metJuly05

NOTES OF HFCYCLISTS MEETING

Tuesday 5 July 2005 , 7.30pm in the Info Centre

PRESENT: John Griffiths, Louanne Tranchel, Paul Alexander, Bill Ogden, John Smits, Alan Rowden

APOLOGIES: Mo Morgan, John Gilbert, Chris Bainbridge.

CLLR STEPHEN BURKE

We welcome the new leader of the council. At the West London Green Festival he signed an electric car as an indication a commitment to a sustainable future.

Let us hope that the LIP [Local Implementation Plan] will be given some teeth and that responses to the draft LIP that encouraged cycling will be given full consideration. [our input at http://www.hfcyclists.org.uk/lip.htm]

OYBIKE

Imperial College are doing an analysis of the Oybike system that should have finished 15 May 2005. However some people want to extend this review through the summer months, to get the most from the peak cycling period. There are commercial reasons behind this.

The Urban Partnership Group have been pushing the system. However Gordon Keenan of the UPG and Bernie Hanning, the inventor, are not working very well together. The UPG own about 100 Oybikes. Bernie has recently bought perhaps 25 more bikes with the Duck Bike ads on them. A cynical view is that this is little to do with a transport system and is just a way to try and place ads on the street and recoup the revenue.

The idea that Oybike works as part of an integrated commuter travel system appears not to have been shown to be viable so far. What appears to be wanted is a bike hire / rental scheme where people know where to find and drop a bike. This could be at central points near major stations and possibly hotels.

We discussed many ideas for viable ways in which the 100 or so Oybikes can be used should the pilot fail. At the moment they seem to be static advertising displays. We would like to see them being used by people to cycle. The NDC once had a plan for community cycling, and involved training and maintenance.

A bike hire scheme could be great for the visitor profile of the borough, especially as we have the river, and nice places to cycle to nearby.

CAR FREE DAY

The planning for this is very late in the day. Groups like us, Local Agenda 21, Friends of the Earth have been pressing for King Street to be used for many months now.

It is believed that King Street has been presented to Cllr Michael Cartwright, and the Highways department have rejected it on the grounds that King Street will be a building site. An alternative that is being put forward, to use Godolphin road, has very little community support, and derision from most quarters after the use last year of a cul de sac. In other boroughs Tower bridge was closed, Shorditch had a large carnival, we had Loris Gdns.

We would like to see King Street closed for a while preferably on a Saturday, as a demonstration of how life without your car could be. [buses would be allowed through]. September 22nd falls on a Thursday, and we would recommend Saturday 24th, as it would have more impact, and more people would be available to help run it. Louanne suggested combining with official opening of Lyric Square.

However even if King Street was chosen at this point it is very late to get a significant event organised. And there is also the problem of getting people from the community to actually be involved in any significant contribution at this stage. By comparison planning for the green festival started last November.

BIKE STANDS

Alan believed that in the streetscape improvements in Uxbridge road and King Street, bike racks were being removed and not replaced. John will write to Chris Bainbridge asking if this is happening. However what would be useful is if anyone knows of this happening they could write to Chris Bainbridge with particulars. chris.bainbridge@lbhf.gov.uk

CRITICAL MASS

Bill suggested many people should go on a Critical Mass ride. These occur on the last Friday of the month, meeting soon after 6pm in front of the National Film Theatre on the South bank under Waterloo bridge.

EXPENSES

John had expenses of £11.65 for tonight's refreshments.

NEXT MEETING

Not sure if we will have a meeting in August. John away now for a bit over a week in Cornwall. Will sort out when back.

John Griffiths [chair / co-ordinator]
020 7371 1290 / 07789 095 748
john@truefeelings.com
OUR WEBSITE www.hfcyclists.org.uk