AGENDA FOR PEDALS MONTHLY MEETING:  
7.30 p.m. on 
Monday 19 May 2008
in the upper room of the Globe PH, 152 London Road, NG2 3BQ (between London Road and Meadows Way just north of north of Trent Bridge)

AGENDA  

1. Welcome, and apologies for absence

2. (Postponed from last month:) Discussion with John Lee, Senior Rights of Way Officer, Nottingham City Council on the City Rights of Way Improvement Plans and the result of the recent off-road barriers trial, (7.30-8.30 p.m, approx.)

(10-minute break)

3. Minutes of Pedals meeting of 21 April and matters arising:
•	Nottingham City Council Cycling City bid to Cycling England short-listed (among the 20 out of 74 bids in total)
•	Haydn Road Advance Stop Lines (Andrew Martin)
•	Exemptions for cyclists at Banned Turns
•	Maid Marian Way toucan crossing improvement plans
•	Changes to cycle path layout by Nottingham University south entrance
•	Donation from Rushcliffe Borough Council via Cllr. Karrar Khan
•	PayPal arrangements for people joining via Pedals website.
•	New supply of membership forms
•	Possible Pedals stall at Nottingham Green Festival on 25 May (Dave Clark)
•	Gresham Park (West Bridgford) cycle route barriers
•	Report of the 1 May ‘Get Cycling Nottingham’ Project Steering Committee meeting
•	Report of Sat. 10 May: CTC/CCN Spring Campaigners’ Conference, Cambridge.

4. Spring / Summer newsletter feedback and advance planning for Autumn 2008 issue

5. Forthcoming events / meetings
•	Other events, including request for Pedals stalls/displays, including:-
•	Sun 25 - Mon 26 May: Company of Cyclists’ Get Cycling Event, Nottingham Racecourse (joint stall with Ridewise & Sustrans, being coordinated by Peter Osborne)
•	Sun. 25 May: Nottingham Green Festival
•	Sat 7 June: West Bridgford Community Gathering and Bike Skill Share (Wollaton Park/Sumac) Events
•	Bike Week, 14-22 June and Bike Week pack
•	Wed 18 June: Wheely Good Cyclists’ Breakfast, Old Market Square (Organiser: Helen Clayton, The Big Wheel & Steve Cornes, City Council) and Greater Nottingham Cyclists’ Forum (10.00)
•	Thurs. 19 June: Ruddington Fields Business Park Transport Group Cycle Forum Cycling Event, Rushcliffe Country Park including lunchtime gathering with stalls from 12-2 (Organiser: Claire Fleming, Notts CC)
•	Gotham Gala, 29 June
•	Sat. 12 July: Beeston Fair, Broadgate Park
•	Other meetings including
•	Notts. CC Climate Change Conference, Newstead, 19 May
•	Presentation to Erewash Borough Council Transport Group, Long Eaton Town Hall, 3 June.
•	Welcoming Diversity and Prejudice Reduction Workshop, Thursday 26 June 2008.

6. Finance

7. Cycle facility and traffic matters	
•	Cattle Market Road / London Road Junction proposals (comments needed by 9 May)
•	Nottingham Station cycling issues and Open meeting with Station Manager (13 May)
•	Strelley Road (Helston Drive – Drewy Road) road safety proposals (16 May)
•	Marchwood Close, Old Radford, Traffic Regulation Order (by 29 May)
•	Nottingham Road (between Ring Road and Haydn Road) (by 30 May)
•	Items for proposed (11 June) Notts CC Highways South Cycle Working Group meeting
•	Feedback on new South Notts cycle map
•	Ruddington Fields Business Park proposed cycling improvements: A60 access and link to and from Ruddington Village
•	Signing for cycle routes through Gamston area between West Bridgford and Grantham Canal
•	Rushcliffe Borough Council planning application consultations including:-
•	Bovis housing: Land at Sharphill to E and W of Melton Road, Edwalton (by 27 May)
•	Tollerton Airport proposed housing development (by 27 May)
•	Stragglethorpe Road, Cotgrave, housing development (by 27 May)
•	Housing development S and E of Hollygate Lane, Cotgrave (by 27 May)

8. Miscellaneous items
•	Possible need to change our meeting venue
•	Pedal bike maintenance and crime prevention programme (Salim Aroussi)
•	Proposed BBC Radio 5 Live Interview on the Workplace Parking Levy
•	Dates of my absence cycling in France (Friday 23 May – Sunday 1 June)

9. Any other business

BACKGROUND NOTES
* means feedback especially wanted please
** means help please!

1.	Welcome and apologies

Apologies for absence from
Mara Ozolins, John Wilson, Peter Osborne and Andrew Martin.

2. Discussion with John Lee, Senior Rights of Way Officer, Nottingham City Council on the City Rights of Way Improvement Plans and the result of the recent off-road barriers trial, (7.30-8.30 p.m, approx.)

John was very sorry that a sudden bout of illness meant that he had to leave work suddenly and was not well enough to come last month. As I had received no reply to my invitation for this month’s meeting to Cllr. Jane Urquhart, the new City Council Portfolio Holder for Transport etc, I suggested to John that he come along this month instead to a Powerpoint presentation, followed by discussion.

(10-minute break)

3. Minutes of the Pedals Meeting held on 21 April 2008 at The Globe PH

Present: Hugh McClintock, Peter Osborne, David Miller, Susan Young, Chris Gardner, Terry Scott, John Bannister, Arthur Williams, Roger Codling, Elizabeth Kirk, Dave Clark, Andrew Househan and Murat Basaran.

Apologies for absence from
Mara Ozolins, John Wilson, Peter Osborne, Alison Russell and Karina Wells.

Discussion with Murat Basaran, Project Officer for the PCT/Cycling England ‘Get Cycling Nottingham’ Project

As our other speaker, John Lee, was unable to attend because of his sudden illness, the opportunity was taken to extend the discussion with Murat after his introduction and this provided a very useful opportunity for views to be exchanged, particularly with regard to tips for Murat on how to achieve his goals for using the Nottingham PCT Travel Plan to increase cycling by staff.

Matters arising from minutes of the 17 March meeting

Newsletter print run:
Agreed to keep to current copy run (500 copies, at £590)

Hugh reported that he had just learnt that Nelsons had decided, after a review of all their sponsorship activities not to renew their support for Pedals which had started in 2005 and which had helped us to do much to improve the quality of the newsletter. It was agreed that the issue about to go to press should go ahead with the same 20-length as planned while we took time to 
consider more carefully the implications of this unexpected letter before the next issue was due to go to press in September.  Meanwhile, Hugh agreed to write to Nelsons to thank for their support.

Options included a) finding another sponsor, b) cutting back the length of each issue, c) making new printing arrangements, d) using some of our accumulated publications reserve fund to continue with the same length issue for the time being, while allowing more time to assess the effects of the recent subs income, our attempts to renew contact with lost members and also changes in our general income and expenditure pattern.

