I got invited along to a meeting that Harrogate Cycle Action organised on Monday night at the cricket club. It was about them launching a manifesto to get some things done for bike riders over the next two years.
Whats not to like? These people have longstanding relationships with local government but the relationship has been rather reactive and somewhat dysfunctional recently. The manifesto is an attempt to get a little more strategic for everyone's benefit.
Ten Councillors accepted an invitation and the evening was about trying to get them up to speed on what has been done for all things bikey and what needs to be done yet. More importantly how they could help. Also how the volunteer and charity sector are currently being under-utilised.
So we got a talk form Hugh Larkin a consultant cardiologist at the hospital about the benefits of exercise and bike riding in particular on health. Hugh did a good job explaining it and it needs saying this video does it even better. Then Mike Babbit the Sustrans project manager for round here did a bit. Mike did a good spiel on how Sustrans work to get cycle routes built. The idea is that they do feasibility studies so that when cash becomes available local authorities have schemes that they can fund and get stuff built quickly.
Sustrans really want to get the link to Spofforth sorted and the Nidderdale Greenway extended to Pateley Bridge as the Sustrans coast to coast route the Way of the Roses would then go through Harrogate in one of its variations. It goes through Ripon currently. That would really put Harrogate onto the cycle tourism map. Each person riding these routes spends £30 a day on average. Hey they could spend it here?
Martin Weeks talked through the manifesto and then we had some questions from the great and the good. Some where on the case with cycling some, well weren't, but that was the purpose of the evening so good on them for showing up. I think what came out of the meeting was we need a council led forum to talk about cycling with bike riders. I hope that happens. I am lobbying Don Mackenzie to try and set this up as he is both a county and borough councillor. If you wanted to email him and ask for a cycling/sustainable transport forum/committee as part of local government you can get him here don.mackenzie@harrogate.gov.uk. If more of you email he will either set it up or tell me to get people to stop spamming him. I figure its worth a go.
The other thing I am going to be whinging on about before the tour, is the fact that despite the Council having the money in the piggy bank for a large cycle signing program its not due to happen until 2015. Am I the only person in Harrogate that thinks it might be really helpful if we had good cycleway signage before the tour de france and thousands of the world's cyclists descend on Harrogate next July?
Anyway good on HCA for setting up the meeting and allowing me to suspend my innate cynicism for an hour or two,now back into the fray.
I agree we could do with better cycling signs in Harrogate.
ReplyDeleteOne example is when you follow the signed route towards Starbeck and Knaresborough across the Stray on Slingsby walk. When you arrive at the A59 Knaresborough Rd, the only sign is 'Cyclists Dismount' - no further clues! If you start signing a route, surely you can't just stop half way along it.
I've recently done a page on the Nidderdale Greenway http://hedgehogcycling.co.uk/nidderdale-greenway.html which has some ideas for better signposting at the bottom of the page.