Fiona Bruce MP holds meeting of cyclists to discuss how to make Congleton Constituency a more cycling friendly place
Fiona Bruce MP hosted a meeting of over 20 cyclists at her offices in Riverside, Congleton in order to establish what was needed to make the Congleton Constituency more ‘cyclist friendly’.
Representatives from across the Constituency including Alsager, Holmes Chapel, Sandbach, Mow Cop and Congleton Cycling Club met with Fiona and Alan Lawson, on behalf of Congleton Local Area Partnership at Cheshire East Council and its newly formed sub group, the South East Cheshire Cycling Action Group, to air their views and suggest improvements for the future.
The busy meeting covered a wide range of subject areas from the problems of potholes to driver attitudes and speed.
The biggest of the issues raised was that of driver attitudes towards cyclists. It was felt by the meeting as a whole that car drivers often see cyclists as a nuisance and do not respect a cyclist’s right to be on the road. The meeting felt that this was a national problem that would benefit from better training of drivers and cyclists and of a campaign in the media much like the ‘Think Bike’ campaign for motorbikes.
Alan Lawson told the meeting that there was a group starting across Congleton Constituency of cycling representatives – South East Cheshire Cycling Action Group - that would look at tackling important issues to cyclists and promote cycling as a viable mode of transport, not just for leisure. Starting in Holmes Chapel the group is looking at putting together a map of available cycle routes around the towns and into the surrounding countryside.
Fiona Bruce MP said: “I called this meeting to get together cyclists from right across my Constituency and it was excellent to see so many there from Alsager, Holmes Chapel, Sandbach, Mow Cop and Congleton, to discuss how we can make this area a more cyclist and more cycling friendly place.
We had a positive and extensive discussion with some excellent practical suggestions, which I hope will be quickly taken up by Cheshire East Council such as improved signage, speedy pothole repair, a cycle to work scheme and a Cheshire East Cycle Day to promote the health and enjoyment benefits of cycling more widely. There were also some important longer term strategic proposals such as improving driver awareness of cyclists through changes in the driving test and better bike facilities at local stations and I am taking these up at National level with Government ministers and Agencies such as the Highways Authority and Rail companies.
I am encouraged by the announcement at the meeting of a new group, the South East Cheshire Cycling Action Group, which will be working as part of the Congleton LAP and am pleased that this group will be able to take forward the many constructive suggestions from this meeting on an on-going basis.”
Alan Lawson said: “I was impressed by the large turnout at the meeting, indicating the strength of feeling locally around cycling issues. The discussion highlighted that there are clear benefits to society of increasing the number of people using their bikes instead of their cars, especially for short journeys, such as health benefits, environmental benefits and reduced traffic levels. Yet there are significant factors discouraging people from doing so, relating to safety, infrastructure and a perception that significant numbers of motorists perhaps do not regard cyclists as legitimate road users. Congleton Local Area Partnership is keen to work with local cycling groups and other local organizations to look at ways of beginning to overcome some of these barriers and get more of us on our bikes.”
