“I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike…..”

“…I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it where I like…….”

Not my words…the words of the late, great Freddie Mercury. And yes, you can ride your bike where you like. And as a community, we want MORE people to ride their bikes.

And if they haven’t got bikes, then we want them to borrow one!!

The latest bike share map has just been produced but this time giving the reader an overall worldwide view of this increasing phenomenon. You can take a look at it by clicking here.

According to the map, there are 553 bike share programs in operation worldwide and another 193 in planning or under construction. And they’re not all in Europe or the USA.

The worldwide leader in bike sharing, as measured by the number of bikes, is China. According to data collected by the Earth Policy Institute, 20 of the 25 largest bike share programs are Chinese. The largest scheme in the world currently is in Hangzhou (below) with 66,500 bicycles operating from 2,700 stations.  China’s other largest bike share is in the city of Wuhan, where it has twice the number of bikes as all of France’s shares combined.

But bringing things a little closer to home, if you click on the UK on the map, you will see that there seems to be a distinct lack of little green cycles in the middle of the UK.

Now I know what you’re thinking – here comes another rant. And yes, you’d be right. Here it is….

COME ON BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL !!! WHERE IS OUR BIKE SHARE SCHEME? WHY AREN’T YOU SPENDING ANY OF THAT “CYCLING” MONEY YOU PROMISED? (and breathe…..)

So for now, it’s only those of us that own bikes that can cycle where we like.

Sorry Freddie……

“The train at Platform 2 is………You?”

When someone tells you they get the train to work, you would naturally imagine that they go to their local station, board the usual fit-to-bursting carriage, stand for the entire journey and arrive at work more annoyed than a lottery winner whose lost their ticket.

And for most Birmingham commuters that is exactly what happens.

But for some, all that is about to change. A different sort of train is coming along the tracks…..

Is it a super-fast Virgin Pendalino? Is a radically new Cross Country Voyager? How about a London Midland “luxury” Class 350 Desiro? (and before you call me a train nerd, I had to look these up!!)

Well, it’s none of these. This train will be made up of people. People on their bikes. Pedalling from around the city, into Birmingham, on their morning commute. Or at least that is the plan.

With the A38 tunnels due to be closed later this month for six weeks, Birmingham City Council is hoping to encourage motorists to give up their precious “gas guzzlers” in favour of taking a more “self-propelled” two-wheeled alternative. Together with their road contractor Amey, Birmingham Council have set up a website to help motorists find alternative ways of navigating through the city whilst this main access route is cut off.

And one of these alternative ways is the Bike Train. Transport Authority Centro are running the “trains” from key starting points across Birmingham and will take commuters into the city centre. There will be cycle instructors from BikeRight leading the rides so for those who are a little nervous about undertaking such a journey, you will be in safe hands!

The starting points will be Acocks Green, Selly Oak and Perry Barr. More information about exact dates and times can be found here on the Brum Tunnels website.

And who knows…this might catch on. First a few, then a few more and before you know, the whole city is cycling!

After all, the city needs cars like a fish needs a bicycle !!

Same old Bore-ing rhetoric?

Anyone reading this article in yesterday’s Birmingham Mail may be encouraged and even excited by what Sir Albert Bore has to say. He is  quoted as saying  “We’ll make Brum’s transport system among the best in Europe”

A very bold statement Bertie. But do you really expect us to fall for this? Birmingham is already lagging behind other cities in the UK – you say yourself that “Birmingham is not up to the mark you want in Manchester where you’ve got a Metro”.

But something does baffle me….

Sir Albert’s 10 year “Transport Vision” includes the integrated development of tram and bus routes, railway stations and even cycle lanes and pedestrian zones.

Which is all very good, but does that mean the Cycle Revolution plans have been shelved? Or are you now saying all of your proposed cycle planning that was going to take 20 years are now only going to take 10?

I’m confused…..

And with Birmingham City Council having to save hundreds of millions of pounds  from their budget by cutting services here, there and everywhere, I wonder “Who’s going to pay for all this?”

But there is one thing that Sir Albert and I agree on – he says that “in transport terms, the city was going nowhere, crippled by traffic congestion and piecemeal services which left communities isolated”

I whole-heartedly agree – so come on Bertie….Sort it out !!

What is thy bidding, my master?

Well, it comes in the form of this rather smart looking PDF.

