Cycling Symposium Success

We will get details of the happening at the Symposium online as soon as we can, including a reduced version of the presentations made by the Cycling Campaign. A big thankyou to everyone who gave up their Saturday afternoon to come along and to hear what we had to say, and especially to those who also gave their views and asked questions.

A big thankyou also to Werner Brug of Socialdata for coming to talk to us all about the statistics involved.

The Northern Echo have a story in today's paper on page 11, which is also available online: Reduction in car journeys heralds campaign success.

Update: Coverage of increased cycling on the BBC site: Cars dropped in favour of cycling

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Darlington Cycling Symposium Position Paper

Darlington Cycling Campaign has now produced a position paper for presentation at the Symposium.

We have highlights of the paper on the Darlington Cycling Symposium website, from where you can also download an electronic copy of the paper.

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Darlington Cycling Symposium

In the run up to our Symposium on Saturday 17th March, we'll be updating a second website, Darlington Cycling Symposium 2007, with details of the agend and aims.

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Cyclists and Disabled Unite

Today's Northern Echo has a letter in its Hear All Sides section from Gordon Pybus, chair of Darlington Association on Disability. Here is the Cycling Campaign's reply:

Dear HAS,

What a pity that Gordon Pybus, of all people, encourages prejudice. His letter (HAS 15th Feb) damns all cyclists as “a real danger to pedestrians”, before demanding that we use a cycle route of his imagination (“there is a cycle path around the ring road”) instead of the Pedestrian Heart.

I leave the question of Tim Stahl’s evidence that cyclists usually come off worse in collisions with pedestrians to him – he did work for many years in the Memorial Hospital’s A&E after all. But public evidence does show where cyclists get hospitalized – the ring road, where 45 cyclists have been seriously injured since 1988, and one killed. “I believe that motorists provide a real danger to cyclists” is a phrase that has all the backing of cold statistics, but not all motorists are dangerous, nor should they be banned from the ring road.

Gordon calls for cyclists to “be in the correct setting”. Well, we wholeheartedly agree. Please let’s look more closely at the bicycle as a unique form of transport, and not as some kind of “motor vehicle without a motor”. “Correct settings” are finally appearing here and there in the town, designed with cycling in mind, and not by the bizarre visions of car driving traffic engineers.

But even these “correct settings” are not going to segregate us from disabled pedestrians. Cycle paths are actually very pleasant surfaces for wheelchairs, and I see no reason why they should not be used as such. As Darlington Cycling Campaign continually stresses, we want to encourage responsible, considerate cycling in the Pedestrian Heart. It really is time to wake up to the fact that there are many ordinary citizens in Darlington who also cycle, and do not wish any harm on others.

But there is another reason for encouraging cycling in the town – to make our environment and our people healthier. Because Darlington is a Cycling Demonstration Town, we now have a unique chance to make a collective difference by making cycling safe, attractive and convenient to people who currently drive their car on short journeys (how many town centre pedestrians arrive by car, I wonder?) . That is why cycling needs to become less of a war of attrition with the motorist, and more a pleasant way to get from A to B.

So come on Gordon, stop building walls between us and chasing us back on to the roads. Sign up for the Cycling Symposium (http://cyclingsymposium.blogspot.com/) on March 17th and join other good-willed people in trying to make that vision a reality.

Richard Grassick
Chair, Darlington Cycling Campaign

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Darlington Cycling Symposium March 17 2007

In the run up to the 2007 council elections, Darlington Cycling Campaign is hosting a symposium on the future of cycling in our town. This will give cyclists the opportunity to explain what will make cycling more attractive to the Darlington public, the political parties the opportunity to state their cycling policy for the election, and local community groups the chance to voice their wishes directly to cycling representatives.

We are also pleased to announce that Werner Brög, Socialdata, author of the original 2004 study that underpins much of the current transformation of Darlington’s cycle network, has accepted an invitation to address the symposium.

Darlington is currently one of six Cycling Demonstration Towns, having won £1.5m from central government to spend on improving the town’s cycle network. But this extra funding ends in 2008/9. Has enough been done for cycling, or can we do more? Can Darlington cyclists act responsibly on their new cycle routes? Or is cycling just a minority sport that attracts and encourages anti-social behaviour?

We would like to extend an invitation to you to attend the symposium, which will take place at Bondgate Methodist Church, Bondgate, on Saturday March 17th 2007, from 1pm to 5.30pm. Light refreshments will be available throughout the afternoon.

If you wish to attend, please reply by post, email or telephone using the contact details below, no later than February 28th 2007 to register a place. Please indicate how many places you wish to reserve, and whether you would like to contribute to the open floor debate at 3.30-4pm. If we receive sufficient interest, we shall extend that section of the afternoon. Registration is free. One week before the event, you will be sent an information pack with more details.

Draft Timetable
1.00 – 1.15pm Welcome; tea & coffee
1.15 – 2.15pm Better Cycling in Darlington 1: Cycling Campaign - Cycling Demonstration Town achievements and limitations. Followed by responses and debate
2.15 – 3.15pm Better Cycling in Darlington 2: Werner Brög, Socialdata, response / assessment of progress to date on 2004 survey. Sustrans - best practice and changing behaviours. Followed by responses and debate
3.15 – 3.30pm BREAK
3.30 - 4.00pm Better Cycling in Darlington 3: Open Floor - New Cyclists, Other Road users - Schools, Workplaces, Driving Instructors. Followed by responses and debate
4.00 – 5.00pm Better Cycling in Darlington 4: The Political Mainfestos for 2007 Local Elections. Followed by responses and debate
5.00 – 5.30pm Summing Up

Darlington Cycling Campaign, 51 West Crescent, Darlington. DL3 7PS Tel: 01325 468351 email: darlocycling@hotmail.com

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