metOct07 |
|
NOTES OF HFCYCLISTS MEETING PRESENT APOLOGIES NEW MEMBERS FREEWHEEL 23rd SEPTEMBER John and Amanda, along with Douglas Chesters, Penny Stubbs, David Bays and Margaret looked after the LCC stand at Ravenscourt Park, and we met many new cyclists, about 50 of which joined our email group. Bjorn and Chris Bainbridge were on an adjacent stand borough stand, along with Les Steggles of the Met police who was issuing stickers for postcodes for bikes. We were all pleased with the day. The feedback was generally very positive. Paul Holloway very impressed by the organisation of it. The central London part a pleasure and the only hold-ups were around Parliament Square where cyclists were entering the main route. Paul did not follow the official route from the Ravenscourt Park hub as he became separated from it after crossing Shepherds Bush rd. Rod Newing was very pleased with the event and hopes it will happen next year, perhaps with loos on the route. Katrina Williams, who set off with two children, was appalled by the route through Notting Hill. It should be pointed out that it was Limelight, the event organisers, who chose this route, and the LCC tried to get it changed. CRISP at SBG I, John, attended and was generally pleased. However I was disappointed that more had not been done to solve the problems at the eastern end of the Common. A very good thing was that the roadways in this area are shown on the plans as LCN+ routes. The importance of this below. WESTFIELDS CYCLING STRATEGY
/ SBG See http://www.hfcyclists.org.uk/SBGopen.htm and the links to these responses under the section SBG - August 07 John to contact Jono Bourdillon at TfL and Nick Barnard at Halcrow to explain that the carriageways around the eastern end of SBG are definitely shown as LCN+ routes on the latest CRISP, and to find out what is happening, as there has been no news for over a month. John met Jenny Jones at the Freewheel event and Jenny agreed to help out in a press /media event. Jenny is a Green Party member of the GLA and advisor to Ken on road safety matters. This is an amazing opportunity for London to take a step towards becoming a great cycling city. Amanda would like to raise awareness of the problems with a mass event. Louanne told Amanda of the annual meeting in the evening of 25 October of the group West London Citizens and Amanda will go along to see if there is any support for our cause. see http://www.westlondoncitizens.org.uk/index.html. John believes that the potential for gridlock is quite high, and cramming the carriageway with as many lanes as possible will make it impossible for emergency vehicles to get through. John thinks that the authorities might listen to this argument, and fewer, wider lanes would be helpful for cyclists. The area already has problems,
before Westfield comes along: See section 2.4 of Stewart raised the problem of the long detour for vehicles from Wood lane wishing to go to Shepherds Bush Rd. They have to go all the way around the Holland Park roundabout. Perhaps there is a way of making a direct southbound link on the West side of the green. There would be many benefits which might outweigh the problems it would introduce. There are moves all across London to dismantle large gyratories, and perhaps this would be a beginning for LBHF. Stewart may think about it. LIAISON MEETING KEEPING YOUR BIKE SAFE There was general agreement that something more should be done about the problem of the theft of bikes, and bits thereof. Particularly the catching of those stealing bikes. Some present thought the authorities were not treating the problem seriously enough, especially with the under-reporting of the crime. Alan and others wanted a call-line where you could report the theft of a wheel for example, as it would not get reported to the police. Bjorn pointed out that there would be no outcome, as with fly-tipping and graffiti call-lines. John considered that people already knew of the problem, and it was a matter for the problem to be treated effectively. We have a section on protecting
your bike, and the results of a survey we carried out of our members on
cycle theft / damage and the under-reporting thereof at Stewart reported that car theft declined when better locks were utilised, and suggested the same might happen with bikes. Recently john was sent the following by Cllr Greg Smith, Cabinet Member for Crime & Anti-social Behaviour [11 Sept 2007 ] The Community Safety Unit of
H&F Council has been have been carrying out activity on an ad hoc
basis. This includes: Regards, Greg Smith ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [14 Sept 2007] Thanks for your email and I appreciate your comments regarding the scale of bike crime in proportion to the number of people who cycle. That said, I am satisfied that the work load going into cycle crime is already proportionate to overall resources in the borough - both from the Police and local council. Indeed, I believe the main factor that will combat the theft of pedal cycles - in fact, all crime - is robust, 24/7 high visibility, neighbourhood beat policing. Our pilots of just that are taking place in Shepherds Bush Green and Fulham Broadway, with excellent results - and with the concept becoming talked about on the pan-London and national stage, I am optimistic that this style of policing will become the norm over time. Regards, Greg Smith John is in contact with Gareth Winnard of Hammersmith Safer Neighbourhood team, and Inspector Dan Stobbart, trying to push things. The way the Home Office plans
to change to change how cycle crime is dealt with is given here: see section
5 at page 43 REUSING / RECYCLING BIKES A possibility would be to sort bikes at the lbhf depot into usable ones /scrap and get them sent to the appropriate place. Paul will explore ways of acquiring a suitable lorry/ van. It is hoped that lbhf might see this as a good thing to do. RIDE THIS SUNDAY On Sunday 7 October meet at 10am in Furnivall Gardens by the river wall, to set off to the Chiswick Car boot sale. Also the farmers market nearby. Not far, and gentle outing along riverside for most part. At Chiswick Community School, corner of Alexandra ave and Staveley rd, W4. Please let john know if you expect to come along [as below] EXPENSES. DATE OF NEXT MEETING -Tuesday
6 November 2007, 7.15 pm for 7.30pm at the info centre. Please put in
diary NOW. John Griffiths [chair / co-ordinator] |
|