Pedal Power
Issue 13
April 1995
More Cycle Tracks
Those of you who use the A6 to both the north and south of Loughborough town centre will have noticed "improvements" to the cycle facilities. To the south the cycle path now extends across the Great Central Railway bridge although the problem of a near blind corner at the cementary remains. On the whole though a useful enhancement.
To the north the pavements alongside the out of town stores (Texas etc) have been divided on both sides of the road to provide an "off road" option for cyclists. Here the traffic engineers seem to have gone mad with a series of ridges running along the track. I have been unable to work out what they are meant to do. I can only imagine they are meant to be placed across the line of travel as a form of traffic calming. Unfortunately one or two seem to be placed where cyclists may well be turning and I am not sure that they might not prove to be quite hazardous.
AGM - New Committee
The new committee consists very largely of the previous members, with Roger Hill joining for the first time. The officers, as required by the rules have vacated their positions where they have held office for 3 years and in most cases have swopped roles (see list overleaf). The additional committee members are Ariadne Tampion and Melanie Weston. Congratulations to Clive on his election as chairman.
Local Elections
No doubt many of you will be receiving canvassers for the local elections at your door. Please take the opportunity to question them as to their party's policy on transport and in particular their stance on cycling. Even better, go to any public meetings the parties are holding and ask a few questions on the subject.
Road accidents cost £8,000,000,000 per year
According to the RAC this is the cost of road accidents to the British tax payer (enough to build the Channel Tunnel Rail Link 3 times over) and this excludes the £5bn bill for accident repairs.
10 June NATIONAL BIKE WEEK
5 Mile challenge with Stephen Dorrell MP
A ride from Loughborough to Sileby picking up other cyclists at Quorn for a 5 mile circular ride via Sileby and Barrow.
HOVIS NATIONAL BIKE WEEK
HOVIS is sponsoring National Bike Week for the third successive year and has increased its support which has been matched by a grant from the government. The programme for Loughborough is set out above and we hope you will endeavour to support at least one of the events.
Probably the highest profile event will be the 5 mile HOVIS challenge ride which we hope to promote as a sponsorship opportunity. We will be suggesting SUSTRANS as a suitable charity, particularly as the ride along the proposed Dover to Inverness route will be passing through Loughborough around this time.
MINISTER SEES A GLIMMER OF LIGHT?
Brian Mawhinney, the Transport Secretary, whilst acknowledging there were good reasons for parents taking children to school by car, including safety, has questioned the need for this. He asked "If, in the long term we want less air pollution for all of us, including our children, should we be more ready to encourage them to walk or cycle to school rather than expect a lift, and how can we find ways to ensure their safety", adding that the ease of transport people took for granted "can have severe impacts on the lives of others and on the environment".
