Webchat of Cambridge Police Not Policing.

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 Operator : Hello, you are now chatting with a Police Control Room Operator, how may we help you today?

 Colin_Davidson : Hello, I'd like to report some dangerous parking - pavement and cycle lane blocked persistently by vans from same company, all week.

 Colin_Davidson : Images from yesterday: :link:https://twitter.com/cyclestreets/status/893216680997998594

 Operator : Hello Colin, are the vehicles parked illegally ie on double yellow lines?

 Colin_Davidson : Image from today - this one was about half past nine :link:https://twitter.com/gnomeicide/status/893389750777892865

 Colin_Davidson : To the right of the image (Water Street, just off the end of Fen Road) I think that yes, there's a double yellow line - this is missing the double yellow purely by parking on the pavement and cycle lane. Its -inside- the double yellow (I think)

 Colin_Davidson : Location is pretty close to directly opposite entrance to Liley Close

 Colin_Davidson : Hello? You still there?

 Operator : Hello Colin,

 Operator : I have looked at the images and it would appear that whilst the vehicle is partially on the cycle lane, there is enough room for cycles to get by.

 Operator : This would appear to be inconsiderate parking as opposed to illegal parking.

 Colin_Davidson : Not safely - advice in highway code is to avoid door zone. Its also on pavement next to (I believe) a double yellow line - you surely can't avoid a double yellow line by parking ENTIRELY on the pavement?

 Operator : I cannot see from the images a double yellow line?

 Colin_Davidson : I think the double yellow line is there on the road (which is to the right of the separator, to the right of the bike lane). I'd have to go and have a look - but clearly this parking isn't ok. Are you guys going to ignore it?

 Operator : It doesn't appear that the vehicle is parked on the part of the road that has double yellow lines? I agree, it isn't ok, but more inconsiderate parking as opposed to illegal parking.

 Colin_Davidson : Well, no, but you surely can't avoid a double yellow line by crossing the bike lane and pavement and blocking both instead of blocking the road? Is it ok to park on the pavement to avoid a double yellow line?

 Operator : Colin, this doesn't appear to be a road which has a high volume of traffic on it, which would cause problems in the flow of traffic.

 Colin_Davidson : So he could park on the road? Look, all I need to know is do you guys police dangerous and illegal parking like this or don't you? I won't waste your (or my) time if you're going to wash your hands of this illegal behaviour.

 Colin_Davidson : You seem to have gone. I'll take that as a 'no we don't police dangerous parking where both pavements and cycle lanes are regularly obstructed by motorists'.

Almost approaching minor victory re. Arbury Road

You've either been following this or you haven't. You probably haven't. Either way, here's some of the most recent email I've had on the subject:

I met with County Officers and their landscape contractor on site last week.

We agreed that the priority was establishing the new hedge line, through retaining the existing mulch, continuing to water, and removing the bindweed from the base, plus any larger competing ruderal species such as Sow Thistle or Prickly Ox Tongue. No spraying will be undertaken along the hedge line to encourage reestablishment of species from the seed bank or retained roots. I could see some Hedge Woundwort returning, which is encouraging. Officers are willing to provide additional planting of native hedgerow ground flora plugs, which would be implemented during or post the construction of the new cycle way this autumn. I suggested that we continue to monitor which species come in naturally and assess what additional species would be best suited.

Holes have been cut at suitable interval at ground level along the temporary fence lines. These are  150mm x 150mm which will be adequate for hedgehogs, the wire is thick enough to retain this diameter if not tampered with.

OK so lets break that down...

City Deal removed massive old hedge to make room for a much needed new cycle lane, and re-planted too late in the season, with many of the wrong species for the site. This included planting toxic berry producing bushes right in front of a primary school and didn't respect local hedging culture or ecology. The result is that they're having to water (a lot) through the mulch they put down - said mulch in itself only allowed tough, ineradicable root stocks to come back through. Things like bindweed. They then put a fence up that had gaps smaller than hedgehogs - a genuinely inhumane thing to do, and pretended that was all tickety boo. They did this whole thing 6 months ahead of when they said they would, so there was no opportunity to get a better planting scheme and a decent local survey (my FOI regarding ecological survey of the site is still unanswered). The new hedge will now have concrete either side - so native undergrowth species can't re-establish themselves, and the haste to get this done means we've lost dozens of species from the site.

