Cheadle and Gatley Lib Dems are moving
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by Lib Dem team on 15 March, 2012
Earlier this week I attended a conference on boosting cycling.
Though we don’t currently have the sort of money central London is able to put into it, we’ve been working hard in Stockport Borough and across Greater Manchester on getting more people on their bikes. Cycling isn’t for everyone, but if we could get one-in-ten local journeys to be made by bicycle, it would make a big difference to everyone.
There was an interesting survey looking at how much people spend depending on their mode of transport. It turns out that – over the course of a month – those coming into the shopping areas by bike spend more than people who come in by bus, car, or train. With car parking often at a premium (especially in places like Gatley where we have few options to provide many more spaces), getting more people cycling is one way to increase the overall number of shoppers coming into the village.
In places like Gatley and Cheadle, I am certain there are lots of people (not everyone, by any means, but a good number) who could shop locally but don’t want to risk sitting in a traffic jam as they drive in and hunt for a parking space – when they could easily cycle in and save time in doing it.
We’ll be talking to businesses and residents to look at practical and affordable ways we can encourage more people to cycle into Cheadle and Gatley, with the aim of reducing traffic on our roads, easing parking problems, getting more people shopping locally, and bringing in more money to local traders.
2 Comments
Things that need improving from the point of view of a cyclist who does ~50 miles per week around Gatley, Cheadle and stockport…
Cycle parking there is none (almost none?) in Gatley and Cheadle – pity this wasn’t addressed with the re-laying of the pavements…
Less queueing at A34 junction – believe this is being addressed
Move barriers on A34 cycle crossing points to make it possible to continue with trailer without having to come to a complete stop and shuffle round
Remove no-cycling byelaw from path running along Scholes park
Remove artificial road narrowing (traffic ‘calming’). Frequently get raced and/or squeezed on Church road in Gatley opposite Gatley green. I realise this is theoretically bad for pedestrians, but you asked about cycling 🙂
This is the biggest, but most difficult to tackle; poor behaviour of motorists. How about bikesafe (or equiv), i.e., ability to report poor driving and for it to be taken seriously. And yes, there are poorly behaved cyclists, but cyclists kill a few people a year and motorists kill thousands! So once we’ve got the figures for motorists killing people down to a few a year then equal effort should be made in getting cyclists to improve their behavior.
Fewer motor vehicles on the road would help too, but that’s a bigger question…
as an infrequent cyclist, but one who does obey red lights (i know, very unusual in this area) there roads/junctions i will not cycle on or through. they are not safe to do so, not because motorists are at fault, but simply because they are not appropriate routes for cyclists. if cycling fraternity want more space and their own lanes, they should have the bikes registered, insured and be called to book for not obeying red lights and riding in two and three abreast. one must accept that despite wishing to be ‘greener’ and for politicians to succumb to the ‘popular’ choice for votes, in the real world, a cyclist shouldn’t be allowed hold up dozens of cars at one of the busiest junctions in Stockport. its dangerous and causes more pollution.