tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194055897691199164.post8047811359829570804..comments2024-03-23T08:42:01.705+00:00Comments on People's Cycling Front of South Gloucestershire: BBC on Cycling CityUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194055897691199164.post-52947888615550631592011-03-09T12:36:19.380+00:002011-03-09T12:36:19.380+00:00Jon Rogers and Ed Plowden were on BBC Radio Bristo...Jon Rogers and Ed Plowden were on BBC Radio Bristol on Monday, and they claimed that they'd looked at best practice from other countries, including the Netherlands...<br /><br />"Looking at" and "learning from and implementing" are obviously two different concepts.Tim Beadlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17958070871462777000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194055897691199164.post-5741825082598426972011-03-08T08:31:40.974+00:002011-03-08T08:31:40.974+00:00Yes, that email :-) As you'll see if you follo...Yes, that email :-) As you'll see if you follow the link, I no longer feel I need to be anonymous as I was in Josh's blog post at the time.<br /><br />I tried inviting the Cycling City people to <a href="http://hembrow.eu/cycling/studytour.html" rel="nofollow">come and take a look</a> at the Netherlands, but not only did they not come, but I also couldn't get them to respond at all. As such, they never even found out whether what we were offering could have been of any use to them.<br /><br />It's rather tragic really. They've spent a lot of money, but with no real direction, and your <a href="http://cyclingfront.blogspot.com/2011/03/better-by-bike.html" rel="nofollow">new post</a> shows the level of what they think is an achievement worth boasting about.David Hembrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14543024940730663645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194055897691199164.post-29087980791533858432011-03-07T15:33:43.981+00:002011-03-07T15:33:43.981+00:001. Link is fixed.
2. That email was from Joshua H...1. Link is fixed.<br /><br />2. That email was from Joshua Hart, who came to UWE -in S Gloucs- to study traffic. The full letter was<br /><br /><br />The Cycling City program is most certainly NOT heading in the right direction. It is (as it stands right now Dec. 1st) heading in the direction of failure, administrative incompetence, frittering away countless millions without a strategic vision, poor design practice and lack of accountability (though perhaps with a shiny green image stamped on top). Sorry to be blunt, but that is the truth.<br /><br />Even cycle planning professionals abroad are beginning to take notice that things aren't going as well as they could be:<br />http://onthelevelblog.wordpress.com/2008/11/28/bristol-cycling-city-a-troubling-reputation-already/<br /><br />Bravo Steve Kinsella for putting the reality in such clear terms and asking the difficult questions.<br /><br />When will the City Council begin engaging with us, rather than working hard to keep us at a distance? We still have had no guarantee of a formal or informal input into the process.<br /><br />The truth is that although Bristolians are clamoring for better transport choices, I don't think the people who run this city are ready for it to become a Cycling City. And £22.4 million ain't gonna change that.<br /><br />Speaking for myself, I'd prefer to see Bristol get its act together and successfully invest the 22 mil in cycling, but if we can't manage it and get the right people to direct the funds in the right place (with an adequate albeit abbreviated consultation), I'd rather another city got the money- a city who can demonstrate the potential of cycling to solve some of our most pressing urban problems. Then perhaps Bristol will take note.<br /><br />No one wants to vigorously oppose the Cycling City plan in public, but advocacy groups will have little choice if things continue as they are.<br /><br />JoshPeople's Cycling Front of South Gloucestershirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00407993305053034934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194055897691199164.post-67522815640874841492011-03-07T15:22:09.222+00:002011-03-07T15:22:09.222+00:00It's sad that Bristol's initiative failed ...It's sad that Bristol's initiative failed in so many ways, but not surprising. Indeed, it looked like this would happen from the beginning, as they talked it into the ground instead of doing the things that needed doing.<br /><br />Back in 2008, someone sent me email which read "<i>The Cycling City program is most certainly NOT heading in the right direction. It is (as it stands right now Dec. 1st) heading in the direction of failure, administrative incompetence, frittering away countless millions without a strategic vision, poor design practice and lack of accountability (though perhaps with a shiny green image stamped on top). Sorry to be blunt, but that is the truth.</i>"<br /><br />I think this person was proven to have been right.<br /><br />When the cycling city and the cycling towns initiatives started, I wrote to the people involved in them to suggest that coming over here for a <a href="http://hembrow.eu/cycling/studytour.html" rel="nofollow">Study Tour</a> would be a reasonable thing to do in order to get an idea of what actually works. Not one of them responded, even to ask the price or any details of it in order to find out if it might have been of interest. I find that rather sad. They seemingly have no idea of even where to look for inspiration.<br /><br />BTW, I think your link above named "in print" ought to have gone <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-12663323" rel="nofollow">here</a>.David Hembrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14543024940730663645noreply@blogger.com