Possible new sponsor for newsletter – message of 22 May from Helen Clayton, The Big Wheel:
“From: Helen Clayton 
To: Hugh McClintock (Dell) 
Sent: Monday, April 28, 2008 3:34 PM
Subject: FW: Pedals newsletter sponsorship

“Hello Hugh, 
I am still thinking about potential sponsors, but in the meantime myself and Gary have had a quick chat about whether we could work more closely with you on a commercial footing, perhaps on the basis of taking space in the publication for a small cost – possibly £50 each (for both Ridewise and Big Wheel) per occasion – a few times a year?
Helen”

Meeting with Cllr. Karrar Khan (Rushcliffe Borough Council) on 29 April to receive cheque from RBC for £100 from Pedals, and subsequent message to Helen Clayton and Gary Smerdon-White:
“Gary / Helen 
I had a very useful meeting this afternoon with Councillor Karrar Khan of Rushcliffe Borough Council to be photographed receiving a cheque for £100 for Pedals which he had recommended we receive under the scheme Rushcliffe BC have for councillors to make donations to local organisations, for which we are very grateful.
 
We also had time for a very useful discussion, at some length, about the situation regarding promotion of cycling by Rushcliffe Borough Council, which for so long was very supportive, up until about 2-3 years ago, and how this could now be revived, both in terms of initiatives by Rushcliffe BC itself and acting in close cooperation with the County Council, City Council, Highways Agency and other organisations including Pedals, Ridewise and The Big Wheel.
 
I mentioned several examples of ideas from the long Pedals 'wish list' for Rushcliffe, prepared last year at the request of Paul Hillier of the County Council, where the Borough's role in progressing these was of particular importance, in addition to ensuring that cycling was fully considered as an integral part of any (major) transport, planning and housing schemes locally as well as featuring strongly in local health promotion initiatives. I also mentioned our more recent specific wish list for improving cycle access to and from Ruddington Fields Business Park and the forthcoming Cycling Fair on 19 June at the Rushcliffe Country Park Education Centre nearby in Bike Week, being arranged by Claire Fleming.
 
I included some references to The Big Track and its future expansion potential, not just in terms of further extensions and upgrading schemes on both banks of the Trent, and new cycle/pedestrian bridge crossings, but also in terms of feeder/loop routes, e.g. along Fairham Brook between Ruddington and Clifton to and from Rushcliffe Country Park (as well as towards Gotham etc.) Karrar agreed that this would be well worth pursuing and he asked me for copies of relevant literature. I will drop in various things to him, including the new County Council South Notts Cycle map, to give him further background information for a wider meeting, involving me as well, which he is keen to arrange to take this further. In the meantime it would also be useful if you could please send him some copies of The Big Track booklet and keep him informed of discussions about future Big Track and related development plans/ideas. His address is Cllr. Karrar Khan, 176 Melton Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2.
Thanks, Hugh”

Rural rides brochure error:
Andrew Martin had pointed out the new Rural Rides brochure referred to Pedals celebrating 27 years and not 29 years of existence and it was agreed that Hugh should write to Peter Jarman at Notts CC to point this out.

Roundhill School cycling event, 12 April
Andrew Martin asked if there were any photos of the Pedals stalls which we could get copies of and Hugh agreed to find out from Adrian Pugh, the main organiser.

Maid Marian Way / Castlegate toucan crossing proposed changes:
These were welcome with the following provisos to be put by Hugh to the City Council a) remove the dog-leg movements for cyclists, b) do more to slow down approaching motor vehicles and b) introduce an anti-skid surface downhill as well as uphill.

King Street / Queen Street ‘Speakers’ corner area / Brian Clough Statue area environmental improvement proposals:
These were broadly welcomed including the extra cycle stands.

Cycling on pavements and other enforcement issues
Andrew Martin raised the case of a new cyclist in the Carlton area who had taken to riding on the pavement when the cycle path ran out but who then had been fined by a Police Community Support Officer. It was agreed that it was important that we clarified what discretion was being used by the Police, and PCSOs, in using these new powers. Hugh agreed to raise this in the proposed general discussion on enforcement issues at the next Greater Nottingham Cycling Development Meeting on 20 May (postponed from the last meeting in March which was devoted to the Cycling Town project bid).

Future meetings

Agreed to keep the August meeting fairly informal with the minimum of business, although, Hugh pointed out, even over the ‘quiet summer break’ some business had a habit of needing urgent attention like, last year, the public consultation over the City Council’s proposed Workplace Parking Levy.

Hugh said that he would be in only sporadic (at most!) email contact during his absence in Central Asia from 18 July to 31 August and that it was unlikely that any agenda would be sent out for the August meeting, unless anyone else took this on! 

At the June meeting we could discuss arrangements for handling business in his absence, during which email contact would be at best only very sporadic!

Finance

Susan Young explained that the news of the ending of Nelsons sponsorship for the newsletter was a further blow to our finances on top of all the problems with the loss of membership income and declining publication sales. She also thought that the glossy appearance of our newsletter might appear to conceal from some people the precarious position we were now in. It was very important to do more to boost membership, e.g. by having a good turnout with stalls at various events. Hugh said that we would soon need more membership forms printed to enable us to do this.

It was agreed in July to review sales of the City County Forest books with a view to cutting the discount price at stalls from £7.50 to £5, to encourage a quicker clear-out of our stocks of this increasingly dated publication (second edition came out in late 2004).

Andrew Martin proposed that we have a special subgroup meeting on finance later in the summer.

Andrew also pointed out that the Cycle Inn in Beeston should be added to the list of local cycle shops offering discounts to Pedals members on production of their membership cards. Hugh agreed to publicise this in the newsletter and on the website.

Green Fair, Ladybay, Sat. 10 April
Dave Clark offered to take along the Pedals stall and Hugh said he would get Philippa Brown to provide more details to Dave.

Company of Cyclists event, Nottingham Racecourse, 25-26 May
Hugh said he would be away then, cycling in France, but the following people said they should be able to help out with the joint Pedals / Ridewise / Sustrans stall, being coordinated by Peter Osborne:-
Susan Young (Monday), Chris Gardner (Sun), Andrew Martin, Liz Kirk, Dave Clark, Andrew Househan. It was understood that entry was free for people helping at stalls. Details to be discussed at the May meeting, along with other stalls/displays in the following month.

Gotham Gala, 29 June
Dave Clark mentioned this as another event to which we could take our stall.

New South Notts cycle maps
Hugh said that these should be out in just a few days and that he would be getting a large supply to use both to send out to members with the next newsletter (along with the two new City maps) and to use on stalls etc.

Update:-

Cycling Towns project bid to Cycling England – update of 7 May from Keith Morgan, City Council:
“Dear All,
I am pleased to announce that following our bid to become a Cycle
Demonstration Town we have been short listed to progress to the interview
stage. The Nottingham City bid has been selected from 74 bids from around
the country.

The bid was made to Cycling England following their announcement in February
that they wish to create ten cycling towns and one cycling city. The
bidding process is the next step in developing their Cycling Town
initiative. This follows the creation of six initial Cycling Demonstration
Towns a few years ago.

We feel that we have a strong bid and hope that the interviewers recognise
this when the next stage in the selection process takes place in Birmingham
at the end of this month. The final announcement of the successful towns
and cities will be made by the Transport Minister in the week of either 9th
June or 16th June.
Kind Regards, Keith Morgan
Transport Strategy”

New advance stop lines on Haydn Road – email of 16 April from Andrew Martin:
“I would like to mention that the City Council has recently had painted some 
advance stop lines on Haydn Road. I feel the Council has missed an opportunity, 
by repainting the original two lanes for traffic with a cycle box in front. 
However, cyclists are likely to arrive at the junction behind motor traffic and 
cannot actually access the box. I wonder why the Council didn't create a 
sensible feeder lane either by the kerb or between the two lanes?

