Dear <<First Name>> 

At long last we seem to have hit a run of sunny weather. Dare we say it, though: the gardens need some rain!

Colchester Cycling Campaign is all about making it easier to ride around town but at this time of year many of you will be thinking about day trips further afield or even cycling holidays.

If you've never seen them, Plotaroute and Komoot can help with ride planning. Take care with using them as one person's idea of a safe road may not necessarily be yours.

Right, I'm off to water the veggies.

Ed

... this Thursday is polling day. We hope you have been quizzing candidates on your doorstep and asking what they intend to do for cycling. Here at Mile End Towers we've had only one candidate knock on the door – a pretty poor turnout by the others.

if you're on Twitter/X or Facebook, why not take a snap of your bike at the polling station? Post about your voting experience with the hashtag #BikesAtPollingStations. Oh and add #Colchester.
 
This well-worn Trek bike, above, belongs to a famous politician who posted on a previous #BikesAtPollingStations day. Any guesses who the bike belongs to? 

Oh, you want a clue? OK then ...they were born in the year that a famous international incident took place, which was recreated for a film using the rivers Stour and Orwell. Find out the identity of the rider (and read about the incident) at the bottom of the newsletter.

While we're talking politics, Cycling UK's manifesto is below. The national cycling group asks members to use it to lobby candidates but also to help measure the performance of whichever party wins power.

June was one of the busiest months the campaign committee can remember, all thanks to some crazy decisions to fine responsible cyclists under the city centre Public Spaces Protection Order. The PSPO is aimed primarily at public drunkenness, aggressive begging and general bad behaviour but it seems everyday cyclists are caught in the crossfire.

Will Bramhill, vice-secretary, and Nat Catchpole, committee member, were involved in umpteen phone calls, emails and meetings to try to sort the matter out.

If you're busy and can't read the rest of the story below, the summary is that David King, the council leader, has apologised to cyclists who complained and told wardens to "educate not fine" (except for heinous cases) for the time being.

All the fines of people who complained have been rescinded.

The campaign has also secured a promise that all cycling fines will be reviewed (there were 62 between April 1 and June 1) and a pledge that the PSPO wording will be looked at. We plan to get together with the leader of the council to review progress next month.

There was coverage in the Gazette and a mammoth 4,000 word piece on road.cc. The saga has attracted interest internationally and Ryan Mallon of road.cc says the Colchester stories top his "most-read of 2024" list, with 160,000 views for Helge Gillmeister at No1 and 150,000 for the follow-up feature at No 2.

Back to some detail:

The first inkling that something was wrong was when Helge was fined £100 ... for riding on a cycleway next to Southway. Then Stuart Braybrooke was fined for riding on the footway at St Botolph's as he tried to avoid the intimidating roundabout there.

Stuart's case forced the campaign to formulate a policy on footway cycling (at the bottom of this piece). We don't favour footway cycling – we want better infrastructure! – and we certainly don't want to sanction yobs on bikes.

We then heard from Tom Roper, Martyna, Judith Highfield and her partner Mark, and William Innocent.

• Tom, the son of Professor Mike Roper, a campaign founder member,  was stopped in the same place as Stuart
• Martyna says her mother was fined in Long Wyre Street
• Judith and Mark were penalised in Culver Street West, which leads to the new cycle park and the bike kitchen, and told by her granddaughter that she was hardly a "gangsta gran", and
• William was stopped and fined as he rode through the bollards between West Stockwell Street and High Street.

Aside from the St Botolph's cases, all these people were fined for riding in places where cycling is perfectly legal. It is the same as a driver being stopped and fined for simply using the A12.

In the St Botolph's cases, the Boateng Principle (ministerial guidance on fining) should have been applied.

The campaign is especially upset about this situation as last autumn we responded to a city consultation on the PSPO to flag up poor wording on the order. At the time we were assured it was intended to catch "cyclists who ride directly at people and those who go over flowerbeds".

The campaign also advised the council to check traffic regulation orders which cover streets where cycling is banned Our contribution was apparently ignored. We don't think anyone ever expected the matter to blow up so spectacularly!

