Hill Street bridge

The ring road has long been a problem for cyclists. Even the most confident of cyclists avoid using it. Crossing it is another problem. Not only does it restrict access to the city centre but it also makes it difficult for cyclists to cross from one suburb to another by cycling through the centre.

So improvements are to be welcomed. The view from the bridge is certainly better than that from the old subway crossing. However the main platform, with a width of 3 metres is no wider than the subway, while the ramp at the Coundon Road end is only 2.2 metres wide. The bridge is also a longer route than the subway. It's difficult to believe that there weren't more effective ways of improving conditions for walking and cycling in the city for the £2.3 million it cost.

There's been controversy about whether a white line should be painted to separate the cycling and walking. areas. At the moment the council is monitoring the situation.

In early June Leicester hosted a national conference which explored current attitudes to cycling in Britain. Among the non-cycling masses two sets of attitudes (or cultures) are apparent. Among the more affluent, the car is seen as posing problems for society. Such people are generally positive about cycling, especially as a leisure pursuit, but nervous about actually cycling in city conditions themselves. Amongst the less affluent there are indifferent, or even hostile, attitudes to cycling. Those in this latter group find motoring expensive, have difficulty in parking and often believe that people only cycle because they can't afford something better.

The researcher concluded that large numbers of people will only cycle regularly if the speed of cars on residential streets were reduced and high quality car-free paths provided as alternatives to busy roads. Much discussion has subsequently taken place among cycle campaigners over these conclusions. Many fear that the part of the message about High Quality might be drowned out by a single minded focus on segregation from cars, buses and lorries.

The conference also heard about research into attitudes among that small minority who already cycle for transport. It was good to hear a speaker describing how whole traffic lanes were being taken from motorists in New York City to provide quality cycle only paths. Over recent years cycling casualties have halved as cycling numbers have doubled. In a densely populated city like NYC (in that sense quite un-American) there's just no room for private transport so space-hogging as the car. A lesson for London?

The JK Starley Campaign (JKS) has just been launched to promote the proper recognition and celebration of John Kemp Starley and his development of the Rover Safety Bicycle in Coventry.

JKS is seeking support for

1. a public art tribute or statue for JK Starley and the Rover Safety Bicycle and
2. a replica of the Rover Safety Bicycle built using historically accurate techniques and materials, for use at bicycle promotion events worldwide.

Why? John Kemp Starley transformed the world of personal transport by creating the 'Rover Safety Bicycle', a breakthrough bicycle design that turned an interesting pastime into a practical, safe and efficient mode of transport for literally millions of people.

Isn't there already a statue in Coventry for J.K. Starley? A common mis-conception. John Kemp's uncle James Starley has a memorial statue (1884) in Greyfriars Green. He's remembered for bringing an entirely new industry to the City at a time of deep recession. James is known as the 'father of the bicycle industry'

JKS needs your support!

• Do you think JK Starley and Coventry are missing out on the recognition they deserve?
• Would you like to champion the cause of JK and the Rover Safety Bicycle locally or nationally?
• Are you interested in organising a JKS promotion/ celebration event at your school or community?
• If you would like to help the JKS Campaign contact: steve.caudwell@gmail.com or steve.bagley@transport-museum.co.uk

Pashley are the company that makes adult trikes, butcher delivery bikes & 'stop me & buy one' ice cream bikes. Most of their bikes are throwbacks to a more sedate era. Even their more contemporary designs echo past elegance. They are just a bit more 'sit up & beg' than other road bikes. The model I fell for was a Tube Rider Pintail. Hub brakes, gears & Dynamo, Brooks saddle &...Well it doesn't really matter, except to me. I come to criticise Pashley, not to advertise it!

Remember, one of my motivating factors was to buy locally. The Pashley website was impressive as a brochure, but they don't do direct sales. Instead, they publish a dealer list. That would have been OK, but there were no dealers in Coventry. The nearest was John Atkins, Leamington Spa. So that was OK, I used to live in Leamington, it's a good shop! Not so their web site. It is little more than a name, address, email link, phone number & 5 brands stocked, one of which, teasingly, is Pashley. Undaunted, I used the email link.

Two days later, with no reply to my enquiry, I phoned. They confirmed that they could order my bike, but they don't deliver. That's OK, I've got a bus pass. I could get the bus to Leamington, if it was a double decker I could sit at the front & play 'upstairs driver'. I would enjoy that, then I would be able to ride home on my new bike. The man at Atkins said that as the bike needed to be ordered specially, they required a deposit. That was OK I said with my credit card in my hand. But no, they told me I could not pay that way. I argued for a while, I can't be certain what was said now, but there was no attempt to accommodate a sale on their behalf.