Yours in hope for sensible facilities!!!
Andrew

Response from Steve Brewer of 23 April to email from Andrew Martin re Cyclist Exemption at Banned Turns
“Andrew
Thank you for your email dated 17th April 2008 which has been passed to me for comment.
 
The needs of all road users, particularly vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, the young and the elderly, should be considered as part of all transport projects undertaken by the City Council. This appears not to be the case in the examples you have given at Alfreton Road / Gregory Boulevard and Nottingham Road / Valley Road. I will raise this issue with the engineers responsible for these junctions.
 
The national (and local) policy with respect to exemptions for cyclists is set by Cycling England, who are charged by the Government to deliver programmes that encourage more people to cycle more safely and more often, and states ‘Cyclists should generally be exempt from banned turning movements unless specific safety concerns dictate otherwise. The order giving effect to the ban will need to exempt cyclists. An ‘Except cycles’ plate should be placed underneath the appropriate regulatory sign. It may be necessary to provide traffic islands with bollards accompanied by appropriate road markings and signs to protect cyclists waiting to make the turning manoeuvre’. In view of this there is no reason why exemptions for cyclists should not be considered at junctions throughout the city particularly where the City Council is developing new schemes.
 
In the meantime if there are any specific sites at which cyclists would benefit from an exemption from a banned manoeuvre please forward me the details.
 
Thank you again for your interest in this matter.
Steve Brewer
Sustainable Transport Officer
Environment and Regeneration | Nottingham City Council | Lawrence House | Talbot Street | NOTTINGHAM | NG1 5NT | U.K.
(tel +44 115 91 56596 | fax +44 115 91 56150 | 

…Original email from Andrew Martin (17 April):
“Hugh
There have been recent changes to various junction layouts within the City 
boundary e.g. right-turn bans. Some junctions specify 'Except Buses' e.g. turning 
right from Alfreton Road onto Gregory Boulevard. Other junctions ban all 
vehicles from turning right (e.g. right-turn ban heading North at Nottingham Road 
junction with Valley Road).

I appreciate that in some instances these recent changes have been made in 
response to numerous road traffic collisions e.g. Nottingham Road junction with 
Valley Road. However, I wonder if the staff at Nottingham City Council 
responsible for this project, fully appreciate the needs of cyclists. For 
example, cyclists are generally allowed to use Bus Lanes, so why not some right-
turns?
Andrew”

Maid Marian Way toucan improvements - Road safety improvements (TS.RS/JW/ADC1721/FormalConsultation) – response from Jennifer Williams (City Council) to my comments based on our discussion at the last meeting:
“Dear Hugh,
Thank you for your reply.

Anti skid surfacing has been applied on the southbound carriageway as part of the road safety proposals.  The northbound approach to the crossing has much less heavy braking and was in a much better state compared to the southbound approach and so, it was not seen as cost effective to reapply.

The only other measures of effectively reducing speed without vertical features were changes to the signal timings (which we are implementing) and also moving the stop line on the southbound crossing to 3m away from the stud markings instead of the existing 1m distance to give a greater braking distance to vehicles; and this is being implemented as part of the road safety scheme.  Speed calming features, especially vertical features were discouraged by many in early consultation because of the effect if would have on capacity on this busy route.

Initially, I wanted a straight across Toucan at this point so that it made the route easier for pedestrians and cyclists and then we would not need the pedestrian guard railing.  Unfortunately after discussions with the Traffic Signal team it was not seen as possible because of the narrow width of the central reservation at this point and the negative effect it would have on capacity.  Removal of pedestrian guard rail at this site is not something we would be in favour in at this particular crossing, with the number of carriageway lanes, the slope of the road and the narrow width of the central reservation.  The existing “lap over” crossing with the barrier rail is the best option at this time.

We will monitor the effect these road safety changes will have at this crossing if there is a negative change were accidents increase we will re-investigate at this site.

Thank you again for you comments.
Kind regards, Jen
Jennifer Williams
Nottingham City Council
Senior Officer | Accident Investigation
Environment & Regeneration | Traffic & Parking | Lawrence House | Talbot Street | Nottingham | NG1 5NT
Tel_ (0115) 915 6544
Fax_(0115) 915 6550

University Boulevard, near South Entrance – message of 7 May from Angela Gilbert:
“Dear Hugh,
I was delighted to see last week that the area we have discussed on many occasions, on the north side of the cycle path adjacent to the University South Entrance on the Beeston side, is now extended, asphalted, and cycle-friendly.
Many thanks for your persistence.
Best wishes, Angie
Angela Gilbert.  
PA to Professor Andy Collop, Head of the School of Civil Engineering,
Nottingham Transportation Engineering Centre, 
University of Nottingham,  
University Park,
Nottingham NG7 2RD. 
Tel: 0115 951 3953,
Fax: 0115 951 3909,
E-mail: Angela.gilbert@nottingham.ac.uk.

Donation from Rushcliffe Borough Council via Cllr. Karrar Khan
Cllr. Karrar Khan from Rushcliffe BC invited me round to be photographed receiving the cheque for Pedals which he had very kindly recommended that we be paid under their scheme for donations to groups recommended by local councillors. He was very interested in our activities and we spend sometime discussing these and how Rushcliffe’s commitment to cycling could be regenerated.

When passing the cheque on to Susan I asked if she could please write and thank them formally for this donation.

Membership and PayPal option – my exchange of messages with Larry Neylon (6 May)
“Hi Hugh,
Part of my job is implementing online payment systems for large companies
(including PayPal) so I'm fairly confident that I can sort this out for
Pedals.

The only reason I think we should be pushing this is that I think we are
missing out on new membership opportunities by having people send cheques
off, etc, when most people are happier paying online.

I'd say let's just get it setup in its simplest form using the
pedalsmemb@aol.com e-mail address so payment confirmations, etc go to that
address.  It's only then that we will find out if people want to actually
use it to pay.
Regards, Larry.

-----Original Message-----
From: Hugh McClintock (Dell) [mailto:Hugh.McClintock@ntlworld.com] 
Sent: 06 May 2008 16:52
To: lneylon@ntlworld.com
Cc: Peter Osborne; Arthur Williams; MembershipPedals; Susan Young; Andrew
Martin
Subject: Re: [Website Enquiries] Membership and PayPal option

Larry
Thanks for your further message about this.

When we last discussed it at a Pedals monthly meeting (at the AGM in March, 
I think it was) the feeling seem to be that we should indeed consider this 
but only after we had got more advice from people with more experience of 
using PayPal. I think it is most important that Susan as Treasurer and Chris

as Membership Secretary feel quite happy with this before we definitely go 
ahead so I am happy to leave the final decision on this to them.

