Helen Flynn Lib Dem councillor and prospective parliamentary candidate for these environs has been ruffling feathers recently. She has blogged about why we need to make Harrogate a bike town, I agree with her, we do. She has also had a pop at Borough and County Councils and "the Tories" for not all working together to make this happen, with a few caveats (some people are working hard), I agree with her. Thing is she is detail lite and she risks alienating the people who are already working hard to make Harrogate a bike town, that would be counter productive
I have to say she got on my nerves a bit. It all seemed a bit "well if we just thought big it would happen". Then I got to thinking I have been beating on the doors of local government and local politicians for two years trying to raise this very agenda and it has got us all, well not that far. I have whinged in the past that the Liberals weren't interested. At least now they are I should give them the benefit of the doubt. So I have put my dummy back in. There seems no harm in dreaming big, hell the Tour De France is coming. Here as a plea for unity but also in a spirit of ambition are some thoughts. Not just off the top of my head but trying to look at what has worked elsewhere in the world. At least finally we seem as a town to be having the debate.
Here is my vision of what Harrogate would look like as a bike town.
Harrogate as a bike town would be somewhere my 8 year old son could ride around on his bike. Not on his own at least not past the local shop, but with me and the rest of the family. There are places where this can happen currently but after you have ridden to Ripley and down the Beryl Burton there aren't that many others. If he wants to ride on any of Harrogate's main arterial roads his dad would just laugh at him and tell him to keep watching the telly.
Harrogate the bike town will integrate and sign its existing piecemeal but reasonably extensive off the road cycle network and get people to be aware of what we have.
Harrogate the bike town will have high quality commuter friendly routes to the cities of York and Leeds. These seemingly car only accessible destinations will attract a surprising number of commuters. Some will do it one way and bring their bike back by public transport.
Harrogate the bike town will have separated on road provision for bikes on Knaresborough Rd, Skipton Road, Leeds Road and Harlow Hill. This won't be a crap 1m wide strip on the road but will involve some form of physical separation from the traffic like what the Dutch do and we are beginning to do in forward thinking towns over here.
On all minor residential roads in Harrogate there will be a 20mph speed limit. This reduces cycling fatalities and accidents more than any other intervention and it makes these roads easy to cycle on.
Harrogate the bike town will have cycle parking at all public transport stations and you will be able to take bikes on public transport, no drama, no booking.
25% of all car journeys in Harrogate will be undertaken by bike or on foot. People will think back as they drive easily around and remember the bad old days when the Skipton Rd was one of the most congested roads in the country.
Harrogate the bike town will have a more car and HGV free centre. This will make it more bike and pedestrian friendly. When this was tried in New York in a few neighbourhoods it increased footfall to businesses too. A free park and ride bus scheme operating from the showground will bring additional business to the shops there as well as allowing people easy access to the town centre which is considered a retail gem due to its mix of high quality shops and historic architecture and relaxed feel. A bike hire scheme operating from the showground will allow those that want to, to get into town along the new Greenway extension.
In Harrogate the bike town all primary and secondary schools will have traffic free routes from their main catchment areas to allow walking and cycling to them and there will be safe cycle storage when you get there.
The Tour De France memorial sportive will be an event of national significance. Mark Cavendish will turn out one year and repeat his near legendary performance from Stage 1 2014 despite being older than three quarters of the field, perhaps form is temporary and class is for ever after all?
GP's will offer cycle training amongst a range of other exercise therapies and discounts on bike purchases to their patients as treatment for the increasing range of diseases linked to sedentary lifestyles. As a result of this intervention despite having an ageing population Harrogate will have one of the highest senses of well being in western Europe.
Harrogate the bike town will be a popular overnight stop on the Way of The Roses coast to coast cycle route. This green tourism will be bringing some high spending affluent customers to a town that is now appealing to a broader demographic than it did in 2014.
Commuting rates by bike will be 25% of all journeys in rush hour. local employers will be delighted by the reduction to their sickness rates and the increased productivity from their staff.
All of this will have been paid for by increasing the existing 2% spend as a proportion of the roads budget to 5% for a 10 to twenty year period. For Harrogate in 2014 this will mean investment rises from approximately 200K a year to half a million quid.
There will have been resistance to most of the above from what is a fairly conservative (small c) town but in hindsight people will agree that Harrogate the bike town is now a nicer, healthier and even more affluent place to walk, cycle and drive around than it was in 2014.
On all minor residential roads in Harrogate there will be a 20mph speed limit. This reduces cycling fatalities and accidents more than any other intervention and it makes these roads easy to cycle on.
Harrogate the bike town will have cycle parking at all public transport stations and you will be able to take bikes on public transport, no drama, no booking.
25% of all car journeys in Harrogate will be undertaken by bike or on foot. People will think back as they drive easily around and remember the bad old days when the Skipton Rd was one of the most congested roads in the country.
Harrogate the bike town will have a more car and HGV free centre. This will make it more bike and pedestrian friendly. When this was tried in New York in a few neighbourhoods it increased footfall to businesses too. A free park and ride bus scheme operating from the showground will bring additional business to the shops there as well as allowing people easy access to the town centre which is considered a retail gem due to its mix of high quality shops and historic architecture and relaxed feel. A bike hire scheme operating from the showground will allow those that want to, to get into town along the new Greenway extension.
In Harrogate the bike town all primary and secondary schools will have traffic free routes from their main catchment areas to allow walking and cycling to them and there will be safe cycle storage when you get there.
The Tour De France memorial sportive will be an event of national significance. Mark Cavendish will turn out one year and repeat his near legendary performance from Stage 1 2014 despite being older than three quarters of the field, perhaps form is temporary and class is for ever after all?
GP's will offer cycle training amongst a range of other exercise therapies and discounts on bike purchases to their patients as treatment for the increasing range of diseases linked to sedentary lifestyles. As a result of this intervention despite having an ageing population Harrogate will have one of the highest senses of well being in western Europe.
Harrogate the bike town will be a popular overnight stop on the Way of The Roses coast to coast cycle route. This green tourism will be bringing some high spending affluent customers to a town that is now appealing to a broader demographic than it did in 2014.
Commuting rates by bike will be 25% of all journeys in rush hour. local employers will be delighted by the reduction to their sickness rates and the increased productivity from their staff.
All of this will have been paid for by increasing the existing 2% spend as a proportion of the roads budget to 5% for a 10 to twenty year period. For Harrogate in 2014 this will mean investment rises from approximately 200K a year to half a million quid.
There will have been resistance to most of the above from what is a fairly conservative (small c) town but in hindsight people will agree that Harrogate the bike town is now a nicer, healthier and even more affluent place to walk, cycle and drive around than it was in 2014.
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