metNov07

NOTES OF HFCYCLISTS MEETING
Tuesday 6 November 2007 , 7.15pm for 7.30pm in the Info Centre

PRESENT: John Griffiths, Louanne Tranchell, Andy Ellard, Susie Gretz, Andy Young, Bill Ogden, Alan Rowden.

APOLOGIES: Stephen Burke, Cllr Gavin Donovan, Mo Morgan, Amanda Carter, Paul Alexander, Chris Tranchell.

GREENFEST

We decided to go ahead with the Greenfest for another year. The probable date will be Sunday 15 June, which is included in both London Sustainability Weeks and BikeWeek.

We have been offered funding of £3000 towards this by lbhf as part of their Fast Track Small Grants Scheme. We considered the conditions. The meeting agreed that John Griffiths and Andy Ellard should be authorised to sign the agreement.

If you would like to be involved in planning this event please contact John as below. For previous years' events see www.greenfest.org.uk .

WESTFIELDS CYCLING STRATEGY / SBG

There will be another meeting of the Westfield Cycling Strategy group on Thursday 8 November. John will go along. So far the progress has not been very satisfactory for cyclists. The Southern Interchange is the transport hub comprising the Central Line station, the new main line station on the Olympia line, the bus stands, and part of the main carriageway including bus turning facilities.

Westfield latest position is that they do not want cycling on the pavements of their land, which makes getting to the cycle parking buried deeply inside the complex a bit of a struggle. Andy Young suggested moving the cycle parking to an area nearer the entrance, a suggestion Westfield have already rejected.

Westfield so far do not consider providing an east-west route through the Southern interchange as being part of their legal requirement to provide cycle routes through the Southern interchange. The Southern Interchange application covers the carriageway between the apex of the common and the Holland Park roundabout. This east - west route is the main cycle corridor along the Uxbridge rd into London.

Let us see what happens on Thursday.

The cycling strategy and these cycle routes are part of conditions attached to planning applications for the Westfield WhiteCity London complex. John hopes that lbhf will not accept inadequate conditions for cyclists just because Westfield have only considered them as an afterthought.

Louanne suggested contacting Jenny Jones, the road safety advisor to the Mayor of London.

Louanne also noted that Westfield were constructing the Westfield Stratford City, and that during the Olympics there would be a car exclusion zone around the Olympic site.

FOLLOW-UP TO THE LIAISON MEETING

On 8 October we held a liaison meeting with officers from lbhf. The officers mentioned possible schemes to keep cycle routes on main roads clear during peak hours. These included
a] Bus Priority network, where loading spaces can be inset into the footway where it is wide enough. Then you can have bus lanes which would help cyclists. [Insetting loading spaces could also be used in areas where a bus lane was not a preferred option, but free flow of traffic was important.]
b] Having controlled loading times. This should help traffic, including cycles, flow more freely. This is being explored along the North End road.
c] The Parallel Initiatives programme, where TfL ask lbhf to look at the operation of all the main roads and busy bus routes in the borough from a "holistic" perspective, including the needs of pedetrians, cyclists, traders, delivery vehicles, disabled people and general traffic .

John will write to Graeme Swinburne, with copies to Cllrs Nick Botterill and Eugenie White, encouraging the use of these schemes, and hopefully wider application of them.

KEEPING YOUR BIKE SAFE

Alan had suggested that John meet up with Sgt Gareth Winnard of the Hammersmith Safer Neighbourhood team. John met up with Gareth and they discussed amongst other things
a] stings, where a bike is watched waiting for it to be stolen. John pointed out that many bikes are stolen within minutes of being left, and if the bike was left by a frail person, that might not discourage theft. The police are keen on technology, and might try out their tracker one day.
b] repeating the survey we once carried out on our members on bike thefts, and bits thereof.
c] looking at ads on Gumtree, say, for signs that a number is regularly being used for sale of bikes, and where the exchange takes place outside a station say. Gareth did not think that the police would pursue such information very actively.
d] using immobolise.com

Alan recently had a meeting with the Hammersmith Community Panel, and the thing brought up there was that there was no spaces in Brackenbury Village to park a tandem.