Another relevant consideration in our decision is that the PayPal payment 
option is now the preferred way of getting people to pay for attending the 
twice-yearly cycle campaigners conferences (CTC/CCN) such as the one which 
Andrew Martin and I are going to in Cambridge on Saturday and that Pedals 
has offered in principle to host the one likely to take place in November 
2009. If we are going to have to have PayPal in place for that we might want
to adopt it for general membership subs purposes well before then, once the 
key people are generally happy with it.
Hugh

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <lneylon@ntlworld.com>
To: "Hugh McClintock (Dell)" <Hugh.McClintock@ntlworld.com>
Cc: "MembershipPedals" <pedalsmemb@aol.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 4:16 PM
Subject: Re: Re: [Website Enquiries] Membership

> Hi Hugh,
> I still think we should be able to offer a pay online with PayPal option to people. Have you heard any more about where we are with this?
>
> I'm still happy to use my PayPal account for now and transfer any funds over to the Pedals account.  Hopefully we've worked on this for long enough for you to trust that this would happen.
>
> If we are happy that is works and people are willing to use it then we can setup a proper Pedals PayPal account then.
> Regards, Larry.

…PS comments from Chris Gardner (7 May):
“Larry,
One of my main concern with this was that it would something else for me to manage but if you can make it pain free for me then it's a yes do it.
Chris”

…comments on this from Larry (7 May):
“Hi Chris,
Might have to forward me a few e-mails sent to pedelsmemb@aol.com to me
whilst I set it up, but once setup should be less hassle than cheques, etc.

When someone pays to join you will get an e-mail from PayPal and that will
contain how much they have paid and their address.

The money will then sit in the PayPal account until you withdraw it to a
bank account (the pedals account).  It's free to transfer to the bank
account for £50+ and 25p for less than £50.

I'll set this up now, so can you forward any e-mails from PayPal to me.
Cheers, Larry.”

…and from Susan Young (7 May):
“Like Chris, I am concerned about any extra work and the registration did not look very friendly with regard to small groups like ours. As Larry is keen and willing to start us off, let’s look as it as a pilot, see how it works and reassess in light of usage. The enquiries I made were not very positive but it seems that some have gone into electronic payment like us, having little experience.
 
Many thanks to Larry and I hope all is well with the baby. 
Susan”

PS. The PayPal option is now up and running, so please encourage people to make use of it!**

New supply of membership forms
I have asked Dave Miller to arrange a reprint asap.

Pedals stalls at events:

Message from Dave Clark (8 May) re Green Festival (25 May)
“Hi I have just rang up to the green festival and they seem keen to have pedals stall there. I am willing to help out on that day which is 25th may then come to the event on monday at colwick...... As we have three displays we could do this...? i will bring this up at the meeting on 19th may.
dave clark”

PS. This seems a surprising change of policy by the Green Festival organisers after many years of insisting that Pedals was not welcome because of several past incidents of friction between them and the people setting up/running our stalls. Andrew Martin has been working hard behind the scenes to mediate and this, I imagine, reflects his painstaking efforts!

Since this event now takes place over the Spring Bank Holiday getting volunteers to run a stall may anyway be very difficult, however, especially with the clash we have on that day this year with the Company of Cyclists event at the Racecourse (see below).

Gresham Park (West Bridgford) cycle route barriers
At long last I gather that the gaps in the two lots of substandard barriers on the new cycle paths off Gresham Way have been widened. However, David Litchfield informs me that nearby there is a problem with a lack of flush kerbs where the new path parallel to Wilford Lane, between Bede ling and Gresham Way, joins Gresham Way. I have passed this comment on to Paul Hillier at Notts CC.

Report of the 1 May ‘Get Cycling Nottingham’ Project Steering Committee meeting
Much of this was taken up with discussion about ways of getting all the health trainers fully supportive of the need to promote Ridewise cycle training as an integral part of their work.

There were also references to the need to develop a bike buddy scheme in Nottingham PCT, and, in due course, to give renewed consideration to a local bike recycling scheme, both of which would be of much benefit to developing the project.

The next meeting is on 19 June which I shall also be attending.

Report of Sat. 10 May: CTC/CCN Spring Campaigners’ Conference, Cambridge.
Andrew Martin and I attended this very well-organised and attended event on Sat. 10 May, hosted by the Cambridge Cycling Campaign and included a lunchtime general meeting of the Cycle Campaigns Network (of which Andrew is a board member). 

This included a presentation on the future of the CCN by Rod King of the Warrington Cycling Campaign and a recommendation that CCN’s name be changed to ‘Cyclenation’. I will bring to our meetings copies of the report giving more details of the proposed changes and priorities.

The interesting talks included:-
•	Tom Bogdanowicz from the London Cycling Campaign on the likely changes for cyclists etc. under the new Mayoral regime

•	Presentations from the Cambridge and Sheffield Cycling Campaigns on their growing use of technology in their campaigning work including:-
o	CCC’s excellent work on interactive cycle mapping, complete with photo description of points en route (presented by Martin Nuttall-Smith, their coordinator). They also have 3-tiers of regular email communication, for Exec members, all members and a more selective group, as well as very full printed newsletters every 2 months. They now have almost 1000 members and hope soy on to get funding for a 3-year full-time worker.
o	A presentation by Simon Geller of SCC on new ways of communicating with their members including Google calendar, a special Facebook, and e-publishing

Philip Darnton, Chairman of Cycling England, presented the prizes for the awards for best new campaign group posters, on which those present had a chance to vote during the morning, as well as giving another inspiring presentation. In this he said that there really was a great deal of growing interest in cycling and thanked all those present (including many who have been involved in campaigning for many years) for all their efforts in helping to bring this about!

The afternoon including several workshops:
•	Martin Nuthall-Smith of the Cambridge Cycle Campaign on further developments in online cycle mapping
•	Will Bramhill of the Colchester Cycling Campaign, and a journalist, on using the media effectively
•	By someone from the organisation now handling Bike Week publicity in how to use that opportunity properly.
•	David Erl of CCC on dealing with membership issues.

Andre Curtis, Chair of CCN, appealed for other groups to host the twice-yearly meetings and mentioned our offer to host one in late 2009.

4. Pedals newsletter: comments on recent issue, and future size and arrangements

Feedback on Spring /summer issue
much welcomed please!*

Copies to all members who pay by standing order, along with the 3 new cycle maps, have now been sent out. Copies for members needing a subs renewal reminder (c100) will follow soon, after we have got copies of membership forms that Chris would like to enclose with them.

Last time we sent out a newsletter, in February, we had addresses for only 120 members. This time we had details for about 180, something not so very far off the total number of members we think we had this time a year ago when Dave Morris last updated the records.

Getting the information to fill the gaps reflects a huge amount of effort by Chris Gardner, for which we should be very grateful but also vital contributions from Stuart Greenfield (Membership Sec before Dave Morris) and Howard Gill (husband of Sarah Gill, who had that job for most of the 1990s). Stuart mentioned to recover a copy of the 2003 details from the hard drive of his old PC and Howard managed to convert the information on his discs into readable format for Chris to include in his database. This has helped in particular to provide mail addresses for most of the members paying by standing order, although we realise that some of these may by now have changed.

The main thing we still lack is details of all the people who joined between last May and when Chris took over from Dave Morris in November. We are still open to ideas please on how to track these down!**

Newsletter printing quotes – message of 8 May from Dave Clark:
“Dear hugh, I had a quote from eagle press and for 400 copies at £306, 500 at £333, in black and white, for £20 more in colour, for twenty pages. I have sent him a letter and said that you get the print done in word and the pictures done in jpeg, he did say that he is willing to do the art work; i am waiting for his reply.
dave clark”

PS. Helen Clayton of The Big Wheel has said that they may be able to make some agreement with us for minor commercial sponsorship for the newsletter. We can discuss this further when she comes along to the Pedals meeting in June.

