In the news
Commissioning of a new Cycle Scheme at West Street/Victoria Avenue,
Thanks to everyone in Crewe who acted to make our town a healthier, cleaner, safer and better place to live and invest in 2014:
· To the drivers who gave cyclists and walkers safe space, to Morrisons who created weatherproof cycling facilities.
· To the police officer who kept school crossings clear, to the parents who walked their children to school.
· To the Cheshire East councillors who set up cycling seminars or stood in the cold to investigate road safety and the residents who took the time to discuss what needed to be done.
· To the officers who designed walking and cycling infrastructure and the workers who dug them in.
· To Virgin trains staff who donated cycles for re-use, and the team who installed the pumps and repair stands on the platforms.
· To the volunteers who helped recycle and repair bikes, and to those who are now working on improving urban street lighting and the cycle policies and a route to Leighton hospital.
Most of all, thanks to every reader who chose to travel more actively, reducing traffic jams, pollution and accidents, and helping everyone have a healthier, wealthier, happier, and more prosperous new year.
ACT are very pleased to announce the new cycle scheme at the junction of West Street with Victoria Avenue. It is the result of a partnership between Cheshire East Council, Cheshire East Highways and Sustrans (the charity that enables people to travel by foot, bike or public transport – making smarter travel choices).
In 2012, the Department for Transport (DfT) with The Times newspaper encouraged people to forward their cycling safety concerns to the DfT with a view to funding being made available to improve cycling safety within inner towns and cities. One of the locations highlighted as an area of concern for cyclists was in Crewe, at the junction of West Street and Victoria Ave.
With the route being used by a large number of cyclists on their journeys to work, (for example to Bentley), and the high numbers of accidents involving cyclists, the DfT agreed that this was a problem that needed addressing. It resulted in the successful award of £400,000 from the DfT via Sustrans to enable the construction of the cycle scheme.
The final scheme includes putting in traffic signals at the West St / Victoria Avenue junction, the upgrade of the existing puffin crossing to a toucan crossing adjacent to Bilton Way and the addition of a new toucan crossing adjacent to Sunnybank Road.
The scheme is now complete apart from the electricity supply for the new toucan crossing adjacent to Sunnybank Road. This has been requested and we are currently waiting on Scottish Power to connect the supply so that the signal heads will work. Cllr David Topping, Cabinet Member for Service Commissioning said,
‘We trust that this will not be too long and that the cyclists and residents of Crewe will welcome the introduction of this new cycling scheme’.
CC Cycles have organised a bike ride on Saturday 7th June 2014 to check out this new cycle scheme. All are welcome to join us, we will be leaving from St Paul’s Church, Crewe at 12pm sharp. The ride will take in the Connect 2 cycle route and will last about 1 ½ hours max.
Cycling: good for you and good for Crewe
(1 May 2014)
Cheshire East held its first ever cycling seminar last night at Congleton Town Hall. Cylists representing groups from across Cheshire met councillors and officers to discuss the future of cycling in the borough. Key issues that emerged were to appoint a cycling champion, set a cycling target and appropriate budget to ensure a long term sustainable cycling plan.
Cycling makes perfect sense in Crewe
It’s often faster, always cheaper, definitely healthier and parking is easier! Gentle exercise is proven to have a positive impact on psychological health too, something of growing importance. On a bike you are more in contact with other people, alive and in tune with nature. This improved state of perception fosters an appreciation for your local environment. Bicycle culture is also fun, adventurous, fashionable, creative and individualistic. What’s not to like!
Clean and green
Importantly, cyclists are positively contributing to the environment by not creating pollution- very important in Crewe with dangerously high nitrous dioxide levels.
Paving our planet
Car dependence necessarily requires infrastructure to support it and this only promotes urban sprawl and green field development. Joni Mitchell was right when she sang we “paved paradise to put up a parking lot”. What a tragedy! Towns which encourage cycling have closer, smaller developments and not travelling far to access services means supporting local businesses, thus promoting sustainable local communities.
Cycling makes economic sense for Crewe
Cycling itself has the potential to create bike related industries and jobs. Crewe’s layout and flat terrain is ideal for delivery services by bike. This has been successfully demonstrated in Portland, Oregon, where, for example, a soup kitchen delivers by bike to local businesses. Tourists can be attracted to an area with good biking infrastructure.
Cycling is democratic
Cycling is for everyone- it’s a choice anyone can make for those short journeys, freeing up the roads and improves traffic flow, not to mention cutting pollution. Good cycling infrastructure will encourage more drivers to try cycling. Cycling parents with children in trailers or in cargo bikes, as well as disabled people on specially adapted bikes all need to be included in the planning of our living spaces.
