Time to make a change

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Womble

New Member
Fed up with been bullied by motorists, sick of been the victim of another close overtake, not enjoying that busy road on your commute, wound up by yet another token cycle lane.

Your fellow cyclists need you. If the answer is yes to any of the above then you can help make a change
http://www.sustransconnect2.org.uk/

ps i know this is in the wrong section it's just that nobody goes to policy and campaining so thought it would be better publicised here.
 

BentMikey

Rider of Seolferwulf
Location
South London
No thanks, I won't be voting for Sustrans.
 

doyler78

Well-Known Member
Location
Co Down, Ireland
Womble in a commute section likely to be full of people who cycle day and daily on public roads and do battle as you describe with traffic each and every day the idea that somehow we should fight for more cycle lanes is something that will not sit very well with most. We tend to view cycle lanes as badly constructed and maintained often with poorer quality surfaces, in many cases shared use which makes cycling at speed impossible or dangerous. The proximity of cycle lanes can also agitate yet further already hassled drivers who then see us as being a nuisance for no reason at all other than just for the hell of it because we could quite easily just use the cycle lane. They don't know that they are often poor and slow and full of all sorts debris which makes puncturing infinitely more likely.

Nobody would be complaining if cycle lanes were of simiilar quality and maintained as well as the road network. They were wide enough for the purpose of allowing expedient travel. That they weren't shared with pedestrians however this often isn't the case and as such they aren't always particular welcome additions for many of us.

However I don't subscribe to the view that just because something exists which may make my life a little more difficult that somehow those that do benefit from its existence should somehow not be entitled to it. For some cycle lanes provide the only means of safe cycling in their eyes and thus without it they would not cycle at all. They are as entitled to cycle as the rest of us and for that reason I wholly support the Connect2 project in spite of the problems. Perfection isn't always attainable sometimes we just have to make do.
 

squeaker

Über Member
Location
Steyning
Look at it another way: the money is going to go to one of:

1) a business (Eden Project) where you have to pay to get in....
2) 2 local projects, one of which at least you could argue that the local councils should have been doing anyway ( Black Country Urban Park)
3) a national scheme to provide cycle friendly short cuts in 79 locations

so where would you prefer the money to go?
 

Cab

New Member
Location
Cambridge
squeaker said:
Look at it another way: the money is going to go to one of:

1) a business (Eden Project) where you have to pay to get in....
2) 2 local projects, one of which at least you could argue that the local councils should have been doing anyway ( Black Country Urban Park)
3) a national scheme to provide cycle friendly short cuts in 79 locations

so where would you prefer the money to go?

The Eden Project.
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Having had a quick look at the link, I suspect this is a worthy project that will suffer in some cyclists' eyes from the whole Sustrans/off the road issue. Yeah, I consider myself traffic, and have the right to the road and all that, but actually, I can think of a lot of places where a new bridge or something like that would make for a much better ride - admittedly, more from a leisure perspective than from a commuting one, but then my commute and urban jounrneys are so short that it makes little difference detouring round a nasty road or junction.

It's unfortunate perhaps that we can't separate the aims of Sustrans from the 'crap cycle lanes' that we all deride and hate. If I could be sure that the projects funded by this vote were all going to be properly designed, and linked to the road network sensibly, and wouldn't lead the motoring public to think that I belong on a cyclepath all the time, I'd vote for them, but it's hard to imagine that at least some of them won't end up as piecemeal projects connected by badly swept and stupidly designed lengths of green painted tarmac - although I'm fairly sure that most of the crappest stuff we see day by day has nothing to do with Sustrans, and everything to do with the local council, probably 'designed' by someone who doesn't cycle at all.

So I probably won't vote at all...
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Well I tried to vote last night on-line, not bothered about a route for me as I prefer the roads, but if we get a route near us that's safe for the kids then brill. The only problem was the funny security code, the site wouldn't accept what I thought were the characters. Either that or my eyesight is goosed !
 

Tetedelacourse

New Member
Location
Rosyth
I will not be voting. I agree with JRG et al.

But that aside, this group know about the biggest inadequacies in my area and the dangers that these inadequacies put cyclists in currently, but are instead choosing to connect bridges that eg don't even go anywhere right now.

It's either complete disregard for the real issues or bad management of funds. Either way, no vote from me.
 

Amanda P

Legendary Member
Not voting won't help: the money will go somewhere whether you vote or not. That's already decided.

And it's not an election - your absention will not be noted anywhere (except, of course here), and will not make a point.

For me, that makes it a matter of the lesser of several evils. So with a similar reasoning to Arch's (I can't put it any better than she has), I'll be voting, albeit a little reluctantly, for Sustrans.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
I'd rather it went to something that:-

a) Was cycling related
:sad: Was National and benefited the greatest number of people
c) Was somewhere near where I lived - or some of it ?
 

domd1979

Veteran
Location
Staffordshire
I'm not voting, but if I did I think I'd probably plump for Black Country Urban Park...



squeaker said:
Look at it another way: the money is going to go to one of:

1) a business (Eden Project) where you have to pay to get in....
2) 2 local projects, one of which at least you could argue that the local councils should have been doing anyway ( Black Country Urban Park)
3) a national scheme to provide cycle friendly short cuts in 79 locations

so where would you prefer the money to go?
 

domd1979

Veteran
Location
Staffordshire
I think its questionable how many of the 79 Sustrans schemes will be of great benefit.

Looking at a couple in the West Mids - namely the Sutton and Kenilworth ones - they are sod all use for most day to day cycle journeys. Where cycling (and walking for that matter) really, really needs to be promoted is to replace short car journeys for day-to-day journeys. I'm not convinced that yet another cycle track on a disused rail alignment (and you can bet Sustrans would campaign against future reopening as a rail route :sad:) does that.


fossyant said:
I'd rather it went to something that:-

a) Was cycling related
;) Was National and benefited the greatest number of people
c) Was somewhere near where I lived - or some of it ?
 
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