Whatever the outcome of this we are likely to have to make a big cut in the size of each issue, from 20 pages to 12 or even 8 pages. This means that we will have room for only fairly short articles and items and that any longer / fuller ones will just have to be put on the website, as I did recently, for example with Matt Jones 3-page article on reducing cycle theft, which he submitted for the issue which has just come out.

We will also need please to find someone willing to redesign our masthead for the front page of the newsletter to omit the reference to Nelsons, as well as including a revised logo. Any offers, please?**

5.	Forthcoming events  meetings

a) Pedals stalls events

Sun 25 and Mon 26 May: Company of Cyclists ‘Get Cycling’ Event, Racecourse, (joint stall with Ridewise and Sustrans)
The following people have said they should be able to help out with the joint Pedals / Ridewise / Sustrans stall, being coordinated by Peter Osborne:-
Susan Young (Monday), Chris Gardner (Sun), Andrew Martin, Liz Kirk, Dave Clark, Andrew Househan. I gather that entry was free for people helping at stalls. I am still awaiting details of the space and location for our stall.

On Tuesday 13 May I had an urgent appeal from Jim McGurn of the Company of Cyclists for help in distributing leaflets for this event, as their other arrangements have fallen through. Chris Gardner and I hope to include some flyers with the newsletter stuffing and Chris thinks that we should offer at the meeting to divide up distributing the other 4700 they want help with, in return for £100 donation to Pedals funds.**

25 May: Nottingham Green Festival

West Bridgford Summer Gathering, Bridgford Park, Sat. 7 June, organised by Karina Wells:
We agreed some time ago to have a stall at this event, for which there is now a website: www.wbsummergathering.blogspot.com

Bike Week, 14-22 June and Bike Week pack (and see: http://bikeweek.limelightinteractive.com/index.php)
I have been sent another copy of the Bike Week Organisers’ pack which I will bring to the meeting.

(arrangements for the stalls at events below can be finalised at our next meeting)

Wed 18 June Wheelie Good Cyclists’ Breakfast, Old Market Square

Thurs. 19 June: Ruddington Fields Business Park Transport Group cycling event, Education Centre, Rushcliffe Country Park including information stalls between 12-2.

Gotham Gala, Sunday 29 June

Sat. 12 July: Beeston Fair, Broadgate Park, Beeston

b) other meetings / events

Notts. CC Climate Change Conference, Newstead, 19 May (10- 4p.m.)
I will give a verbal report back at our meeting.

Presentation to Erewash Borough Council Transport Group, Long Eaton Town Hall, Tuesday 3 June.
Outside our Greater Nottingham area of operation, I know, but I have been asked, through Councillor Phillip Owen of Erewash Borough Council to do a presentation about cycling to some of their councillors, followed by a discussion. This will also involve Mike Madin, National Director of the Sustrans Bike It Project who lives nearby in Borrowash.

Welcoming Diversity and Prejudice Reduction Workshop, Thursday 26 June 2008.
Susan Young has sent me details of this workshop, being organised by Celestine Babia, NCBI Nottinghamshire, All Souls Community Centre, Ilkeston Road, Radford, Nottingham

Let me know if anyone wants to go and I will forward the details.**

6. Finance

Susan Young to report.

giving free membership forms as raffle prizes – message of 1 May from Dave Clark and my response:
“Dave
Thanks for this idea which you might wish to raise at the next meeting.

It has anyway been our practice for many years to give free membership until 
May for any one joining from January to April.

Moreover, because of the problems over the last year and not knowing which 
of the c70 members who do not pay by SO, had in fact renewed in response to 
the reminder last May, we have had to assume that all of them are paid up 
until the end of April. They will all now get a subs renewal reminder with 
the newsletter.
Hugh

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "david clark" <davidclark_71@hotmail.com>
To: <hugh.mcclintock@ntlworld.com>; "Susan Young" 
<susan.young@nottingham.ac.uk>; "chris garner" <chris.gardner@siemens.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 11:28 AM
Subject: giving free membership forms as raffle prizes eg at dunkirklenton 
fest

I HAD A THOUGHT TODAY, why don’t we give out some free membership forms to 
events that have raffles. this would help in our publicity - also if people 
who have joined in the past year since the dm problem could we not give them 
a free years membership, this would help keep good relations between pedals 
and future members.
dave clark

7. Cycle facility and traffic management matters:

Cattle Market Rd / London Rd junction improvements - response of 7 May to letter of 23 April (MTP/TJD/CMR_LR) from Tim Daggett, City Council (NB: deadline was 8 May, so no chance to discuss these first at our meeting):
“Tim
Many thanks for your letter of 23 April about the proposed Cattle Market Rd / London Rd junction improvements (ref. MTP/TJD/CMR_LR) which we welcome in principle. Ideally we would have preferred to see a scheme involving a direct continuation of the present cycle route east from the Bridgway Centre through the junction towards Cattle Market Road but we can appreciate the practical problems in taking this directly through the junction rather than via a dog-leg to the eastern section of Waterway Street and London Road as you propose.
 
We welcome the proposed Advance Stop Lines on London Road on the southbound approach to the Cattle Market Road junction, as well as on Cattle Market Road itself, and the proposed cycle lanes, but it would also be useful to have these on the northbound approach. 
 
Furthermore on the southbound approach it can be quite intimidating for cyclists wishing to ride straight on towards Trent Bridge having to watch out for motor vehicles turning left into Cattle Market Road. Doing this manoeuvre would be helped by having a cycle lane between the straight on and left only general traffic lanes or, if space does not permit this, then some other means of making drivers more aware of cyclists pulling out to go straight on.
 
It will also be important to provide clear warning to drivers of the possibility of cyclists entering and leaving the new Waterway Street two-way cycle link on the Meadows Way bend.
 
It is also essential that the cycle lanes and ASLs are well-maintained and well-enforced, to discourage driver abuse, unlike many other such facilities in Nottingham.
Hugh McClintock
Chairman, Pedals

Nottingham Station cycling issues: my message of 13 May 2008:
It seems that many cyclists were making comments when the Nottingham Station Manager, Lawrence Bowman, and his colleague held open house this morning at the station to gather comments from station users, so I was told when I turned up a bit before 8.30.
 
I took the opportunity to remind him about some of our particular concerns, both about the present situation about the need to ensure that cyclists benefit fully from the Station redevelopment plans, i.e.
 
- the need for short-term action to supplement the intensively used cycle stands in the Porte Cochere area, e.g. by replacing the group of cycle stands outside on the wide pavement on Carrington Street near the Queen's Road junction. These were taken out before the start of work on the recent Carrington Street bridge strengthening etc. scheme and have not been replaced.
 
- the need for more cycle stands on the platform (this is apparently already in hand)
 
- the need in the Station redevelopment plans not only for the very welcome new secure Bike Compound in the old Milk Dock area on Station Street but also to include good secure bike parking in a convenient and high profile location at the station concourse end of the ramp to the new multi-storey car park to be built on the south (Queen's Road) side of the junction
 
- the need to retain some cycle stands at the front of the station (in the Porte Cochere area) for use by people making short trips to the station, e.g. to make enquiries and to buy tickets etc.
 
