so he obviously didn't know much about the sport in the first place.

Cycling is a healthy outdoor pursuit and it is safe if you do it properly and carefully - In Amsterdam - not in Gtr Manchester.   

[Duke Fame]

I've been knocked off the bike by motorists who either simply are not aware or in one case, took offence at the idea I may overtake them.

 Maybe they knew it was you Duke.

Perhaps, I've never been one to take legal action but at the time i just gave the the woman a bit of abuse & got back on. An hour later at work, my knee was twice the size and I cannot play football now without it crippling me for a couple of weeks. I wish I'd taken taken her to court in hindsight.

[IanB]

I've been knocked off the bike by motorists who either simply are not aware or in one case, took offence at the idea I may overtake them.

 Maybe they knew it was you Duke.

[wheels]

I want to make a public statement that I had nothing whatsoever to do with Duke agreeing with me he has done it entirely of his own volition and members should not attribute any agreement with Duke on my part. HELP!!!!!!!!

[Duke Fame]

Simone all the evidence is that there is a critical mass of cyclist after which safety improves significantly. More cyclists on the roads the safer we all are. I cycle to Stockport everyday at about 9am and its perfectly safe.

Damn, I agree with Wheels. The more bikes there are, the mor the motorist will look out for them. I've been knocked off the bike by motorists who either simply are not aware or in one case, took offence at the idea I may overtake them.

[Duke Fame]

Further to the original post, I have now received this request to distribute:-

Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Transport for Greater Manchester are about to submit a bid to the Department for Transport’s Cycle City Ambition Grant.
 
We are bidding for up to £20 million of government investment, to be spent over two years, to make cycling safer and easier.
 
This would take the form of a series of more continental-style, largely segregated, cycle routes within the heart of the conurbation, together with the delivery of a number of cycle and ride stations.
 
And to get more people on their bikes using these new facilities, we’d deliver a programme of promotion and engagement designed to trigger a generational shift that has the potential to ‘mainstream’ cycling.
 
If approved, our bid would unlock further investment in cycling across Greater Manchester from public and private partners over a ten-year period.
 
We need the funding from government to kick-start this dramatic transformation – and that’s where you can help.
 
You can show your support for our plans – for major investment in cycling in Greater Manchester – by encouraging colleagues, contacts, Twitter followers, friends and family to visit our pledge page and simply click on the pledge link:
 
http://cycling.tfgm.com/velocity/
 
To ensure a true picture of support, only one pledge from each IP address can be accepted. If you are trying to pledge from a corporate email the system will only allow one address to register.
 
You are urged to pledge your support as an individual from a personal system .
 
Please also share the link via email, Facebook, Twitter and personal blogs so as many people as possible know about – and back – our bid.
 

As a chap who get's his bike out every now and again, Ieverything I've seen proposed in Manchester is a total waste of money and loses sight of why we cycle.

[wheels]

CTCREP,

How would you do that, how would it actually work ?

How would you make a cyclist's journey from say Marple Station to Stockport Town Hall at 8am safer ? Apart from encouraging him to take the bus.

Simone all the evidence is that there is a critical mass of cyclist after which safety improves significantly. More cyclists on the roads the safer we all are. I cycle to Stockport everyday at about 9am and its perfectly safe.

[simonesaffron]

CTCREP,

How would you do that, how would it actually work ?

How would you make a cyclist's journey from say Marple Station to Stockport Town Hall at 8am safer ? Apart from encouraging him to take the bus.

[CTCREP]

Further to the original post, I have now received this request to distribute:-

Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Transport for Greater Manchester are about to submit a bid to the Department for Transport’s Cycle City Ambition Grant.
 
We are bidding for up to £20 million of government investment, to be spent over two years, to make cycling safer and easier.
 
This would take the form of a series of more continental-style, largely segregated, cycle routes within the heart of the conurbation, together with the delivery of a number of cycle and ride stations.
 
And to get more people on their bikes using these new facilities, we’d deliver a programme of promotion and engagement designed to trigger a generational shift that has the potential to ‘mainstream’ cycling.
 
If approved, our bid would unlock further investment in cycling across Greater Manchester from public and private partners over a ten-year period.
 
We need the funding from government to kick-start this dramatic transformation – and that’s where you can help.
 
You can show your support for our plans – for major investment in cycling in Greater Manchester – by encouraging colleagues, contacts, Twitter followers, friends and family to visit our pledge page and simply click on the pledge link:
 
http://cycling.tfgm.com/velocity/
 
To ensure a true picture of support, only one pledge from each IP address can be accepted. If you are trying to pledge from a corporate email the system will only allow one address to register.
 
You are urged to pledge your support as an individual from a personal system .
 
Please also share the link via email, Facebook, Twitter and personal blogs so as many people as possible know about – and back – our bid.
 

[Victor M]

More kids cycling to school, more kids knocked down by drivers, simple logistics!
 

Obviously not read the petition, we need to encourage far more people to cycle on our roads, only that way will we get a proper use of the shared space. Roads were not just built for motorists.

[the rover]

The All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group has published a report that aims to get more people cycling. You would think that was enough, but the Times, AA, Sustrans, CTC amongst others don't think so and are asking people to sign an epetition urging the Government to take notice of this report and do something useful.  You may not be a cyclist, but it could still affect you indirectly, for example, by enabling more children to cycle to school and so reduce the School Run traffic problems. There are many other benefits.

The epetition is https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/49196

More kids cycling to school, more kids knocked down by drivers, simple logistics!

[CTCREP]

The All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group has published a report that aims to get more people cycling. You would think that was enough, but the Times, AA, Sustrans, CTC amongst others don't think so and are asking people to sign an epetition urging the Government to take notice of this report and do something useful.  You may not be a cyclist, but it could still affect you indirectly, for example, by enabling more children to cycle to school and so reduce the School Run traffic problems. There are many other benefits.

The epetition is https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/49196