davieG Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 Council wants to double number of cyclists in Leicester by 2018 By Tom_Mack | Posted: March 23, 2015 Cyclists take part in Sky Ride Leicester. Comments (1)Between now and 2018, Leicester City Council wants to double the number of people cycling in the city. The new Cycle City Action Plan aims to get people out of their cars and on to their bikes to reduce air pollution and traffic misery and increase health and happiness. Its aims include a safer network of cycle tracks and making roads less frightening for cyclists. Based on the latest Census data, about 5,000 people use bikes in Leicester every day and the council wants that number to be way above 10,000 within three years. Deputy city mayor Councillor Rory Palmer said: "We all know that cycling can be of great benefit to people's overall health and wellbeing. "It's also a great way to get around – and it helps us to reduce city air pollution and carbon emissions. This plan sets out our commitment to making cycling as easy, safe and enjoyable as possible, so that people can make clear choices about how they choose to travel into and around the city." He said the council planned to get funding from national sources and that it would work with residents, businesses and community groups to create a bike plan for each of the 22 wards in the city. Andy Salkeld, the city council's cycling co-ordinator, said: "We've seen an average 10 per cent growth per year in cycling numbers since 2006. "This plan will help us to build on an established programme of cycling-themed events that everyone can get involved with, such as the Sky Ride, our annual Ride Leicester festival and the Castle Classic elite bike ride. "We want to make mainstream cycling a part of city life all year round – that's what this plan will help us to do." The Cycle City Action Plan is supported by British Cycling, who are working with partners such as Leicester City Football Club, the city's universities and business partners across Leicester to make cycling a mainstream option for trips to the shops, work and school, as well as for one-off cycling events. To get more information, visit: www.leicester.gov.uk/transport-and-streets/cycling-in-leicester Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Council-wants-double-number-cyclists-Leicester/story-26218717-detail/story.html#ixzz3VINncgMQ Follow us: @Leicester_Merc on Twitter | leicestermercury on Facebook
Guest MattP Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 Pretty sure they'll achieve it at the rate they are removing roads.
Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 Pretty sure they'll achieve it at the rate they are removing roads. What I love is where there is a cycle lane on the pavement, and the cyclists still choose to ride on the road. It's really thoughtful when they share their cycling misery with everyone
cambridgefox Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 Happiness.Try driving in Cambridge with the bikes,it's an experience and a dangerous one at that for drivers and cyclists.
Babylon Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 5000 cyclists.... errrr yeah ok. That might include loads of people on the very outskirts of Leicester but the number going in to the centre will be a tiny fraction of that. Their plan to stop "traffic misery".... remove roads. Yep that will do it.
MooseBreath Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 Great idea let's restrict access to the city to people who already live within a couple of miles and have nothing to carry in or out. Massive benefits will surely follow amd it definitely won't just fvck up the traffic even more, pissing everyone off and forcing them to drive their clean efficient cars to cities with better roads. Genius, this idea is really of its time. Well done chaps.
yorkie1999 Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 Why do people go into the city centre. To shop. What use is a bike when you want to pick up a new tv.
davieG Posted 24 March 2015 Author Posted 24 March 2015 I'd like to know what will happen in the longer term when small electric vehicles and driverless cars become available and there's no decent roads left for them. Where are they going to fit all the 1000's of charger points for them if all the kerbside space is for cyclists or buses. Not that I'm likely to be around to see it. Warning to city centre cyclists after 33 thefts in two weeksBy Ciaranfagan | Posted: March 22, 2015 Police are urging cyclists to buy sturdy locks. Comments (6)Police have issued a warning to cyclists after 33 bikes were stolen in Leicester city centre in just two weeks. Officers urged riders to take simple security measures, such as investing in sturdy D-locks, after the higher than average run of thefts in the past fortnight. In some cases, police said, the stolen bikes were ‘secured’ with flimsy chains which could be snipped with a pair of garden secateurs. As well as the message to cyclists, officers are also patrolling theft hot-spots – including a plain-clothes operation – to track down the thieves. Inspector Simon Preston, commander of city centre police, said: “In most cases we’re talking about fairly cheap chain locks. “We can’t say that bikes secured with D-locks are never stolen, but they certainly make life harder for thieves and it will take them a long time to steal the bike. “One of the victims from the other day let us keep the chain from his bike. “It was probably half an inch thick. But where it was cut you could see it was mostly plastic and the actual metal chain inside was no more than 5mm thick. “We talk a lot about cycle thieves using bolt-croppers, but you could cut that chain with a pair of secateurs.” Police also recommend people park their cycles in more secure areas such as the Bike Park at Town Hall Square and Leicester railway station. The number of bike thefts in the city fluctuates month by month, but in the 2012/13 financial year the total was approximately 500, rising to 573 in 2013/14. The number is predicted to rise to 650 this year, Insp Preston said. Other police advice includes urging people to keep good-quality photographs of their bikes and to make a note of features such as the frame, the saddle and gears. Valuables, including bikes, can also be registered on a free national database, which helps police return lost or stolen goods to their owners and also helps prosecute offenders. www.immobilise.com Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Warning-city-centre-cyclists-33-thefts-weeks/story-26210399-detail/story.html#ixzz3VIbLUslX
Alf Bentley Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 Lord Norman Tebbit would approve.... His father didn't jump into his motor. He got on his bike and he looked for work.