Lawrence Bowman seemed very willing to listen to these points and to follow them up at some future date, as well as to ensure that Pedals is fully consulted about the details of the proposed Bike Compound.
Hugh”

….PS. Comments from Dave Holladay, CTC Public Transport Campaigner (13 May)
“Suggest a follow-through for a cyclists' specific session with soft 
> drinks and surveying cyclists passing through Porte Cochere on their 
> distance travelled (ask postcode the travel in from and postcode they 
> travel on to (by bike)
> 
> V successful session at Paddington last month  120 cyclists did detail 
> survey many more collected information and got bikes checked over 
> (afternoon session 15.30-19.00)
> 
> Nice idea for summer's evening.
> Dave

Strelley Road (Helston Drive – Drewy Road) road safety proposals (16 May)
Details at the meeting

Marchwood Close, Old Radford, Traffic Regulation Order (by 29 May)
Details at the meeting

Nottingham Road (between Ring Road and Haydn Road) (by 30 May)
Details at the meeting

NET Trams and risks for cyclists – extracts from my recent exchange of emails with Dr. Morvan Herve etc.:
“Morvan
Thanks for your comments.
 
I agree that Fletcher Gate gets more difficult for cyclists to cope with, the further up they go and particularly once you are well past the cycle lane alongside the tram tracks past the Broad Marsh Centre as far as Weekday Cross. Not only does it get that much steeper but the pinchpoint on the approach to the tram stop can indeed be quite problematic, depending what other traffic, especially buses and trams, are around.
 
For very many years, and in fact well before the tram was introduced, Pedals has been trying to get clear, safe and well-signed routes for cyclists across the city centre, in both south-north-south and east-west-east directions but progress has been extremely slow, for several reasons and this has complicated the problems for cyclists riding through the Lace Market tram stop etc.. 
 
Just as a route for cyclists away from the tram tracks was developed (with much Pedals input), and signed, in the Hyson Green / Forest Fields area, we had hoped that the same would be done in the City Centre. However, in the case of northbound cyclist it still has not been done. We had made many suggestions e.g. enabling cyclists to turn right (via a 'jug-handle' indirect turn) on to High Pavement etc, but in each case there seemed to be some problems with implementing the suggestion. Recently, the City Council have been talking about routing cyclists via Pilcher Gate etc. but progress even in implementing this signing scheme (via quiet roads in the Lace Market etc.) continues to be very slow!
 
The situation is indeed rather better for southbound cyclists, with an easier legal route down through the Lace Market towards Weekday Cross and then a cyclist bypass facility alongside the new CCAN building and a right angled cycle crossing of the tram tracks on the access to the tram viaduct. This is not ideal, for several reasons, including lack of space on much of the edge (former footway only) of the viaduct by the CCAN site, and concerns about intrusive signs and markings making it relatively inconspicuous, but does at least offer some alternative for cyclist worried about slipping on the acute-angled crossing of tram tracks by the tram viaduct access. As part of the Broad Marsh redevelopment changes, and its extension across the tram line to include the new bus/tram interchange, all traffic south of Weekday Cross is due to be switched to the other side of the CCAN building, towards Canal Street, and this may give the opportunity for a rather wider cycle bypass facility alongside, we hope.
 
On the new extension lines, as I emphasised at the NET Extension Public Inquiry last autumn we certainly see the Beeston / Chilwell High Road is being the most difficult area to get a really satisfactory solution for cyclists, with mostly no space on that stretch for cycle lanes alongside and no practical nearby alternative routes using back streets etc. Other complications include the need to allow for loading bays, bus stops and the two tram stops proposed in that area.
Hugh”

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Morvan Herve 
To: Cllr. Chris Baron 
Cc: Hugh McClintock (Dell) ; Dave Holladay (CTC) 
Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 4:45 PM
Subject: RE: Nottingham Tram and cycling - further incident involving cyclist slipping on tram tracks

Dear sir,
Many thanks for your response.
 
When going "up" Fletcher Gate I cannot think of any "escape route" to avoid the pinch point at the top of the hill created by the tram stop. It is quite dangerous. Furthermore if a bus or a tram stops in front of the cyclist, they would have to go around the vehicle (some vehicles stop for long periods at this stop). I am a very experienced cyclist and fell there with 1.5'' tyres when my wheel slipped in the rail groove.
 
[On the way down, I believe there's a cycle way, to cut the rail at perpendicular angle I believe, which forces cyclist off the road and for them to stop to give way to other road users before being able to cross, which is not always easy. I think my friend fell before reaching that point though.]
 
My general concern is that such pinch points and close proximity between rail and pavement are not created again on the new proposed line, in particular in Chilwell/Beeston for example which has narrow streets, which would be disastrous for people cycling across the town. The centre of Beeston is used by many commuters and club cyclists alike.
Yours,
Dr HP Morvan
The University of Nottingham
NG7 2RD Nottingham

From: Chris Baron [mailto:cllr.chris.baron@nottscc.gov.uk] 
Sent: 13 May 2008 15:41
To: Morvan Herve
Cc: Andy Holdstock; Chris Carter; Dave Holladay (CTC); Cllr. Emma Dewinton; Gareth Coles; Gary Smerdon-White; Hugh McClintock (Dell); Martin Rich; Nazia Tanveer; Pat Armstrong; Paul Hillier; Stan Heptinstall; Steve Hunt; Steve Barber; Stewart Thompson; Tony Ward; Dave Holladay (Tramsol)
Subject: RE: Nottingham Tram and cycling - further incident involving cyclist slipping on tram tracks
Thank you for the information. 

If I recall there has been several accidents at this location, and previous reports stated that the cycle ways had been diverted to reduce this problem. 

Obviously with little satisfaction. 

PAT -  I think we need to agenda this item at the next meeting please. 

Many thanks 
Cllr. CHRIS. J. BARON.
Chairman of Greater Nottingham Light Rapid Transit Committee
Member for Hucknall Division
Nottinghamshire County Council
cllr.chris.baron@nottscc.gov.uk
0115 977 3203
07831 470271
…my further message to Cllr. Chris Baron of 13 May:
“Chris
The recent exchange of correspondence with Dr. Herve Morvan on the topic of cyclists' safety and the NET remind me of the need to track down the results of the only systematic survey that has been done of cyclists' experiences of the NET (and other more recent UK tram systems, e.g. Sheffield and Manchester). This is the study carried out late last year by the MVA Consultancy on 'Interface of Bikes and Trams'. It was commissioned by Transport for London to help them in their detailed planning of the Cross-River tram route between Camden, King's Cross/St Pancras and Waterloo/Southwark (a project now, incidentally, under threat, I gather, since the recent change of Mayor). 
 
That study included surveys of the views of cyclists in Nottingham and the other case study areas, and we encouraged Pedals activists to respond. I mentioned the survey at one of the Greater Nottm LRT Advisory Committee meetings last autumn, you may recall, and commented that it would be very useful if we could get TfL to make the results available to us, to assist in detailed planning of the future NET lines.  

