What is being billed as the UK’s first “smart cycling corridor” will be built on the Isle of Wight thanks in part to a £1.3 million grant from the Department for Transport (DfT).
Aimed at encouraging more people to ride between Cowes and Newport, the initiative is based around a new Bicycle Island app which will enable users to set monthly distance targets as well as providing support for local charities.
When the initiative was first announced last month, Paul Fuller, Isle of Wight Council’s executive member for environment, sustainability and local engagement, commented: “This is a ground-breaking project for the UK and will create a truly interactive experience for users.
“I hope that the smart cycling corridor will encourage more visitors, residents and employers to choose a cycling commute as a healthy and sustainable alternative to driving.
“Smart technology is increasingly becoming a bigger part of our lives and has the potential to improve sustainability on a number of fronts such as transport, health and leisure and this project will go a long way in helping to build a brighter future in the Island,” he added.
Other initiatives that will be funded over the next three years include working alongside the tourism industry to encourage more walking and cycling by visitors to the island, as well as getting more people commuting.
Full details of the Isle of Wight Council Access Fund for Sustainable Travel can be found in the bid document submitted to the DfT.
James Cleeton, director for Sustrans South, told the Isle of Wight County Press: “This investment in the IW is extremely welcome.
“It will help to improve access to jobs, skills, education and training and is a clear sign local government recognises the benefits of cycling and walking to help create healthier, cleaner places in which to live and work.”
9 thoughts on “Isle of Wight to build UK’s first “smart cycling corridor””
So as far as I can tell this
So as far as I can tell this involves just an app that offers some (probably lame) incentives for cycling? Think if it was my commute I’d probably rather see the money spent on infrastructure designed by a dutchman! My phone probably can’t handle yet another app to run while cycling anyway.
Am I getting too cynical?
Waste of money.
Waste of money.
I live here and agree wholeheartedly with the two posts above. There already exists a decent, dedicated cycle path between the two towns and it’s a pleasure to ride. At peak times it is well used by bikes and provides a safe and direct route. Unfortunately the roads at either end are a disgrace, being littered with potholes and, at the Newport end, tons of loose gravel.
Any spare cash might usefully be spent upgrading these areas before introducing electronic inducements.
Ugh. Cowes to Newport is
Ugh. Cowes to Newport is currently an easy 5 miles of NCN23. 5 miles of narrow shared path. £1.3 million should be able to convert that to a quality segregated superhighway. Why the stupid App which, let’s be honest, no one will use!?
The comments about Cowes to
The comments about Cowes to Newport are sensible, but what’s depressing is that those writing the bid know it full well. On page 8 they say: “until the outcome of the Local Growth Fund bid is announced, and work of the Infrastructure Task Force has concluded, it is not possible to predict the level of capital funding coming forward to support sustainable transport infrastructure”. It then goes on to point out Newport to East Cowes can be completed with about 1.5km of extra path.
Quite why DfT can believe in localism whilst simultaneously having money provided only in ridiculous and non-matching pots that focus on projects and infrastructure is beyond me. The mismatch between soft and hard measures we see so often from them is an inevitable result.
Why is it “Smart”?
Why is it “Smart”?
The Dutch create cycle lanes that can generate electricity and light themselves.
We create a crappy app.
Someone will be making a lot from this if they’re spending £1.3million on it.
Danger Dicko wrote:
Some detail of how the funding’s going to be used is in a pdf via that link, including a number of full-time jobs from what I can tell. What ‘Securing 133 FTE jobs’ really means I can’t tell, maybe someone from a local council might be able to interpret it better.
But it’s not ‘£1.3 million on an app.’
https://www.iwight.com/azservices/documents/1190-Access-Fund-Application-Form.pdf
And as for how much infrastructure roughtly £1.6M gets you (not all the money is from the DFT),
judging by some schemes local to me – footpath widening to create shared space, etc, not a lot, or you need to spend a fair bit more to get anything decent.
Lured (some might say conned)
Lured (some might say conned) by the “Bicycle Island” branding I visited the island last summer and was shocked by how bad the cycle provision was. Most of the routes on the Bicycle Island map I bought didn’t actually exist so I spent lots of my time either riding on fairly busy main roads or crossing muddy fields. Not too bad once I’d got used to it and the IoW is truly a lovely place to visit.
As others have pointed out, the cycle path between Cowes and Newport is actually one of the few decent bits of infrastructure. Money needs to be invested in a network of proper cycleways and not wasted on stupid apps and other “initiatives”. Only then will the IoW truly become a Bicycle Island.
I’m afraid that when I start
I’m afraid that when I start hearing people talking like this
all I end up hearing is something that sounds like the teachers in the Charlie Brown & Snoopy cartoons.
Good grief.