On the 28th November 2013 Ely Cycling Campaign contacted East Cambs. District Council to ask permission to site the County owned Car Shaped Cycle Rack in the Paradise Car Park outside where the “temporary” Post Office had been put up.Tracey Harding at East Cambs. informed us that the area was now under the control of the Post Office, So she would contact them.
Cyclenation Streets Ahead of Sustrans
Coincidentally two guides came out today written by cycling organisations aiming to provide guidance for cycling infrastructure. Sound similar, but they couldn’t be more different.
Our response to the Proposed Development off Field End, Witchford
Specific cycle provision.
The Framework Travel Plan talks a lot about discouraging car use and providing facilities cycling and walking but the details are currently lacking “6.1.4 Provision of Facilities for Cyclists & Pedestrians. To be agreed with the local authority once the development layout has been finalised.”
We would expect to see separate cycleways, not shared use paths, on the final plans. These should be 2.1m minimum width, not give way to side streets and provide direct routes to:
- The centre of the village, Primary School and Village College (via Common Road)
- The nearest park and Post Office (via Victoria Green)
Continue reading “Our response to the Proposed Development off Field End, Witchford”
Our response to the Ely Station Gateway Development
We welcome that the station development mentions cycling and walking throughout the documents and that the survey documents recognise that the cycle network in Ely is piecemeal and often sub-standard to non-existant.
We wholly agree with the survey that much more needs to be done to encourage cycling in Ely, especially that an integrated network of segregated cycle lanes is required to encourage those who are currently not confident enough to cycle on Ely’s busy roads and that the city centre, the station and the residential and business areas need to be connected. We also agree that many towns and villages (e.g. Soham, Lt Downham, Prickwillow, Lt Thetford) are within cycling distance and that people are currently put off cycling by the lack of segregated cycle infrastructure and busy 60mph roads.
Continue reading “Our response to the Ely Station Gateway Development”
Is this the beginning of the end for the cobbles?
You may have seen the notice outside Lloyds warning that the road will be closed overnight for 5 nights from the 17th. We understand that this is to replace the cobbles with something more cycle friendly. We’ve been campaigning for them to be replaced for a long time.
We’ve been told by the council that it plans to replace this section of cobbles as a trial. If the blocks used as a replacement gain approval then the replacement will be rolled out across the whole of the Porta area.
So this could be the beginning of the end for the cobbles. It can’t come soon enough.
Allowing more people to cycle
We spoke at two Neighbourhood Panel meetings last week. One of the points we made was that we want to see changes that allow people to cycle. Note the emphasis there. We’re not campaigning to encourage, convince or force more people to cycle. We campaigning for changes that allow them to cycle.
Cycle Talk: February 17th – Cambridge Cycling Campaign
Starting from February we’re planning to organise bi-monthly, cycling related talks. We hope they will be a chance to hear about a range of cycling related topics and afterwards to mingle, chat and have a drink.
The first talk is on Monday February 17th in The Cutter at 7.30pm (talk starts around 8pm). The event is FREE and open to all.
Robin Heydon from Cambridge Cycling Campaign has kindly agreed to be our first speaker.
He’ll be talking about the campaign’s history, achievements and its plans for the future.
Hope to see you there.
Introduction rides with Ely Cycling Club
Ely Cycling Club are running a new club ride on Saturdays, 9am from Witchford Village College which is slower and shorter than their Sunday rides and more suitable for those new to riding in a group. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for updates: https://www.facebook.com/groups/268584086532266/
Put Le Tour de Ely on the Calendar!
2014 sees the biggest annual sporting event in the world arrive in Cambridgeshire. The Tour de France arrives in Cambridge on Monday July 7th 2014 for the start of Stage 3. The 159km stage finishes on The Mall in central London.
While the organisers may have missed the opportunity to bring this event to our beautiful city we want to celebrate the occasion.
To celebrate cycling in the Isle of Ely and the surrounding area we would like your cycling pictures for a local exhibition and to make into a calendar for 2015. The only stipulation is the pictures must have been taken within Ely or surrounding area and must feature a bicycle, either in part or in full. The rest is up to you!
Riverside cycle route opens up
We’re really pleased that the ban on cycling along the riverside in Ely is being lifted. This is one of the simple improvements we’ve been campaigning for and it’s great to see it come to fruition. We’re hoping this will be the first of many improvements that will make Ely and East Cambridgeshire a safer and more pleasant place to travel by bike.
Ely Cycling Campaign 