Or, in other words, they turned an easy win with solid ecological improvements into a complete pigs ear.

And every part of trying to lessen the damage has been a fight - like, a real battle. 

But after months of fannying on they're finally saying they'll do the minimum to stop the whole thing being a complete balls up.

The lesson here? City Deal need to show they've learned from this. And they need to do so really rather soon. I'd love to declare this a victory but lets be honest, this mitigates a tiny part of the damage done, when the whole scheme could have been so very much better. 

Camcycle Podcast 2 - comments

Not bad guys. Keep it up.

You're going to get a crap load of my opinions now so, well, there you go. If you don't like it don't read :)

I do think you should turn the microphone down and speak up more - background hum and slightly whispery nature of speaking makes it a bit echo-ey. 

An issue I've had with Ofo is just working it out - the instructions are pretty naff. Yeah, I've got the app but I've not worked out how - maybe a few words re. how you go about it and what happens when you leave it there afterwards?

Stop being so bloody nice about truly awful cycle facilities with cars parked in them - this risks our lives, say it, and say it clearly. Its unacceptable that councillors put as little value on our welfare as this.

Regarding North Cambridge Station - used it for the first time last weekend and rather liked the route to it, but there's a bizarre and perplexing lack of dropped kerbs around the cycle park. I don't get why they'd do that. Plans for changing cycle route do suck, but thats only part of whats actually a thoroughly uninspiring, ugly, unpleasant development plan. Nothing about the planning application there is good. Nothing.

Think maybe after a few of these rotating someone else in might not be a bad idea. You guys are cool and all but other views inside and outside of Camcycle would be worth hearing. Roxy is a good laugh and talks well, for example. The Polish guy building funky bikes on the market square or the folk making bike-themed art and occasionally on the market on Sunday, for example. Or someone from Outspoken who does bike training. Would be nice to talk to folk about where they cycle to and why, about what they ride and their experiences.

'Compromise' means cyclists always come off worst.

Another scheme, another road. Another bodge that leaves us worse off. Yes, the one I talked about last time.

Short version - new, narrow cycle lane on Green End Road in Cambridge. During the planning process it had double yellow lines all along. When it was delivered, those double yellow lines were gone in places - and to object we were told to wait until we saw the TRO notice on lamp posts (because we're living in Dickensian Britain presumably?). And they've decided to go and tell us to fuck ourselves if we'd like safe facilities, the parked cars are staying because we're dirty hippies on bikes (I paraphrase. Slightly). So we've got to negotiate our way back out of the cycle lanes on a bend in front of some shops, which exposes us to angry drivers who believe we should somehow phase through the parked cars. This is a terrible cycling facility, its an act of violence against cyclists - but councilors see it as compromise. Risking our lives for some unspecified, largely theoretical (and certainly un-calculated) benefit to local businesses.

This isn't new, of course. Its the same story over and over again. Whether its an accusation that we're unbalanced in our analysis when all we're asking for is safe routes to ride. Or lanes that aren't really good enough (so kids use the pavement instead, and councillors direct the Police to make the kids go and play in traffic) but cycling campaign groups demand we must compromise. Or the outright mis-spending of vast chunks of cycling budget on traffic light upgrades for motorists. On every occasion what we're delivered is shoddy, bad cycle facilities which even at their best require taking bikes up stairs or which incorporate crossings that no one in their right mind would choose.

The problem is that each new scheme is just that - a new scheme, with competing self interests as each group seeks the best outcome. The result of this is that cyclists always come out losers - on every single occasion we're left with the dregs, and a promise that while planners care for our welfare the 'balanced' approach on this particular scheme is that we're not important so we can go and fuck ourselves. And the net result of this is that every single scheme is sub-par. We end up with a network of near deadly facilities designed to appease not us, but every other lobby group. You know. People who matter. We're the universal patsies in these consultations. Don't take my word for it - go and ride Green End Road and see.

Until planning and spending in cities like Cambridge is strategic rather than piecemeal and actually incorporates realistic models with cycling as a component (oh, you didn't hear? We're not modeled in road design here, we actually don't exist)  this piece-meal lack of provision where we inevitably lose out every single time will continue. Until our roads have strategy, not just case-by-case policy, we're screwed. 