Do you know if this was ever followed up and if so could this please now be done before the next meeting of the GNLRT Advisory Committee which I believe is still fixed for 10 June? It could be a very useful way on shedding some useful light on this debate!
Hugh”

PS. Comments from Dave Holladay, CTC Public Transport Campaigner (13 May):
“A recent RAIB report on train derailment at Thetford 
http://www.raib.gov.uk/publications/investigation_reports/reports_2008/report112008.cfm 
prompts me to ask after any news of incidents and the effective 
reporting of same - we've been noticing the lack of reports in rail 
operating logs when cyclist have fallen and been injured (often lying 
across live rail lines until someone else lifted them clear  - but no 
record flags up the problem with the safety inspectors.  RAIB and ORR 
Railway Inspectorate are only interested if a large vehicle gets stuck - 
even when no train hits it.

Is the reporting in Nottingham suitably robust with a high level of 
confidence that this represents the actual level of risk?  Does it go to 
HSE or Stats 19 record or simply in the NET accident book?”
…message re the NET and cycle accidents from Andy Holdstock, NET Project Team, 14 May and my response:
“Andy
Thanks for your comments which I will report to the next Pedals meeting next Monday and meanwhile digest carefully.
 
One point however I will comment on now and that is Chilwell High Road. I certainly agree that cycling conditions on Chilwell Road now are far from ideal. However, to be fair, Dr Morvan is by no means the only person to have voiced concerns about what they fear as the likely worsened situation for cyclists from putting tram tracks on Chilwell Road. 
 
Despite the current problems people feel that at least now have you have the space to manoeuvre around the parked cars and vans without being worried that you will get your wheel stuck in the tram tracks whereas in future, even if there is less general traffic and there are no parked motor vehicles outside defined parking/loading bays, they fear that you will on much of that not have space to ride safely and comfortably alongside the Dynamic Kinetic Envelope of the tram. At and near the two tram stops planned on this stretch there will be particular problems in having to pull across the tram tracks and especially in wet or icy weather, of course.
 
As only short bits of cycle lane are currently proposed on this stretch, because of the lack of space and the need to accommodate parking/delivery bays etc, cyclists, it seems, will otherwise just to have to watch out for trams coming up behind them and be ready to pull in to wait for them where they can, e.g. in the mouths of minor road junctions or unused bits of parking bay etc.  The apparent lack of practicable and reasonably convenient alternative routes adds to these concerns, I know, especially for less confident cyclists who most need to be encouraged. 
 
Because of these concerns, expressed by many people, the implications for cyclists of the details of the future tram alignment on this stretch are probably more important to get right than on all of the rest of the two extension routes. We therefore look forward to further discussions on this, as you again indicate, in due course.
best wishes, Hugh”

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Andrew Holdstock 
To: 'Hugh McClintock (Dell)' 
Cc: 'Tony Ward' ; 'Martin Rich' ; 'Stan Heptinstall' ; 'Steve Barber' ; 'Dave Holladay (Tramsol)' ; 'Dave Holladay (CTC)' ; 'Cllr. Emma Dewinton' ; 'Nazia Tanveer' ; 'Cllr. Chris Baron' ; 'Gareth Coles' ; 'Paul Hillier' ; 'Chris Carter' ; 'Stewart Thompson' ; 'Steve Hunt' ; 'Moran Herve' ; 'Pat Armstrong' ; simon.legg@yahoo.co.uk ; nickmp@aol.com ; scott.talbot@nottinghamcity.gov.uk 
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 12:06 PM
Subject: RE: Nottingham Tram and cycling - further incident involving cyclist slipping on tram tracks [Scanned]

“Hugh
We were sorry to hear of the cycle accident on Fletcher Gate reported by Dr. Morvan and hope that his friend recovers fully from her fall.  We apologise for the delay in responding but wanted to ensure that the City Council’s Road Safety/Accident Investigation Team were given the opportunity to fully review this location and the circumstances of the accident.
 
The Road Safety Team has informed me that there has only been one reported cycle injury accident along Fletcher Gate in the last few years. This accident occurred in poor weather and caused a serious injury to the rider.  However, we are aware of other incidents, not formally reported, and concerns regarding this location have been seriously considered and Road Safety officers have studied the situation. 
 
Observations at Fletcher Gate confirm that cyclists have two basic choices - either to cycle between the kerb and track, or between the two rails, both of which are undertaken.  
 
Any cyclist travelling south (down hill) should be able to safely get between the tram lines. Once there they are unlikely to be holding traffic up so should feel relatively comfortable remaining there. For most cyclists, at the point where the tram leaves the main carriageway the angle of the tracks is sharp enough not to cause a problem.
 
Travelling downhill between the track and the kerb causes minor issues at the tram stop where the gap between the track and tram narrows to its minimum. Even here there is plenty of room, although cyclists may feel confined which could unnerve those with less experience, but no more than being overtaken by vehicles elsewhere during urban journeys.  Cyclists remaining between the kerb and track could get into difficulties where the tram leaves the main carriageway as the first track is at a shallow angle and could cause difficulties. This issue was addressed by the safety scheme a few years ago which gave cyclists the option of using the footway and crossing the tracks at a sharper angle.
 
Cyclists travelling north (up hill) are in a similar situation if travelling between the tracks although they may be holding up the traffic and feel more pressured.  However, a cycle lane provides some protection on the steeper section approaching Middle Pavement where the gradient reduces.
 
Observations showed no obvious problem for those travelling up hill between the kerb and the track until the tram stop. This is the same situation as for downhill and should not cause problems. Cyclists were observed on a variety of cycles, travelling in various positions in the road and crossing tracks at a shallow angle. None of them appeared to experience any more difficulties than a cyclist would encounter on a normal road.
 
The Road Safety officers conclude that while the tram tracks provide a possible contributory factor to the accident, this is no worse than factors caused by other traffic, street furniture (e.g. service covers) or road defects.  In fact, compared to other roads, the presence of the tram means there are fewer road defects and less street furniture in the carriageway. The tram may also have contributed to a reduction in the traffic levels.  Nonetheless, the Council has taken action to improve conditions through the provision of signs, markings and the alternative, downhill, short section of shared footway.
 
With regard to questions concerning the reporting of accidents by the tram operator it should be appreciated that the operator will only be aware of such incidents if a tram is present at the time or if the cyclist contacts them direct.  The number of these has been very small and in such cases the operator will inform the NET Team at the City Council with the information being passed on to the Accident Investigation Team.  The only other likely scenario is if the accident is very serious, requiring the tramway to be closed, in which case it will be reported to the police and appear on the Stats 19 records.  
 
In terms of NET Phase Two, as you are aware throughout the development of the NET Phase Two proposals the safety of cyclists has been taken into account with knowledge and experience from Line One and other tram systems.  From the outset, active and productive discussions have taken place between the NET Promoters and Pedals and, where reasonably practical, Pedals’ suggestions in respect of facilities for cyclists have been included in the proposals.  Commitments to consult Pedals in the further design stages of NET Phase Two were also given in the lead up to last year’s public inquiry and re-emphasised at the public inquiry.  
 
I would however question Dr Morvan's assertion that the current situation along Chilwell High Road is particularly 'cycling friendly'.  The presence of parked cars, turning vehicles and deliveries can cause unpredictable manoeuvres leading to difficulties and accidents, as reported by another regular cyclist.  The proposals for NET will include removing parked cars and delivery vehicles and putting them into lay-bys or other off-road facilities.
 