Back to the internet. Two companies stood out to me. The retail price was the same & both promised free delivery. So I've ended up ordering from a firm in London. My Pintail is now being made in Stratford, from whence it will be transported to London then delivered to Coventry. Crazy world!

John England

Changes are underway in the city centre which will lead to buses and taxis being banned from Broadgate, traffic lights being removed at a number of junctions and two subways being filled-in.

For details and commentary see http://coventrycyclist.blogspot.com/2011/06/shared-space.html

Last February Sustrans held a Bike It Action Day in Coventry. The main speakers were Dave Clasby, Bike It Supervisor and Ian Alt, Coventry Bike It officer.

Bike It is a national scheme with 60 officers. Its aim is to work in schools to get children cycling more often. To make them fitter and more independent, emptying school car parks and filing bicycle sheds. Ian, himself, gave up his car a year ago.

A number of local teachers were present and there were workshops on integrating Bike It into the National Curriculum and on working with neighbouring schools. Lesley Robertson from the transport museum give a talk on the bicycle's history. Councillor Joe Clifford, who was Cabinet Member for Children and Young People was also in attendance.

Coventry council is reviewing bus lanes in the city with the intention or removing those which "cause undesirable congestion or pose hazards".

Bus lanes also serve as useful cycle lanes, ensuring that drivers allow sufficient space when overtaking cyclists. So if any are removed consideration should be given to providing a wide cycle lane as a replacement. On some single carriageway roads there's a bus lane in only one direction, with the rest of the traffic squeezed into two narrow lanes (one for each direction). Such narrow lanes pose a hazard to cyclists travelling on the opposite side of the road from the bus lane as motorists cannot safely overtake without encroaching into the oncoming traffic lane. Motorists are often wary of doing this and are tempted to pass cyclists too closely.

Whilst recognising that bus lanes often allow bus passengers to avoid the worst of the congestion caused by car drivers, there are places where they are not much use. Just as a number of things labelled "cycle facility" don't really benefit cyclists, it would not surprise me if there were a number of useless bus priority measures.

George Riches

Coventry council has granted planning permission for the re-development of the old post sorting office on Bishop Street. We are glad to report that part of the plan is to replace the footbridge, which is too narrow (1.85m) for cycle use, with a Toucan crossing. This will allow cyclists to legally cross the ring road between Bishop Street and the canal basin at ground level. This will improve cycle access from the area between Foleshill Road and Radford Road, as the towpath and the roads north of the canal basin are relatively cycle-friendly.

Some people think that a ground level crossing will be dangerous, but the one on Sky Blue Way seems safe enough.

Good progress is being made on the new cycle path from Kenilworth's Abbey Fields to Warwick University (main campus). The work started at the Abbey Fields end and should reach a new bridge over the A429 in the Autumn.

With the recent massive cuts in government expenditure it was feared that Warwickshire County Council would pull out of the project threatening a collapse. However a strong public campaign (including a 1690 signature petition) ensured that although WCC reduced their funding, the project will continue with a bigger financial contribution from Sustrans and University of Warwick.

Cycle Streets is a UK wide cycle journey planner which can be downloaded for use on smartphones. Just input where you want to go and Cycle Streets will navigate for you.

For those of us without such sophisticated computing devices, there's a Cycle Streets website (www.cyclestreets.net/). Maps and directions can be printed out.

The mapping data varies in quality from place to place. Some places such as central London and Cambridge are much better than others, including Coventry. But that's easy to fix! Just go to http://cyclestreets.net/edit/ and edit the map!

Regular Leisure Rides

• Alvaston BMX club: Tel: 024 7639 3334
• Coventry Cycling Club: www.coventrycyclingclub.co.uk
• Coventry Olympic Cycling Club: Tel:01926 632948
• Coventry Road Club: www.coventryroadclub.org.uk
• Coventry Visually Impaired and Sighted Tandem Association: www.vista.org.uk/
• CTC - Coventry: www.coventryctc.org.uk
• Earlsdon Wheelers: http://www.zen180727.zen.co.uk/earlsdonwheelers/schedule.htm
• Godiva Trailriders: www.godivatrailriders.org
• Nuneaton Cycle Club: www.nuneatoncycleclub.co.uk
• Solihull Cycling Club: www.solihullcc.org.uk
• Cycle Solihull: www.cyclesolihull.org.uk

Potholes and obstructions

• If you see a pothole, over-hanging vegetation or other obstruction, don't ignore it, report it!
• Ring Coventry Direct on 0500 834 333, enter the details on Coventry council's website: survey.coventry.gov.uk/forms/pothole/index.html or complete a report at www.fillthathole.org.uk

• Publishing a monthly email newsletter raising cycling related issues
• Publishing the Coventry Cyclist
• Lobbying Coventry Council
• Providing constructive criticism of road proposals from Coventry council, the Highways Agency and other major bodies
• Generally sticking up for cycling!