Getting more people on bikes - have your say on Warwickshire's cycling strategy
JUST 1.3 per cent of adults in the Stratford district regularly cycle, but Warwickshire County Council is working to increase the amount of people using pedal power to get around.
When it comes to making journeys by bike at least three times a week, the district falls short of the national average for England (2.3 per cent) and Warwickshire (1.6 per cent).
All of the figures are a low starting point and Stratford is a rural district, making the use of bikes that bit more difficult.
However, there is a strategy at Shire Hall – drawn up following survey last year – to provide more opportunities for safe cycling as well as encouraging more people to walk.
The county council launched a consultation about its draft cycling and walking infrastructure plan on Friday (17th June). Contained within the documents are pages of stats, details of current projects, issues and barriers to improvements and a wish-list of schemes.
Stratford, unsurprisingly as it has the largest population and an army of tourists arriving mainly by road, is seen as offering the largest potential in the district for getting bums on bike seats.
The report states: “The evidence suggests that there is greatest potential for modal shift to cycling for short journeys in the main town of Stratford. In particular, Stratford’s unique place as an international tourist destination offers many opportunities to develop easy to use and safe cycling infrastructure for visitors to access local attractions and accommodation.
“The long list of schemes includes a number of long-distance cycling (and walking) routes which could provide safe and attractive places for exercise and exploration.”
However, the report also notes one central problem for the town: “The quality of existing cycle routes is mixed and there are some key gaps, most notably across the River Avon.”
The need for an improved river crossing was highlighted in the feedback from the council’s survey and in talks with Stratford Cycle Forum, which included new cycle/footbridge over the river among 18 proposed ideas for the town’s cycling network.
The forum also wanted to see the existing Tramway path extended to Shipston, a Henley Street-Guild Street-Birmingham Road cycleway, improvements on Evesham Road, Warwick Road, and Banbury Road and a ‘through town’ route along Bridge Street, Wood Street, Greenhill Street and Alcester Road. There was also a call for linking new housing developments to the town centre via cycle paths and cycling provision added to Arden Street and Clopton Road.
The infrastructure report also includes schemes for Bidford, Alcester and other areas as well as ideas for linking towns and villages – longer cycle routes that could tap into the leisure market.
Support for upgrading and extending greenways as well as creating new routes along disused railway lines was identified as a common theme, including an Alcester-Evesham route along an Avon and Arrow Greenway.
The long list of schemes in the report are all subject to funding and some will come with land ownership issues. However, the consultation will help the county prioritise certain areas and allow it to make the case for funding from the Department for Transport and developer contributions.
Cllr Wallace Redford, the county’s portfolio holder for transport and planning said: “We recognise that it is not enough just to ask residents to make this large model shift without providing the necessary walking and cycling infrastructure that make it both possible and desirable, which is why this consultation is so important.”
This consultation runs until 12th August and includes a drop-in session on 30th June, 2pm-5pm at Stratford town hall.