Time to stop this niggling, piecemeal failure and demand better strategy. How though?

Yet more correspondence with City Deal re. Arbury Road

Ms Stoppard,

Without talking to me I don't get why you think you can't appease me.

I didn't get as far as making final suggestions for what should be planted - as you know (and as City Deal website still shows) the plan was to remove and replant in Autumn and we were given less than a weeks notice about this change. I hadn't had time to finish a list of whats representative in local hedging ecology and culture - the only ones I did have as certainties were hawthorn (which would always be there in any mix) and greengage (which was not included but, infuriatingly, planted as 'specimen' trees on other green spaces, and its a great survivor in hedges but a very difficult specimen tree). I don't see that any suggestions made by me or anyone else locally have been incorporated, when no one really had time to finalise any suggestions. 

Since last talking to any of your colleagues you've mulched the site with wood chips - that meant that only those undergrowth plants with really ineradicable root-stocks (and which would re-grow from chopped up root portions) could thrive and spread. That means very few native species have come back, but a few species (cow parsley and bindweed in particular) are doing well - each of the bits of root grow back to new plants, and basically smother the site. They're excluding all other species from being able to establish, and competing very well against the hedging plants put in. In places bindweed is spreading over the top of the shrubs which will, obviously, threaten their survival. I can send you pictures of this if you like, there are spots where you can no longer see the shrubs. Without light, they'll die.

Bluntly, planting very late in the season (at short notice) meant no meaningful input could be given to species choice. This late in the season digging also killed off already germinating seed in the ground, and mulching has ensured that only a limited number of the most competitive species could re-grow there. Putting a fence up that bindweed can grow up and more effectively smother the hedge, one with gaps smaller than the hedgehogs that most often nest in the gardens on one side of the road but which forage on both sides, really did make it look amateurish. Our county councillor was told by Vanessa that they'd bought the wrong fence but put it up anyway.

All I want to achieve here is holes being cut in the fence, and getting some native undergrowth plug plants put in, probably in autumn, with some weeding of the most invasive species. That'll increase biodiversity, attract more insects (hence birds too), and crucially be less of problem in getting the shrubs you've planted established. Your officers won't even countenance discussing that - they're entirely dismissive of any re-planting and won't talk about it. But because of the mulch, if there is to be any restoration of habitat there this is the only route available to us, and its the only way (other than spraying or very expansive hand-weeding) to compete with the bindweed thats otherwise very likely to kill off some of the shubs over the next couple of years.

Other matters (making out as if the choice of shrubs to be planted was open to consultation despite the fact that they had been ordered already) are secondary to trying to get a resolution on the ground that isn't so brutally hostile to wildlife. I believe said resolution will cost a couple of hundred quid but will require getting plug plants of native species ordered earlier rather than later, for planting in autumn. There are numerous companies that can supply said plants, but its hard to achieve this as a rushed, last minute order.

Its too late to entirely fix the planting scheme but it isn't to late to rescue something from this - can you make time for a chat to discuss what can be done? Going forward it seems important that ecological considerations are something City Deal can take seriously. Are you willing to give that a shot?

CAB Davidson.

Milton Road Plans - An Act of Violence.

So we've got new, updated plans for Milton Road in Cambridge.

As part of Greater Cambridge (re-branded from the toxic 'City Deal' but rapidly falling to the same level of disrepute again), they're wanting to dig it up and make it better. And they're promising everything to everyone - bus lanes, car lanes, cycle lanes, trees. The last plan sucked.

And it won't all fit, but I gather they've approved it anyway.

Camcycle have already done us a pretty good, but far too nice description of the state of play. No point covering the same ground but I will say, stop being so bloody nice. No one else is being reasonable, bat for the BEST outcome for cyclists AND ONLY THAT. Your collaboration with residents associations is great, but I rather feel that in a cavalcade of niceness the simple 'thats just not good enough' message is rather hard to find.

But a few thoughts about the scheme. I think this is best done with some pictures:

New @GreaterCambs plans for Milton Road. https://t.co/h2Vb3eAx4K pic.twitter.com/TzCBvd2zj5

— Richard Taylor (@RTaylorUK) July 7, 2017

In diagramatic form...

