Opinion: 'Warwickshire County Council are going to have to step up a gear or two'

This week The Courier ran a piece about the Warwick Clean Air Group welcoming the Government investment into cycling and walking facilities
Cycleways,a volunteer group in the Warwick district campaigning for better cycle provisions in the area, havespoken out about the facilities in Warwickshire. Photo suppliedCycleways,a volunteer group in the Warwick district campaigning for better cycle provisions in the area, havespoken out about the facilities in Warwickshire. Photo supplied
Cycleways,a volunteer group in the Warwick district campaigning for better cycle provisions in the area, havespoken out about the facilities in Warwickshire. Photo supplied

'Warwickshire County Council are going to have to step up a gear or two' - that is the opinion of the chair of a group that aims to improve cycling provisions in the Warwick district.

This week The Courier ran a piece about the Warwick Clean Air Group welcoming the Government investment into cycling and walking facilities.

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Following on from this, Cycleways, a volunteer group in the Warwick district campaigning for better cycle provision in the area, have spoken out about the provisions in Warwickshire.

Cycling provisions in Copenhagen. Photo suppliedCycling provisions in Copenhagen. Photo supplied
Cycling provisions in Copenhagen. Photo supplied

Leamington Cycleways chairman Tony Lewenz said: "One of our Cycleways members, Danish born Leamington resident Clara Jørgensen has just returned from a family-visit in Denmark where she was reminded by just how far Warwickshire County Council is behind Denmark in cycling provision.

"She wonders how they are going to meet Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s recent wish 'to see everyone soon on their bikes'.

"Having grown up in Denmark, where cycling was the norm, Clara has a love of cycling and a keen wish to pass that on to her children as an everyday mode of transport.

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"But living in Leamington with its very poor provision for cyclists, this has been a challenge.

Cycling provisions in Copenhagen. Photo suppliedCycling provisions in Copenhagen. Photo supplied
Cycling provisions in Copenhagen. Photo supplied

"As most parents with children will probably agree, our busy and dangerous roads are not ideal for young cyclists."

Clara, a member of Cycleways, said: “This summer, my family and I were lucky to borrow four bicycles while visiting Copenhagen.

"For the first time since my daughters were born, we were able to fully take advantage of the city’s continuous network of wide and separated cycle lanes and had an absolutely wonderful time.

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"Within a week, we had cycled over 120 km along main roads, quiet side streets and designated green routes within the city.

"We were able to cycle next to each other and chat while enjoying our surroundings and everywhere we went, roads had proper signage for cyclists, cyclists had the right of way (after pedestrians) and bicycle parking was readily available.

"My 10-year old daughter has always had a bit of an aversion to cycling, by the end of the week she admitted that at least she now no longer ‘hates it’.

Cycling in Denmark is an inclusive mode of transport for people of all ages, gender and social backgrounds. "

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Following on from Clara's comments, Tony added: "Along with many of our members in Cycleways, Clara wishes that Warwickshire councils would similarly take cycling seriously as a healthy, active, inclusive and family-friendly mode of transport, and speed up the creation of the infrastructure we need to support it, so that more children and adults could get to enjoy cycling as it should be.”

"Warwickshire County Council has lagged behind users in the UK in making investments in cycling and failed to secure its fair share of Government funding to improve the situation.

"The Government has recently announced more funding and the creation of a new commissioning body and inspectorate, “Active Travel England,” to hold local authorities to account and ensure they deliver the Government's ambitious plans for cycling outlined in their recent publication 'Gear Change - A bold vision for cycling and walking'.

"Warwickshire County Council are going to have to step up a gear or two.

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"Reading the Government's document I think they must have visited Warwickshire as it describes the state of and the attitude to cycling here perfectly when it says:

'Much cycling infrastructure in this country is inadequate. It reflects a belief, conscious or otherwise, that hardly anyone cycles, that cycling is unimportant and that cycles must take no meaningful space from more important road users, such as motor vehicles and pedestrians. It offers little protection from motor traffic and gives up at the points where any difficulty is faced or inconvenience to motorists is risked. These are often, of course, precisely the places where cycling provision is most needed'

"That sounds like Warwickshire and the attitude of our County Council.

"Cycleways is a long established group of local volunteers wanting to make cycling better in Leamington, Kenilworth, Warwick and the roads and villages in between.

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"We intend to hold our County Council members and officers feet to the fire to ensure that they are one of the leading local authorities in implementing Boris Johnson’s ambitious plans for cycling.

"As a start we are inviting local councillors and officers to join us on a short cycle ride through the district on October 6 to see just how bad the current infrastructure is and explain how it can be improved. We hope they will join us.

"If you agree with us we would love you to join us. You can find details on cycleways.org.uk