We are about to start the advanced design stage for NET Phase Two and will contact you once we have proposals that we can discuss with you.
 
In the meantime, I will report on this matter to the next meeting of the GNLRT Advisory Committee.
Regards
Andy Holdstock
NET Project Office
Environment and Regeneration
Lawrence House
Talbot Street
Nottingham NG1 5NT
Tel. 0115 9156520
Fax. 0115 9156092”

Ruddington Fields Business Park Travel Plan Group - ideas for improved cycle links to and from A60 and Ruddington Village etc. – exchange of messages of 30 April involving Chris Gardner, Peter Osborne and Paul Hillier, Notts CC:
“MY COMMENTS IN CAPITALS.  Regards - Peter
On Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:37:02 +0200 , "Gardner, Chris (NSN - GB/Nottingham)" <chris.gardner@nsn.com>  wrote:
>Paul, Hugh,
>    Please involve me in any talks on improving this junction as after having three near fatal misses here I have took to riding on the pavement mainly due to RLJ's coming from Flawforth lane towards Ruddington.
>Cars like jumping lights in this direction as the lights only seem to stay green for a short time. ON AVERAGE ONLY FIVE CARS CAN GET THROUGH IN THE ALLOTTED TIME - HENCE THE RED LIGHT JUMPERS. THE LIGHT NEEDS TO STAY GREEN FOR LONGER TO ALLOW MORE CARS THROUGH - THE QUEUES ALONG FLAWFORTH LANE CAN BE VERY LONG. The queuing cars on Flawforth lane create quite a hazard for cyclists in the morning too as they wait to turn left towards the business park because the road is narrow here and there is little opportunity for bikes to pass safely other than on the pavement. THE ROAD IS NOT WIDE ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE QUEUEING CARS AND CYCLISTS TRYING TO GET PAST. PAVEMENT CYCLING AROUND THE KIRK LANE JUNCTION IS DANGEROUS DUE TO THE LARGE NUMBER OF OBSTACLES SUCH AS LAMP POSTS AND ROAD SIGNS.
> 
>Also as the junction is currently designed to allow A60 North and South Bound traffic turning right to pass in front of each other it often means their view of cyclists is obscured, I can vouch for a near miss here too. MAYBE THERE SHOULD BE A RIGHT FILTER LIGHT INSTALLED. IN SIMPLE TERMS THIS JUNCTION CANNOT ACCOMMODATE THE PEAK TIME VOLUME OF TRAFFIC.
> 
>The traffic island for the business park and Kirk lane lights and have virtually negated the previous need to expand the junction at NK island, that cost some £million to do some years back as all the traffic is now backed up thru Bradmore to Bunny some 2 miles down the road. AGAIN - SHEER VOLUME OF TRAFFIC
> 
>Any ideas on how A60 is going to cope with the new business park between Bradmore and Bunny when it is completed? I see two more cars had a kiss and a cuddle there this morning. DON'T BUILD ANY CAR PARKS ON THE NEW BUSINESS PARK (EXCEPT FOR VISITORS). LIAISE WITH THE RUDDINGTON BUSINESS PARK TO PROVIDE A BUS SERVICE.
>cheers, Chris

..further comments from Chris Gardner (1 May):
“Thanks Pete, I had another look at the Flawforth lane side of the junction this morning and there is over 2m wide of grass verge to the North side that could perhaps be used to widen the road to accommodate both queuing cars and cyclists more comfortably. 

A further item on this point and one that frustrates drivers behind me into making dangerous passing moves is that when cars are queuing for so long and I turn right into Flawforth lane on my bike they have to wait for some distance before they can pass me safely.
Chris.

signing of cycle routes through Gamston from Grantham Canal – copy of my message of 8 May to Jarek Bien, Notts County Council:
“Jarek
I had yet another complaint recently about the poor signing of the cycle routes through Gamston to West Bridgford for people approaching from the Grantham Canal (Cotgrave direction).
 
Pedals has raised this on various occasions and some improvements were made a few years ago but it is still very easy for people to get lost, especially now with so many new short cut/path possibilities in Gamston to divert you from the main routes, unless you happen to have very good detailed local knowledge. I therefore thought I would check that you are fully aware of the importance of including this in your review of cycle route signing needs in the whole West Bridgford/Gamston/Gresham Park area. How is this generally progressing by the way? It seems a long time since we met early last autumn to discuss some of these needs.
best wishes, Hugh”

Items for proposed (11 June) Notts CC Highways South Cycle Working Group meeting
Further items welcome please. I still have no further news of the appointment of a new cycling officer at the County Council.

Feedback on new South Notts cycle map
Comments welcome please on Paul Rea’s latest map for the County Council, copies of which are being sent with the newsletter to all members.

Rushcliffe Borough Council planning application consultations including:-

Bovis housing: Land at Sharphill to E and W of Melton Road, Edwalton (by 27 May)

Details at the meeting

Tollerton Airport proposed housing development (by 27 May)

Details at the meeting after I have had a chance to peruse these plans.

Stragglethorpe Road, Cotgrave, housing development (by 27 May)

Details at the meeting after I have had a chance to peruse these plans.

Housing development S and E of Hollygate Lane, Cotgrave (by 27 May)

Details at the meeting after I have had a chance to peruse these plans.

8. Miscellaneous items

Possible need to change our meeting venue
John Wilson mentioned to me yesterday that he understands from the mother of the landlord of The Globe PH, whom he knows, that there are plans to demolish The Globe and replace it by a new pub, meaning that we may soon need to find a new venue again.

I have no other information on this but maybe we should seek confirmation from the pub if this is indeed the case and, if so, the timescale, so that we can start to consider other possibilities, hopefully with a bit more notice that we had the last time this happened, about 3 years ago.!

Pedal bike maintenance and crime prevention programme (email of 29 April from Salim Aroussi)
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Salim Aroussi 
To: Hugh.McClintock@ntlworld.com 
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 1:15 PM
Subject: PEDAL 

Hi, 
I very briefly spoke to you earlier on. As I said I have recently re-launched an alternative education project PEDAL, based around bike and bike maintenance. Attached is a more detailed information pack. At the moment it is running well and has huge potential as the young people engage well with the ethics in place. As I had mentioned I am trying to arrange for a group to do the coast to coast ride. To initiate the training programme (compiled by a volunteer rider who has previously represented the country), I would like to put a number of young people through a road proficiency test. I have been forwarded to Pedals being told of the enthusiasm and experience within. I hope that you can help this valuable project. There are many directions that this project can go and I would be very grateful for any ideas or support that can help steer me and the project in the right direction. 
Yours thankfully

Salim Aroussi
Pedal Youth Development Worker
07887542696

PS. Let me know if anyone wants more details (which I have in a Word file) and/or would like to visit the project.

Proposed BBC Radio 5 Live Interview on the Workplace Parking Levy
I was phoned and asked to be interviewed live on their programme on 13 May but in the end they rang back to say that they had run out of time after a long discussion on the previous item!

Dates of my absence cycling in France (Friday 23 May – Sunday 1 June)

Note that I am away on a cycling holiday in Provence from 23 May-1 June but also that I have to be away in London for most of the following day (2 June).

9. Any other business

Hugh, 15.5.08