If you are as anxious as I am for Birmingham to get a hold of the Government money we are bidding for, and if you haven’t already done so, take a look at the proposal that Birmingham City Council has put forward to revolutionise our cycling infrastructure.

It’s impressive and details their plans for what will be a radical overhaul of cycle routes into and out of the city.

I must admit, on first inspection, I was a little baffled by the maps, but taking a closer look, you can see where the improvements are planned.

There is also a video in which several people such as Councillor James McKay, Chief Executive of Birmingham City Council Stephen Hughes and Yvonne Gilligan, regional director of Sustrans, explain what this bid could mean for cycling in Birmingham.

As I have said on several occasions, it is vital that Birmingham concentrate all efforts to secure this money from government and plough it into making this city as cycle-friendly as possible.

We are more than a motor city – “Britain’s Detroit” if you like; so with the right investment and the right people at the helm, this could indeed be the start of the cycling revolution….

So click the link, read the report, watch the video…..tell me what you think…

A Capital idea Boris! Take note Birmingham!!

Let me start this update by saying it may seem very obvious that what I’m about to tell you (unless you’ve already seen it) has very little to do with cyclists in Birmingham but it certainly maybe something that those in charge of Birmingham’s cycle planning can take note of and maybe learn from.

We all know that London mayor Boris Johnson is a celebrated, some may say infamous cyclist and can often be seen commuting around the capital on two wheels and his affection for cycling may be the reason for his plans to try to make things safer and easier for cyclists in London.

Boris has recently unveiled an ambitious, billion pound plan to make the capital more people-friendly.  Road space will be taken from cars and given over to bicycles. Separated cycle routes will be installed over the next four years, including in front of the Houses of Parliament. ‘Cyclist dismount’ signs will be removed and with more road space given over to cyclists, Transport for London hopes there will be less cycling on the pavement.

In this promotional video, you can see what the plans would look like.

Given the fact that London is classed as one of the busiest cities in the world, it got me thinking “what could Birmingham learn from these plans?”.

Well, quite frankly, an awful lot !

If Birmingham City Council decided to be bold and really embrace these sorts of plans then we could truly rival other cities that have a brilliant cycling infrastructure.

And the key here is that they DO have to be bold, they DO have to embrace change – rather than stick to their usual protocol when it comes to cycling in our city and just paint over the cracks of an already tired system.

If you have taken a look at Boris’ promo video from the link above, you will see it shows a plan for Victoria Embankment – one of London’s most popular roads.

So, if you were in charge…

Daredevil cycling..

Thanks to Kyle from B14 News for bringing this to my attention.

In the pictures above is a classic example of what cyclists are up against. It is the latest in Birmingham City Council’s “attempt” to make cycling safer on the Queensbridge Rd/Reddings Rd/Russell Rd/Moor Green Lane roundabout.

Safer?

I’d be safer if I was dangling 100 feet in the air held by a dodgy rope above some rusty spikes!

Whilst I sort of admire the council’s attempt, looking at the layout of these “safety lanes”, it not only makes it dangerous for the cyclist but also baffles the motorist!

In the second picture, look how the car has to swerve INTO the cycle lane to get around the island. Now imagine you are on your bike when that happens. Where would you end up? On the bonnet of the car? Flat on your back on the street? In A&E at the Q.E Hospital?

Probably all three.

So really, for me, the only winners here are the doctors and nurses of Q.E – at least they will get to put into practice all of their training on more injured cyclists.

 

Quick update to this – I’ve just seen this story on BBC News about how London maybe getting Dutch roundabouts for cyclists. Maybe someone from Birmingham City Council needs to be at that meeting !!

Let’s Ride….

So…it started with an idea over coffee in my local Costa. Birmingham has lots of cyclists and now we are bidding for £17 million pounds to make major changes to Birmingham’s cycling infrastructure. This will transform our city and hopefully make it better for cyclists. Birmingham Council want it to rival cities such as Amsterdam – that’s asking a lot, but it is possible.

So my idea?

Well, this blog will feature pictures of cyclists and their bikes in the hope that it will prove that Birmingham is not just a city for cars and buses – I want to help the bid and encourage more people to get on their bikes. Birmingham IS a “Cycle City”!!

Related articles

• West Midlands News: £17m bid to improve Birmingham’s cycling offer (birminghampost.net)