Bicycles stolen every 71 seconds

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A bicycle is stolen every 71 seconds in England as new figures show nearly 440,000 were reported stolen last year.

As bike sales rise with people becoming more environmentally conscious, cycle thefts have risen 10%, according to a survey by Halifax Home Insurance.

The hotspots for thefts are central London, Kingston-upon-Thames in south west London, Cambridge and Bristol.

Almost 90% occurred when a cycle was left locked in public. Only 1% of bikes were taken from an owner's home.

Owners are being urged to step up the level of security on their bikes in the light of the new figures.

Vicky Emmott of Halifax Home Insurance called the figure of one theft every 71 seconds "astounding".

"The increase in thefts is due to an upsurge in the popularity of cycling across Britain," she said.

"With increasing numbers of employers taking up initiatives such as the Government's cycle to work scheme, opportunities for thieves will only increase."

Venue for AGM confirmed

The Venue for the Pedal Pushers/Sheffield Cycle Campaign AGM & Grand Social on the 21st of June 2007 has been confirmed as the upstairs room at the Fat Cat. The show starts at 18:00 with a ride around town to look at the new cycle routes that are in place, arriving at 19:30 for a spot of formal business followed by a free buffet and some social events, including the voting for cycle-friendly businesses 2007. Please put it in your diary now!

Cities peddle parking for bicycles

LA Communities hope that valet and other services will encourage residents to use bikes for commuting and doing errands.
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A poem by Patrick Wolf

NEW BLOG - APRIL 20
20.04.07

the tower and the thickets

all along the river
pedalling fast as i could
as all the wastelands flowered
crashed cars and rubbish flourish
with blackberries and redberries

blackberries
sweet
redberries
berries...

have I been travelling so long
that I forgot how to stop?
why are the brakes all broken
wheels spinning out of control

and in the mirror

pale and deathly

have became

what have I become?

mother

what have I become?

lover

what have I become?

still looking for some tower
off all the rails and the roads
in need of resurrection
as my desires and powers
grow in thickets
tall all round me...

around, around, around

So now
Just let the wastelands flower
and all the thickets grow
grow, grow as all the wastelands
flower and all the thickets grow
tall and taller, tall all round me...

-by patrick for william yeats

http://www.patrickwolf.com/

Latest Sheffield FoE Newsletter out Now

The latest Sheffield Friends of the Earth newsletter has been produced and a copy has been placed on their web site.

The current issue features articles about:

• The Climate Change Bill
• Campaign Updates (includes No M1 Widening, car clubs, wind power and more)
• Local Group news (includes details about stalls, change of address, diary and more)
• A round up of the latest local, regional and national eco news.
• Environmental solutions focus on eco friendly housing.
• The briefing section looks at Channel 4’s climate change swindle.
• The armchair campaigner section gives ideas how you can take action at home.

To view the newsletter visit our web site at www.sheffieldfoe.co.uk and select the link from the home page.

TPT Closure at Staveley

Two sections of the Trans Pennine Trail at Staveley in Derbyshire will be closed for the period of 2 years from April 2007, to allow for the construction of the new Staveley Northern Loop road (A6197). These sections will be closed to all users.

1. The section of the Trail going north from Hall Lane at SK431750, under Eckington Road Bridge, to the junction with the Arkwright Line at Lowgates SK437753 (for approximately 0.5 miles) will be closed for the duration of the construction period.

2. The section going south (passing the end of Pullman Close) from SK437749, under the A619 road bridge, to the end of Brindley Way at SK435745 (for approximately 0.3 miles) will also be closed for the duration of the construction period.

Maps showing the locations of the Trail closures will be located on the ground at access points where the Trail is closed. Also, alternative routes will be signed on the ground to guide walkers and cyclists on an alternative route through Staveley - some of which will be off-road or on pavement. Unfortunately a suitable alternative route has not been found for horseriders, due to there being no acceptable way for horses to cross the A619 safely."

Road to nowhere?

David Byrne, formerly of Talking Heads, has had his bicycle stolen. David says "If anyone sees a bike with both a Che sticker and one for the MOST space telescope that’s mine.” David is an active cycle campaigner in New York and takes a Brompton with him on tour. More

Protesters arrested in M1 Protest

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Connections - Northern Rail Newsletter

The new Northern Rail newsletter for April 07 contains info about the Cycle Strategy, eco-stations and the redevelopment of Rotherham Station. Read it Here.

Support Freight on Rail

The following is from Freight on Rail's website:
Ask your MP to sign EDM 730 opposing trials of super trucks and support rail freight instead.

http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=32421&SESSION=885
Please can you ask your MP to lobby the Minister of State for Transport Dr Stephen Ladyman against super trucks (LHVs) and ask them to sign EDM 730 RAIL FREIGHT AND THE ENVIRONMENT, by Kelvin Hopkins which asks the Government to support steps to encourage modal shift from road to rail and therefore oppose the introduction of super trucks.