BISHOPS PARK

There are plans to do up Bishops Park if adequate funding is found. The proposed plans are on show as below. You may wish to comment on how they propose to handle cycling. The park contains a cycle route that is a continuation a route that by-passes the Fulham Palace rd. Another point is whether they recognise cycling as an important way of getting there. Cycling as a mode of transport opens up a much wider catchment area compared to walking, and the park is meant to cater for the people of London, not just local people.

The event will take place on Saturday 17 November, from 10.00am to 4.00pm, and will provide residents with an opportunity to view concept designs for the Park and Fulham Palace. Comment on proposals for improvements to the borough's green and open spaces in Fulham is invited. Councillors and officers will be on hand on the day to answer questions. Walkabouts in the park with ward councillors and officers will run at 11.00am and 3.00pm and issues raised will feed into the development of the park management plan. see http://tinyurl.com/yoqb5m

20MPH ZONES
Bill mentioned that a 20mph zone is proposed for the region bounded by Lillie rd, North end rd, Talgarth rd, Fulham Palace rd. It would be useful to have details of where any comments might be made.

RIDES,

SUNDAY 9 December 10.30am

Ride to join other LCC groups across SW London for Xmas lunch in Richmond. At the White Cross Hotel.
see http://www.youngs.co.uk/pub-detail.asp?PubID=460

Meet for 10.30am departure from Furnivall Gardens, beside river, 100m west of Hammersmith Bridge, north side of river. john 07789 095 748

We aim to get to the pub by 12 to meet up with the other LCC groups. Last year it was a marvellous day.

OTHER EVENTS, ETC

1] Campaign against Climate Change
A Public Meeting on Thursday November 8th, at 7.00pm

at the Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, London
"How can we win the race against climate catastrophe ?"
With George Monbiot. Author, Journalist and Campaigner
John Sauven, Director of Greenpeace UK
and Phil Thornhill, National Coordinator Campaign against Climate Change, see www.campaigncc.org

2] DEMO AT ST PANCRAS INTERNATIONAL, 14 November 2007
Eurostar services will start running from St Pancras International on 14th November 2007. But in spite of all the publicity about the brand new station, which is indeed impressive, provision for cyclists is abysmal.
Cyclists deserve better cycle carriage, cycle parking and cycle access:
- it's awkward to take a bike on Eurostar (it has to be bagged) or you can pay £40 return to send it a day ahead
- St Pancras International provides a pathetic 30 wheel-bending loops
- access is hindered by new gyratory round the station and lack of signage

Camden and City Cyclists are organising a demo at St Pancras International on 14th November. We meet outside the German Gym, Pancras Road (outside the station) at 8 for an 8.30 start on riding round, inspecting parking and greeting passengers coming for the first trains at 10 am.

See http://tinyurl.com/33x9cm

3] SATURDAY 8th DECEMBER
NATIONAL CLIMATE MARCH / GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION

Join people all around the world to demand that world leaders take the urgent action we need to prevent the catastrophic destabilisation of global climate. The National Demo in London will be one of many demonstrations on climate taking place all around the world on the same day, midway through the UN Climate Talks in Bali. Includes cycling protest.
Website : www.campaigncc.org

EXPENSES

John had expenses of £18.86 for refreshments tonight. A cheque for £59.81 was made out to John Griffiths to also include expenses for refreshments for September £19.11 and October £21.84

DATE OF NEXT MEETING: Tuesday 4 December, 715pm for 7.30pm.

John Griffiths [chair / co-ordinator]
020 7371 1290 / 07789 095 748
truefeelings@btinternet.com
OUR WEBSITE www.hfcyclists.org.uk