Cycling City riders urged to speak up

Bristol cyclists are being urged to attend a public meeting on Wednesday (8 October) to influence the spending of funds intended to develop cycling in the city before the end of 2010. Back in June, Bristol was named as Britain’s first ‘cycling city’ and was awarded £11.4m in the government’s programme to encourage cycling. With Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council matching that figure, the total amount in the kitty for the Cycling City Plan is £22.8m. But Josh Hart of On the Level: Car Free Blog claims there has been inadequate consultation with the public on how the money will be spent and believes there are major flaws in the existing plans. These include the omission of a bicycle expressway across the M32 motorway, 20mph speed limits, and adequate on-road cycle lanes. “This is an incredible opportunity to develop a high quality cycle expressway network in Bristol,” says Josh. “Yet we could end up seeing the money spent on more of the same: inadequate cycle lanes - often in the dangerous ‘door zone’ - that end just when you need them the most, ill-thought-out facilities that don’t join up and abandon cyclists at junctions, and underwriting the payrolls of existing city council staff and large charities.” He is urging cyclists to attend a meeting to be held on Wednesday by the Cycling City stakeholder group – which includes representatives from Rolls Royce, University of West of England, Bristol Cycling Campaign and Cyclists’ Touring Club (CTC) – although the councils are keen to get more non-cyclists involved. The meeting takes place from 6:30-8pm on Wednesday at Fairfield High School in Horfield.