Buce Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 Lord Norman Tebbit would approve.... His father didn't jump into his motor. He got on his bike and he looked for work. Would the car even have been invented at that time?Edit: He was referring to the thirties, so it would have been.
Parafox Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 The new Cycle City Action Plan aims to get people out of their cars and on to their bikes to reduce air pollution and traffic misery and increase health and happiness. Its aims include a safer network of cycle tracks and making roads less frightening for cyclists So this means they won't be scaring motorists by ignoring cycle lanes, weaving out to avoid drains, jumping red lights or riding on pavements to avoid roundabouts? I would bet that, if a shorter route to a destination involved riding on roads rather than cycle tracks, that's the route they'd choose. More of Soulsby's plan to drive (pardon the pun) the evil motorist out of the city.
Bellend Sebastian Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 I think the big cycling project would be more successful if there was a bit more enforcement of the rules. I keep hearing people moaning about cyclists not using the Newarke Street cycle lane, but they'd be all over it if they knew they'd get a ticket for riding on the pavements they're not supposed to. I must be about the only person in the city that's not actually a cyclist that supports the infrastructure being put in. My walk home along the A47 is now a lot less shit now that pedestrians and cyclists are separated around the bridge area near the Holiday Inn thanks to the new cycle lane. If they put much more of this stuff in I might actually start cycling to work. The very thought!
Babylon Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 I think the big cycling project would be more successful if there was a bit more enforcement of the rules. I keep hearing people moaning about cyclists not using the Newarke Street cycle lane, but they'd be all over it if they knew they'd get a ticket for riding on the pavements they're not supposed to. I must be about the only person in the city that's not actually a cyclist that supports the infrastructure being put in. My walk home along the A47 is now a lot less shit now that pedestrians and cyclists are separated around the bridge area near the Holiday Inn thanks to the new cycle lane. If they put much more of this stuff in I might actually start cycling to work. The very thought! I'm all for a well thought out plan and not one designed purely to tick boxes and increase stats.
Maybes Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 Pretty sure they'll achieve it at the rate they are removing roads. Here here.
Carl the Llama Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 What I love is where there is a cycle lane on the pavement, and the cyclists still choose to ride on the road. It's really thoughtful when they share their cycling misery with everyone It's always the wankers with racing bikes and full leotard who struggle to comprehend that having all the kit and/or being faster than most other cyclists still doesn't make them a car. I used to try to school the cyclists in my neighbourhood by edging half my car onto the bike lane after overtaking anyone like that but these guys are so obnoxious that they can't even take the massive hint.
Tommy G Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 hate cyclists (sorry if ive offended anyone) but it makes congestion worse having to look out for them.
Freeman's Wharfer Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 A van on fire the other week really showed that the city is really coping with reduced traffic lanes and unused cycle lanes that lead nowhere...
Carl the Llama Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 hate cyclists (sorry if ive offended anyone) but it makes congestion worse having to look out for them. I don't hate them as a rule, like any road user I only have an issue with the ones who are doing something they shouldn't or behave inconsiderately towards other road-users. Unfortunately there seems to be a smug superiority to cycling that does turn a lot of its practitioners into self important twats who think it's acceptable to do things like going out with their equally egomaniacal friend to ride double-breasted on a busy single-carriageway with a dedicated bike lane immediately next to them. Shit like that makes me very hateful indeed.
Nalis Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 Any excuse to share this... Watch "We Are The Cyclists" on YouTube We Are The Cyclists: https://youtu.be/zBFFrsvgu1Y
The God Emperor Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 Bloody cyclists, grown men playing with children's toys. Utterly pathetic. Shit! I'm late for my D&D game!
Raj Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 hate cyclists (sorry if ive offended anyone) but it makes congestion worse having to look out for them.As a cyclist(part time though) I can say that most drivers DONT look out for cyclists!!!
pSinatra Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 Cycling is only a serious proposition for people living in or around the city centre. I cycle a fair bit, but I realise I'm risking my life every time I go onto a public highway. To be honest, I'm a fecking nightmare in & around traffic - dodging & weaving all over the place. That said, I have been knocked off my bike 3 times in the last couple of years. Nothing major (I'm still here) but none of them were my fault. Just people not paying attention, in a world of their own & not giving enough of a shit of what's going on around them. Two of them I was actually in a cycle lane. I could happily cycle into town & I have done on occasion. I live 8 miles outside of the city centre, but I would drive all of the time if I worked in town. The buses are shit, the roads are dangerous & a car is the quickest, safest & most practical way. If I lived within 2 or 3 miles of work, I would probably walk.
Vicki Vixen Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 It's always the wankers with racing bikes and full leotard who struggle to comprehend that having all the kit and/or being faster than most other cyclists still doesn't make them a car. I used to try to school the cyclists in my neighbourhood by edging half my car onto the bike lane after overtaking anyone like that but these guys are so obnoxious that they can't even take the massive hint. Cyclists on racing bikes: The BMW drivers of the cycling community
Vicki Vixen Posted 24 March 2015 Posted 24 March 2015 There seems to be a lot of anger towards cyclists. I wonder if those people that still choose to travel by horse and cart are equally outraged that motor vehicles have taken over their roads, driving too fast, and not following the same rules that horse and carts have been subject to for years. Like this lady, for example http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1390787/McDonalds-refuses-serve-woman-horse-cart--went-KFC.html
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