All we want for Christmas… is a bike-friendly Manchester!
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The season to be jolly is nearly upon us and this month, Manchester Friends of the Earth are inviting people in Greater Manchester to join in with a Bike Friday cycle ride on Friday 28 November wearing suitable festive attire. [1]
We are also encouraging people to respond to the public consultations on four new proposed cycling routes. [2] The proposed routes are part of the £20 million Velocity 2025 programme. [3]
Love Your Bike recently updated its “Getting moving: a cycling manifesto for Greater Manchester”. We believe that people would like to cycle more often but want safe and comfortable cycling routes. The ‘Manifesto’ outlines 6 key design criteria that would help ensure all cycling routes are designed to be: Safe, Coherent, Direct, Comfortable, Attractive and Future-proof. [4]
Graeme Sherriff, from Manchester Friends of the Earth said: “It would be great if Santa can help Manchester deliver safe and comfortable cycling routes that go where people want to go. Enabling more people to cycle is a great way to build exercise into our everyday lives and burn off all those mince pies!”
Monday 1 December is the deadline for responding to the Prestwich Cycleway and the Airport Cycleway proposals and Friday 2 January for the Wilmslow Road and Cheetham Cycleway proposals. [5]
Bike Friday combines a range of cycle rides into the City Centre from various locations as well as working with companies and local authorities in Greater Manchester to promote cycling, improve cycle facilities and to encourage more people to continue cycling to school, work and for leisure all year round.
CONTACTS FOR COMMENTS
Graeme Sherriff, Manchester Friends of the Earth sustainable transport campaign co-ordinator. Mobile: 07948 405071
Pete Abel, Love Your Bike. Mobile: 07951 642858
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
[1] The Bike Friday cycle rides start at 8am from Chorlton Library, Levenshulme Station, Prestwich Pizza Express, Sale, Withington Library and Tescos Blackley and this month will finish at approx 8.30am at Pot, Kettle, Black in St Ann’s Square.
The Worsley and Stockport rides start earlier at 7.40am. The Bike Friday cycle rides take place on the morning of the last Friday of every month (except December). The rides go a moderate pace, have experienced ride leaders, are entirely law-abiding and can help people develop more confidence in their cycling abilities. See www.bikefriday.org
[2] Details of the Velocity cycle routes are available at http://www.manchester.gov.uk/
[3] See http://cycling.tfgm.com/Pages/
[4] See http://www.manchesterfoe.org.
Safe: Design should minimise the actual and perceived risk. Perceived risk is a key barrier to cycle use and users should feel safe as well as be safe.
Coherent: Cycling infrastructure should form a coherent network which links origins and destinations. Routes should be continuous from an origin to a destination, easy to navigate and of a consistently high quality.
Direct: People should be offered as direct a route as possible based on existing and latent trip desire lines, minimising detours and delays.
Comfortable: People prefer sheltered, smooth, uninterrupted, well-maintained surfaces with gentle gradients. Routes should meet surface width, quality and gradient standards, be convenient and avoid complex manoeuvres.
Attractive: Infrastructure should be designed in harmony with its surroundings in such a way that the whole experience makes cycling attractive. A route should complement and enhance an area.
Future-proof: Infrastructure should be able to accommodate increasing numbers of users over time.
[5] Bike Friday is coordinated by Love Your Bike (Manchester Friends of the Earth) and Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign (GMCC)Love Your Bike is an award winning Manchester based campaign aiming to promote cycling and help make it an even more attractive, accessible and fun way to get around. Co-ordinated by Manchester Friends of the Earth, the campaign works in partnership with other like-minded organisations. See www.loveyourbike.org
