Cycling in Hackney News August/September '98Contents
Editorial
News
Our hands are tied?Happy as it is to continue sledgehammering a new urban motorway into Hackney, the government continues to be miserly with its funding for local transport, giving the Council little with which to reverse the errors of the past. "No new major schemes for 1999/2000," instructs the Government Office for London, condemning us to suffer for yet another year with 'petrol age' one-way systems in Shoreditch and Stoke Newington, even though plans for their reform are well advanced and popular. TPP and sympathy So it was that our comments recently on the draft of the 'TPP' - the Council's bid for government transport cash - were mainly supportive and sympathetic. The general drift of Council policy is now in the direction of sustainable transport and access, thanks to the sea change in public thinking helped along by the direct action movement and organisations such as ours. But the ability of local authorities to achieve serious reductions in motor traffic is still circumscribed by cash limits and the fact that London's main roads are kept out of local control. Well, what can you do? There's still plenty of scope for progress at the local level, though, whether it's in selling the benefits of cycling to our friends, neighbours and colleagues, or in encouraging the planners towards more radical solutions. For instance, instead of bidding for euro-money to rebuild the railway bridge on poor little Forest Road E8 to withstand 40-tonne trucks, as the Council did in its TPP, why not just patch up the bridge and prohibit motor traffic over it? Raise people's quality of life in Forest Road, and save a couple of million ECUs in the process. Hey, where's our commission?!
NewsLorraine Langham, Hackney Council's Executive Director with responsibility for transport, is now a bike grrrl, thanks to the LCC in Hackney. On a glorious Saturday in July we took her on a VIP cycle tour of the borough. An occasional leisure cyclist (up to now!), Lorraine brought her bike (Xmas present from hubbie) on the overland to Hackney Central, from where Douglas Carnall and friends escorted her on a very convivial itinerary, including Equal Play at Springfield Park, the Oaktree community growing farm, The Fox Reformed in Stoke Newington Church Street, and super Shoreditch, which manages to swing even despite its one-way system. We returned her to the Town Hall via the Market Porters' route in plenty of time for her next appointment. Points noted on the way were the convenience of taking children and shopping by bike/trailer, the experiences of differently abled cyclists, the urgency of putting the high streets back into Stoke Newington and Shoreditch... and most of all the sheer pleasure of cycling around the place. Lorraine really enjoyed the trip. She's now thinking of getting a second bike - one for home and one at work. We said we'd see about getting her some skills and confidence training for on-street travel, perhaps as a pilot for the general training scheme we've hoping to set up. LL was feeling fine until we pointed out to her that she'd been ten miles, at which she thought she'd better feel tired for a while! The whole event was professionally videoed for LCC promotional use. Jet packs and hover-cars - not! Cyclists in Hackney are involved in the council's consultation process to set the transport priorities of the borough over the period to 2020. Key objectives include combatting congestion on local roads and minimising pollution and collisions. Suggested measures include car clubs, effective parking enforcement, the use of zero emission vehicles for deliveries, completion of a comprehensive cycle network and switching all children's journeys to school to sustainable modes within five years. There is also a commitment to exceed cycle use targets in the National Cycle Strategy, and to adopt employment policies which support the use of sustainable transport. Borough co-ordinator Douglas Carnall says, "All this is good news, and what's being said about giving priority to cyclists, pedestrians and public transport seems more believable than it has in the past." "We're going to try to get some other specific measures included," he adds, "such as cycle training being an option for all school children in Hackney, widespread adult cycle training, a comprehensive review of one-way streets, and a 'cycle audit' of all traffic management plans." The consultation closes on August 21st, but changes following the Transport White Paper and the reorganisation of London government mean that the situation is in a state of flux. Opportunities for greener and more cycle-friendly developments are great, but it is important for pro-cycling residents to involve themselves in developments in their locality, and to press councillors and officers for delivery on specifics. Get your copy of the draft Transport Action Plan from: Mandy Woodhull, Project Support Officer for Transport, Strategic Policy Unit, Hackney Town Hall, Mare St, E8 1EA, tel. 0181-356 3264. Shacklewell to get better Check out the plan here The westbound carriageway of Shacklewell Lane at its junction with St Mark's Rise is a tricky one for cyclists, necessitating assertive riding. In the 1994-96 period there were twelve personal injury collisions here, of which six involved pedal cyclists. Local resident Harriet Bourne is well used to the sorry rhythm of collisions outside her house. She and other locals have been working on plans to improve the safety, amenity and looks of the area for a year or two. A recent crop of collisions has reinvigorated the effort to do something about it. LCC in Hackney recently helped to arrange a meeting of planners, engineers, police and locals at which senior engineer and cycling officer Liam Mulrooney unveiled a new plan which would put all through traffic on the present eastbound carriageway and have a mini-roundabout as the junction with St Mark's Rise. There is a good chance funding can be found to implement this good-looking scheme in this financial year, subject to consultation and approval. Contacts
Borough co-ordinator
Cycling Officer, Hackney Council
News editor and web czar
Workshop guru
Education and training amazon
Planning bloodhound
Hackney Agenda 21 star (Co-chair of Transport and Built Environment Working Group)
The sage of Amhurst Road
|