The Department for Transport is currently reviewing whether to allow trials of super trucks, known as LHVs, which range from 25.5 metres to 30 metres long with weights of 60 to 84 tonnes. This photo shows the most favoured option, the 25.5 metre truck prototype which has units which can be split and driven separately.

The scale of these vehicles
The 60-tonne 25.25-metre supertruck is the same weight of a Challenger tank; the 84-tonne HGV would be twice the weight and almost twice the length of existing HGVs.

There are huge questions over the safety, environmental and social costs these vehicles would impose on society as well as the impact on more sustainable forms of transport such as rail and water. Do you want to Share The Road with these monsters?

Rail freight's environmental credentials
Remember - per tonne carried rail produces between four to ten times less emissions than road transport, depending on the weight of products,

Rail freight can alleviate road congestion - an average freight train can remove 50 HGVs from our roads.

Public Opinion
The public are opposed to these super trucks on our roads which are the most congested in Western Europe. Freight on Rail is campaigning for enhancements on the rail network which will cater for longer and heavier trains.

Safety Implications of super trucks
DfT research showed that because of their size and weight, when they are involved in accidents the level of injury tends to be higher. The same research found that HGVs were twice as likely to be involved in fatal accidents as cars(3). There are concerns about braking distances, manoeuvability - especially on motorway roundabouts - and overtaking complications

LHVs will undermine rail freight viability
Such vehicles would decimate intermodal rail freight and some bulk flows thus forcing trainloads of freight back into our congested road network increasing harmful emissions. If market conditions remain constant, intermodal rail freight is forecasted to grow by over 60 per cent over the next 10 years.

Road access for super trucks
The promoters are claiming that these vehicles will be restricted to motorways, dual carriageways and major roads, but there is no mechanism available to keep them to this and the type of road has not been fully clarified. The reality is that these vehicles will need local access to distribution hubs which would not be on motorways/dual carriageways, but on roads which are totally unsuited to vehicles of this scale. We are concerned - as happened with a previous concession of 44 tonne vehicles to railheads only - that the restriction proposed will not in fact be enforced or enforceable.

Unlike other European countries, the UK allows all vehicles to operate on any road and at any time unless specifically prohibited from doing so. As a result, we will get these very large vehicles travelling down local roads that are wholly unsuitable for the purpose, with consequent intrusion, noise and road damage and safety implications.

Rail also provides another option at a time when there is uncertainty about energy sources, road reliability is worsening and rail freight provides a low carbon option.

2. An opinion survey carried out in August 2005 by NOP showed that over two-thirds of the public are opposed to a proposal - under consideration by government - to increase by one-third the length and weight of lorries permitted on the UK's roads.

3. Focus on Freight December 2006 chart 5.2b Deaths/KSIs in accidents involving HGVs per million km travelled

Members are - EWS, Freightliner, Rail Freight Group, RMT, TSSA, ASLEF, AMICUS, Network Rail and Transport 2000

Implications for cyclists - left turning lorries are one of the most common causes of cycling fatalities.

Please visit http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=32421&SESSION=885 to see the wording of the EDM and see if your mp has signed. Once 100 MPs have signed EDMs the government starts to take notice. At the moment 90 have signed EDM 885.

References available at http://www.freightonrail.org.uk/

Sheffield Cycle Campaign policy statement supports measures to reduce HGV movements-
see http://axelrod.plus.com/ppmw/index.php/Sheffield_Cycle_Campaign_Policies

Good News for Northern Rail passengers?

News gleaned from the latest Rail magazine is that Northern Rail are to replace 26 "Pacers" (aka "Nodding Donkeys" , or "Buses on Rails") with 30 Class 158 units, transferred from other train companies who have upgraded their fleets. Northern has experienced 19% passenger growth since 2004 and this will be good news for most passengers, but will it be good for bike-rail users? Some 158's have a tiny cubby-hole for bikes, which will take two but only if all panniers etc are removed. This was removed on some of the units and a flexible space created where you could get four bikes, or have extra standing space for passengers on crowded rush-hour trains, We will be pressing Northern to make modifications to these units, via their Cycle Forum. Some of the pacers are fitted with a very useful cycle rack, where bags could be placed overhead, and these incorporated heated handrails - much needed after time spent waiting on a cold Northern platform!

The pacers will apparently be placed in "warm store" to be used as required on crowded services. Paul Salveson, Northern's Head of Govt & Community Strategies, has in the past suggested that pacer coaches be used as "add-ons" to carry bikes and heavy luggage - however with the leasing charges for a pacer currently running at a cool million pounds a year this seems a slim prospect. Paul has an article in the Rail magazine about bikes on trains, in advance of the publication of their Cycle Strategy, recently previewed at Manchester Airport.

In other Rail news, the government is to fund the purchase of an additional 1,000 coaches to be used across the network by 2012, and has released the specifications for the replacement of the High Speed Train. We need to keep an eye on these developments and ensure cyclists don't lose out.

Whatever the limitations, heavy rail continues to be the only public transport mode that takes integration with cycling seriously.

(Posted to ppnews by Simon)

The Social Blog has been updated

http://axelrod.plus.com/sftp/ppfiles/ppsocial.shtml