Constantly frustrated by how crap it is where we live and wondering if it's possible to actually get something done about it.
Anyone managed it? Who did you speak to? What was your experience? What did you get changed?
Thanks.
https://cyclingdumfries.wordpress.com
Improvements take time, a long time. With budget cuts they will be taking longer and longer 🙄
Quickest "improvement" I achieved was to get "my" end of the cycle path cleaned up. Stopped to speak to the guy driving the mini road cleaner one day on another part of the track. He called his boss there and then. Following week and from then on "my" has been maintained. The reason given by the driver was due to the machine being limited by the amount of debris it could collect, the distance to the nearest disposal point and not enough time in the day to cover the whole track system(the druggies end had priority for needle searches!)
Then there was the poor lighting, got that sorted and now upgraded to LED.
Then I spoke to the contractors cutting back the undergrowth, got some instant results and more this year.
I do know a council guy who takes my/our issues on board but the department is being strangled for cash(SNP!!!!!!)
I'm sure your local authority would love to have some nice cycle infrastructure too, but this sort of thing costs a lot of money.
Out of interest what did you have in mind? What's the existing problem?
Get in touch with your local CTC group, see what they are up to, and what help they might need.
Bit more reading;
http://walkcyclevote.scot/
As above CTC and browse your councils web site
Sheffield City Council on the other hand decided applying for Cycling Ambition funding was too hard and didn't bother. It's not too bad in the city, but there's plenty of little things that could be sorted out to make it safer and less annoying to pedestrians (where it's not obvious it's a shared route) and motorists (where a street is signed 'one way' from their pov but bikes are signed to ride against the traffic - so illegally in drivers view) - and quite a lot of Sheffield oneway is signed that way.
It would also be nice to have a big ticketing campaign against drivers parking over drop kerbs blocking access to cycle routes (everywhere NCN6 touches a road in Sheffield centre for starters)
None of this will happen as our Council won't do anything they didn't think of first, won't listen to anyone as they know best, and are apparently indestructible at the ballot box 'because they're labour' no matter what idiot stunt they pull.
Oddly enough I've just been reading this : http://www.pushbikes.org.uk/blog/forward-more-stuck-traffic
By all means try but don't expect it to be easy or achieve anything quickly.
helped set up a single issue campaign that looks like it will eventually deliver the result - funding and commitment eventually appeared from an odd quarter but the success was due to keeping the issue high on the local agenda
it is hard work and need people with some experience and connections to deal with all the different facets but mostly a lot of contact with local councillors and grant bodies and they may only listen if you are seen to be representative of something rather than an individual ( we set up as a properly constituted charity and invited supporters to sign up on a website and attended local events with a stall to get numbers) - irrespective of funding situations and of officers advice things will only happen if councillors want it to and it is seen as a good thing to promote
pretty sure there will be a local organisation around that could do with some help
double post
My CC changed some lane markings on a previously perfectly functional roundabout which made it hazardous for cyclists. They accepted my point but won't change the markings to include provision for cycles
Join or form a cycle campaign and actively participate in consultations and submit requests for action.
hi, as a transport planner who has worked in a few london boroughs and also private consultancies, it will come down to two things. Money and Political support. I would suggest getting a councillor on your side first, and often money can be found if a councillor presses enough.
pretty sure there will be a local organisation around that could do with some help
Thanks all. Did a bit of research last night and there does seem to be a local organisation that does this sort of thing. Shall check them out.
Not looking for anything major. The thing that bugs me is that when money is spent and provision put in for cyclists it is often so poorly designed as to be confusing and dangerous to cyclists, pedestrians and motorists. Seems a bit of a box ticking exercise and designed by someone who has no appreciation for what it's like to ride a bike on the roads. So many examples round here.