Cycling is saving the world!
In the formerly crime ridden town of Bogota in Colombia, the mayor created a regular car-free street party so people of all ages could feel safe and enjoy the environment. Events like this promote the idea of liveable streets and taking back our communities, moving the emphasis away from the needs of the car and bringing it back to needs of the people.
Cycling can revitalise Crewe
Businesses must be educated to catch the vision- bike friendly work places need to be created. There is funding for local businesses to provide safe parking, changing rooms/showers and storage of cyclist’s equipment. Bentley ran a lucky draw to encourage its employees to cycle to work. More can still be and must be done.
Crewe can be revitalised, and the humble bicycle can be that instrument for change. Let’s ACT now and make Crewe another beautiful and prosperous world famous bike town!
Thanks to everyone in Crewe who acted to make our town a healthier, cleaner, safer and better place to live and invest in 2014:
· To the drivers who gave cyclists and walkers safe space, to Morrisons who created weatherproof cycling facilities.
· To the police officer who kept school crossings clear, to the parents who walked their children to school.
· To the Cheshire East councillors who set up cycling seminars or stood in the cold to investigate road safety and the residents who took the time to discuss what needed to be done.
· To the officers who designed walking and cycling infrastructure and the workers who dug them in.
· To Virgin trains staff who donated cycles for re-use, and the team who installed the pumps and repair stands on the platforms.
· To the volunteers who helped recycle and repair bikes, and to those who are now working on improving urban street lighting and the cycle policies and a route to Leighton hospital.
Most of all, thanks to every reader who chose to travel more actively, reducing traffic jams, pollution and accidents, and helping everyone have a healthier, wealthier, happier, and more prosperous new year.
ACT are very pleased to announce the new cycle scheme at the junction of West Street with Victoria Avenue. It is the result of a partnership between Cheshire East Council, Cheshire East Highways and Sustrans (the charity that enables people to travel by foot, bike or public transport – making smarter travel choices).
In 2012, the Department for Transport (DfT) with The Times newspaper encouraged people to forward their cycling safety concerns to the DfT with a view to funding being made available to improve cycling safety within inner towns and cities. One of the locations highlighted as an area of concern for cyclists was in Crewe, at the junction of West Street and Victoria Ave.
With the route being used by a large number of cyclists on their journeys to work, (for example to Bentley), and the high numbers of accidents involving cyclists, the DfT agreed that this was a problem that needed addressing. It resulted in the successful award of £400,000 from the DfT via Sustrans to enable the construction of the cycle scheme.
The final scheme includes putting in traffic signals at the West St / Victoria Avenue junction, the upgrade of the existing puffin crossing to a toucan crossing adjacent to Bilton Way and the addition of a new toucan crossing adjacent to Sunnybank Road.
The scheme is now complete apart from the electricity supply for the new toucan crossing adjacent to Sunnybank Road. This has been requested and we are currently waiting on Scottish Power to connect the supply so that the signal heads will work. Cllr David Topping, Cabinet Member for Service Commissioning said,
‘We trust that this will not be too long and that the cyclists and residents of Crewe will welcome the introduction of this new cycling scheme’.
CC Cycles have organised a bike ride on Saturday 7th June 2014 to check out this new cycle scheme. All are welcome to join us, we will be leaving from St Paul’s Church, Crewe at 12pm sharp. The ride will take in the Connect 2 cycle route and will last about 1 ½ hours max.
Cycling: good for you and good for Crewe
(1 May 2014)
Cheshire East held its first ever cycling seminar last night at Congleton Town Hall. Cylists representing groups from across Cheshire met councillors and officers to discuss the future of cycling in the borough. Key issues that emerged were to appoint a cycling champion, set a cycling target and appropriate budget to ensure a long term sustainable cycling plan.
Cycling makes perfect sense in Crewe
It’s often faster, always cheaper, definitely healthier and parking is easier! Gentle exercise is proven to have a positive impact on psychological health too, something of growing importance. On a bike you are more in contact with other people, alive and in tune with nature. This improved state of perception fosters an appreciation for your local environment. Bicycle culture is also fun, adventurous, fashionable, creative and individualistic. What’s not to like!
Clean and green
Importantly, cyclists are positively contributing to the environment by not creating pollution- very important in Crewe with dangerously high nitrous dioxide levels.
