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MCC News, Issue 38, Dec 2005 / Jan 2006
Urban Off Road Cycle
You won’t know what you are
missing until you’ve done some off road cycle racing. All the pent up
frustrations of our lives, whether we are aged 4 or 64, that end up being
taken out on the streets, can be completely forgotten and exhausted in the
thrill of the ‘off road’ cycle chase.
In Merton on waste land
between the Wandle and Weir Road we have the potential to set up a course that
will rejuvenate this land for a hugely positive purpose. Hugh Morgan reports
that first approaches found Merton Council and the local Police very supportive
and he is making approaches to Addiscombe, the very active South London cycle
club with a view to tapping their experience for setting up the venue. Your
enthusiastic help and support is needed.
Rise in long-distance commuting
Britain is becoming a
country of long-distance commuters as more people make lengthy journeys to work,
new research suggests. The research revealed a recent rise in very long
commutes. More than 800,000 workers now travel more than 30 miles to work, up
by a third since the 1991 census.
Most of these
long-distance commuters live around London and in south-east England.
Transport News, RSPB, September 2005, Cycle Campaign Network newsletter
DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE
DON’T DRINK AND CYCLE
Look after yourself & have a great but safer festive season.
Questions & Answers
An Interview with
Sergeant Nick Tittle, Merton Police Borough Problem Solving Advisor.
Q:
Cycling on the pavement
is an issue that gets brought up from time to time: what’s prompted your
involvement?
A:
Well, I’m hoping some of
your readers know about the Police Safer Neighbourhood Teams set-up in all the
London Boroughs. Currently, there are
10 teams in Merton and both the Commissioner and the Mayor for London are keen
to cover the remaining areas by the end of March 2007. There are many unique aspects
of Safer Neighbourhoods policing but as part of the citizen focus in every
public service the most important is public consultation to establish
preferences and priorities for action.
This means public
meetings, postal surveys, door to door questionnaires, drop-in surgeries, that
sort of thing. One of the concerns emerging from consultation has been cycling
on the pavement, particularly in Colliers Wood High Street, Mitcham Town Centre
and St Helier Avenue.
Q:
Surely that says more
about whom you spoke to?
A:
We could have a long conversation
about what effective consultation is but not now.
Q:
OK, so what’s the plan?
A:
Well, the first, and most
obvious thing to do is to establish, and maintain, a good working relationship
with Merton Cycling Campaign as a body representing cyclists. As well as
extensive consultation the Safer Neighbourhoods model demands adherence to a
prescribed problem solving process, stages 5 and 6 of which are about options,
what you could do, and responses, what you do. Options and responses are then
broken down into intelligence, what is happening and why?, prevention and
enforcement.
Q:
So what’s this about
Fixed Penalty Notices? [FPNs] All stick, no carrot?
A:
FPNs are one option and
may be one response but first we need to understand what the problem is at each
location. Together with MCC and the London Borough of Merton we are working
with the excellent advisory leaflet produced by Camden and in general we will
comply with the principle of Inform, then Warn before Prosecuting, accepting
there may be aggravating factors justifying going straight to Prosecution. But
you can’t work with a campaigning group like MCC without acknowledging related
issues, such as the need to create a cycling friendly environment, including
doing something about bikes being stolen, but let’s talk about that next time.
I understand there is a
hierarchy, that the cyclist is below the car, van, bus and lorry driver but
also above the pedestrian which is the particular conflict we are looking at.
I expect MCC to remind me
constantly this must be done in context, so Advanced Stop Lines for example
should be policed as part of the package.
Q:
OK, to sum up: you’re
saying the police may issue FPNs to cyclists on the pavement but that is one
option to be considered as part of the problem solving process together with
things like identifying an engineering solution, and, in general, you will
inform then warn before prosecuting. Oh, and you’re going to do something about
bikes being stolen?
A:
Yes.
Q:
Thank you.
Nick Tittle,
Merton Borough Problem Solving Advisor,
Metropolitan Police
Verdict on Cycle Show 2005
As a matter of interest I
did go to the Show. I’m afraid I used public transport and I have to say I
found it dead easy. It was quite
good but I did not see a lot of sales activity at all. I was there all day on Friday and
unfortunately I do not have much more to say on the Show.
Godwin Calafato
Christmas Lunch Ride
Join us for lunch!