How can you have safe bus stops when all you have is a 1 metre verge? Where are the passengers going to step? In the cycleway @GreaterCambs? pic.twitter.com/sPixQq60qx

— MiltonRoadAlliance (@MiltonRdAllies) July 18, 2017

So on the Left there we've got lovely lollypop like trees. I say lollypop like because that does seem to be how urban planners see trees - they're jolly green things on top on little sticks. That verge those trees are in is projected to be 1m wide. So thats a tree canopy that can extend 50cm before buses, cars and lorries clip it back - or in other words it can neither be a reasonable sized tree that can grow to adulthood, nor can it indeed take on any symmetrical shape at all. Its also right on the edge of the road and very vulnerable to damage by any cars that come off road and, frankly, it hasn't a hope of ever attaining a decent trunk width. That tree, for that location, offering any ecological or aesthetic value, is a big ask. That tree looking like THAT in this location is entirely impossible. Look at the second picture there. Look at the comically narrow bus they've drawn hard up against the opposite side of the lane - and look at how tiny the young tree there is and indeed how far over its planted. This is silly.

And look at the top picture again - look towards the right. Do you see that? Do you? Yes, thats right, a pencil thin cycle lane next to the bus lane. I know, I wound't fit in it either, but thats ok, I'll ride on the bus lane. Kids and less confident cyclists? Oh, the'll be bullied off the road by this tremendously hostile facility.

But it gets worse, here's what it looks like towards Mitchams Corner:

Counsellor Williams: would not approve a cycle lane like shown near Mitcham's corner @GreaterCambs Assembly pic.twitter.com/gMc13Ti8xV

— MiltonRoadAlliance (@MiltonRdAllies) July 19, 2017

So they're squeezing us into the parked car door zone and if we swerve we'll be killed by a bus? Well isn't that spiffing.

Look, here's a rather sarcastic but entirely accurate appraisal:

Joint Assembly question deadline has passed but there is still time for #MiltonRd Briefing & Exec Board questions! https://t.co/c5fmononT1 pic.twitter.com/SuPlBrx7ND

— MiltonRoadAlliance (@MiltonRdAllies) July 14, 2017

There is, physically, not room for two lorries and a bus to pass there - we can't fit that in with a cycle lane too. It comes down to this - the trees have to go, the bus lane has to go, or the cycle lane has to go. They've approved this conceptually. But. It. Does. Not. Fit.

The cycle facility proposed isn't just bad, its hostile - if you build a bike lane in a car door zone with bus drivers expecting to pass at speed then you're risking killing them. The roundabour re-design remains hazardous and will not reduce cyclist injury rate there (its a black spot). And the supposed 'segregated' cycle lane mostly isn't, in the sense any cycle campaigner would describe.

This isn't a model for road building, its an act of violence against cyclists, and against the residents of Milton Road. Councillors voting for this have been suckered into a myth, what we're looking at here isn't deliverable - to make this work something has to give. All for what? Oh, yes. According to City Deal 'up to four minutes on a bus trip'. Yes, thats right, that is JUST like an 'up to 40mb' internet speed claim. Its a nebulous, hand wavey, vague promise to save an indeterminate (but very small) amount of time, at the expense of a better treescape and high quality cycle facilities. Lets be very clear - this isn't a poor cycle facility because it can't be delivered, its a crap facility because they want it to be a crap facility.

And thats precisely what we've come to expect of City Deal. 

The Camcycle Podcast

Listening to it now. 

Pretty good guys.

A few thoughts - I agree with most of what you're saying. One thing I'd add re walking is that the difference between that and cycling is, for the most part, waking for transport (as opposed to walking between your transport and your work, shopping or entertainment) has been very nearly wiped out in the UK. We don't feel endangered walking very often because we don't walk anywhere. Crossing roads though? Terrifying, especially for kids and old folk and for anyone with any physical disability. Our streets remain hostile to pedestrians, so few bother.

Cambridge North station and access thereto - the biggest problem is, I think, the crossing to the Science Park. Needs digging up and starting again, its dreadful - I suspect this might restrict take-up of train and train/bike commuting using the new station.

Good first outing guys, will look forward to the next one.

Open to suggested topics?