OnLine Petitions: Bikes on trains etc

We the people of Britain, would like to see better provision for bikes, on trains, buses and roads in Britian. This would mean fitting more bike racks on buses and insuring them adequately so they can be used; it means more space on train carriages for bikes to be parked; it means more cycle lanes, especially in town centres; and it means helping to change the aggressive attitudes of cars on the road.
petitions.pm.gov.uk: carboncycle

Currently there is no minimum requirement for train operators to carry bicycles and each operator has a different set of rules and booking procedures.

.....

Clearly, a national policy is required with a fully integrated booking system (that is available online through the standard ticket retailers) and incentives/requirements for operators to improve capacity.
petitions.pm.gov.uk: bikes-on-trains

Longbridge Area Action Plan

The Longbridge Area Action Plan consultaion closed on 9/5/08.

Sustrans 5 leaves the Rea River on one side of the site, wobbles along roads and rejoins the river on the other side of the site.

Is this a once in a lifetime chance to enhance Sustrans 5?

Let's hope that the opportunity to enhance Sustrans 5 with a Dutch quality cycleway crossing the Longbridge site is taken up.

Details >>

Harborne Walkway

Birmingham City Council expects to upgrade the path surfce in the current - 2008 - financial year.

PushBikes has asked for details to see:

how well it will cater for simultaneous use by pedestrians & cyclists.
will it be surfaced & drained so that it will be usable in wet weather
will the trees which tend to drop branches on the walkway be mnaintained?

The proper standard would be that of the Rea River Trail

Birmingham City Council Cycling Advisory Group

Report: June 2008 CAG meeting

Some good news on the Harborne Walkway, Cole Valey route and North Birmingham Connect 2 route

However the overall zeitgeist is chatting & much time was spent yakking about targets and going forward with a vision to set up another talk fest for all the stakeholders.

Oh, why not just set up one arterial route project and a 20mph zone focussed on promoting cycling to local community facilities such as shops, schools, libraries, park your bike & bus it etc then evaluate the results?

Hagley Road

No progress to report.

Actually, it's got worse!
The building works at the Five Ways end of Calthorpe Rd have narrowed the road so much that there's no room to pass a bike on this very busy section of the road. The pathway also has a blind turn at the end so is dangerous as well as illegal.

The heavy traffic down Westbourne Rd, school buses etc outside Edgie High and the increase in parking along the right make it difficult for cyclists.

The other alternative, a contraflow cycle lane along Harborne Rd, looks increasingly unlikely as the number of parked cars during peak hours continues to rise. Ths section of Harborne Rd will soon be one lane for much of it's length.

Neeraj has noticed that the traffic light cycle for cyclists turning right from Hagley Rd into Bearwood Rd is so short that cyclists can't make it before the oncoming deluge of cars is released.

Canals: British Waterways User group

PushBikes is actively discussing issues relevant to cycling with Britsh waterways.

Edgebaston Tunnel

The surface in the tunnel has deteriorated again! Even worse, the lights were not working for 3 weeks. The Council is responsible for maintenance, including the lights: for 3 weeks, they put signs at each end of the tunnel saying there are no lights.
The signs were invisible at night & we can see that there aren't any lights already! Useless, but probably ticks a box and absolves them of legal liability for accidents etc?

In contrast, the shorter tunnels in Kings Norton have recently had their brick paving repaired.

Widening the Edgebaston Tunnel may not be feasible - expensive & narrows the waterway - but surely providing a stable long wearing surface is. In my experience, someone does a crappy 'fill the holes and smooth the dirt repair' each year, so the cost of this over 5 years would probably pay for marble paving?