Paving our planet
Car dependence necessarily requires infrastructure to support it and this only promotes urban sprawl and green field development. Joni Mitchell was right when she sang we “paved paradise to put up a parking lot”. What a tragedy! Towns which encourage cycling have closer, smaller developments and not travelling far to access services means supporting local businesses, thus promoting sustainable local communities.
Cycling makes economic sense for Crewe
Cycling itself has the potential to create bike related industries and jobs. Crewe’s layout and flat terrain is ideal for delivery services by bike. This has been successfully demonstrated in Portland, Oregon, where, for example, a soup kitchen delivers by bike to local businesses. Tourists can be attracted to an area with good biking infrastructure.
Cycling is democratic
Cycling is for everyone- it’s a choice anyone can make for those short journeys, freeing up the roads and improves traffic flow, not to mention cutting pollution. Good cycling infrastructure will encourage more drivers to try cycling. Cycling parents with children in trailers or in cargo bikes, as well as disabled people on specially adapted bikes all need to be included in the planning of our living spaces.
Cycling is saving the world!
In the formerly crime ridden town of Bogota in Colombia, the mayor created a regular car-free street party so people of all ages could feel safe and enjoy the environment. Events like this promote the idea of liveable streets and taking back our communities, moving the emphasis away from the needs of the car and bringing it back to needs of the people.
Cycling can revitalise Crewe
Businesses must be educated to catch the vision- bike friendly work places need to be created. There is funding for local businesses to provide safe parking, changing rooms/showers and storage of cyclist’s equipment. Bentley ran a lucky draw to encourage its employees to cycle to work. More can still be and must be done.
Crewe can be revitalised, and the humble bicycle can be that instrument for change. Let’s ACT now and make Crewe another beautiful and prosperous world famous bike town!
Press Release 22 January 2014
ACT in Crewe have welcomed the Crewe Town Council's vision to make Crewe a place where walking and cycling are popular, safe and practical options for local travel, and the appointment of a Councillor to be a champion for cycling.
The new policy calls for a doubling of walking and cycling in the next ten years by creating better walking and cycling green corridor routes, 20 mph zones in residential streets and more segregated ‘Dutch style’ segregated cycle lanes. Similar towns have already found that these improve traffic flow, increase business to local shops and make pavements and streets quieter and safer for everyone.
ACT spokesman, Ben Wye said:
“We welcome the strategy and the Crewe Cycling Champion. Shifting to back to active travel is good for you and good for Crewe, as it has fallen significantly in the last 20 years. Crewe residents now have the lowest life expectancy in Cheshire East, largely caused by inactive lifestyles and obesity. We have significant air pollution which is linked to many illnesses, including asthma. Crewe’s traffic congestion costs businesses time and money and although a more than usual proportion of residents work locally, access to local shops, work and the station is a significant problem.
Driving in Crewe is costly and slow. It can take 40 minutes to cross town in peak periods. The school run alone costs on average £1,714 a year on fuel alone. This money could be spent in the local economy.”
Background Links:
Health implications:
http://www.fph.org.uk/uploads/Take_action_on_active_travel.pdf
Cheshire East transport plans:
http://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/transport_and_travel/local_transport_plan.aspx
ACT in Crewe have welcomed the Crewe Town Council's vision to make Crewe a place where walking and cycling are popular, safe and practical options for local travel, and the appointment of a Councillor to be a champion for cycling.
The new policy calls for a doubling of walking and cycling in the next ten years by creating better walking and cycling green corridor routes, 20 mph zones in residential streets and more segregated ‘Dutch style’ segregated cycle lanes. Similar towns have already found that these improve traffic flow, increase business to local shops and make pavements and streets quieter and safer for everyone.
ACT spokesman, Ben Wye said:
“We welcome the strategy and the Crewe Cycling Champion. Shifting to back to active travel is good for you and good for Crewe, as it has fallen significantly in the last 20 years. Crewe residents now have the lowest life expectancy in Cheshire East, largely caused by inactive lifestyles and obesity. We have significant air pollution which is linked to many illnesses, including asthma. Crewe’s traffic congestion costs businesses time and money and although a more than usual proportion of residents work locally, access to local shops, work and the station is a significant problem.
Driving in Crewe is costly and slow. It can take 40 minutes to cross town in peak periods. The school run alone costs on average £1,714 a year on fuel alone. This money could be spent in the local economy.”
Background Links:
Health implications:
http://www.fph.org.uk/uploads/Take_action_on_active_travel.pdf
Cheshire East transport plans:
http://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/transport_and_travel/local_transport_plan.aspx