Aside from the wardens not showing discretion, they have been confused by these signs, below, in Long Wyre Street and Culver Street West. The red circle

means "no cars or motorbikes" in a timed restriction, but the "Pedestrian Zone" actually means "Pedestrian and Cyclist Zone". The problem is that these signs were put up during Cycling Town 2009-12. Essex County Council decided to allow cycling in both streets but the Department for Transport signage rules were behind the times. Those rules have changed to allow the words "Pedestrian and Cyclist Zone" but the signs will only be changed as part of routine maintenance, which could be years away.

In William's case, these are the bollards he cycled through, which is perfectly

legal -- and it is also next to the town hall. The wardens were making up the rules as they went along!

Why would that be? The campaign's Neil Allen (who dislikes footway cycling more than most) ferreted around on the city council website and found that the wardens are employed by a national company called Waste Investigations and Support and Enforcement (Wise). The council boasts that “this scheme comes at no additional cost to [us]”.

This raised questions about how the wardens are funded. It appears that while the wardens are not on a bonus for each fine, their company sets a quota, which incentivises individual wardens to take action.

In the past, PSPOs nationally have been used to criminalise poverty until Liberty won this court case. A quick look at Reddit, the social media website, has reports from other cities of PSPO wardens fining a man who dropped a cigarette butt (he didn't smoke) and one for drinking alcohol (he was teetotal). There is also a claim that wardens in one part of London deliberately target small, young Asian women because they are less likely to kick up a fuss at being fined.

In Colchester one commenter on the Gazette website said he thought wardens had been "heavy handed" when they stopped and fined someone for dropping a small piece of paper.

Obviously this "profit from fines" PSPO system has its faults. While this is outside the cycling campaign's remit, we are pressing for changes to the Colchester PSPO wording and the process.

We want the rules set out clearly, preferably to include reviews of fines to be carried out by independent people rather than the Wise wardens (as is the case at present -- there is no formal hearing or appeal system).

Above all, we want the PSPO to be applied justly, proportionately and fairly.


NB: note that access to Short Wyre Street from Queen Street is covered by a "No vehicles except permit holders" sign. This ban includes cyclists unless they hold a permit from one of the Eld Lane churches.

If you have been unfairly fined for cycling by the Colchester PSPOs, please email unfair-fines@colchester-cycling.org.uk

The current imbalance in transport hierarchy has been caused by years of overemphasis on motor transport which has driven out choice. The government and Essex County Council are only now beginning to address this.

Until we have a comprehensive cycling network and lower speeds and better driver behaviour on quiet roads some people will be tempted to cycle on footways for all or part of their journeys.

The campaign dislikes conflict with pedestrians and we encourage Bikeability training and road riding.

We also note that Highway Code Rule 64 says you must not cycle on the pavement.

That said, there is guidance that applies to fining cyclists who break the law.

When fixed penalty notices were introduced in the 1990s, Paul Boateng, a Home Office minister, set out the circumstances in which police officers and wardens should use their discretion. The upshot is that cyclists should not be fined if they ride slowly and carefully AND do so because otherwise they would be intimidated by busy or fast motor traffic

Colchester Cycling Campaign recognises that there are some areas of the city – St Botolph’s roundabout is one – where thick and fast motor traffic will put people off cycling. Fines should not be levied on considerate cyclists.

Another aspect is that LTN 1/20, the government's infrastructure guide, says that cycle networks and routes should be coherent, direct, safe, comfortable and attractive. When a cyclist uses the footway they are simply creating their own "best route" because part of their journey (often a small part) would otherwise be impossible. Being antisocial or annoying is the last thing on their minds.

Fining such cyclists or forcing them to walk – even for a short section of a longer journey that they do every day – is likely to make them revert to a car – if they can afford to run one.

All Colchester cyclists are invited to the unveiling of a road sign in memory of Alan Palmer, a long time member of Colchester Cycling Campaign. The ceremony will be held at Alan Palmer Way, north of the Castellum Grange estate near the Range on Cowdray Avenue. The event will be on Sunday, July 21 at 4pm. "Everyone is welcome who knew dad," Alan's daughter Helen says.

by Jean Quinn

Our first wet…and I mean WET…Kidical Mass ride (in conjunction with the Big Bike Revival) took place with a feeder ride from Hythe Station to Greenstead Community Centre, where the children had a chance to decorate their bikes and enjoy face painting.  

The June 15 ride was waved off with green “start” flags by the three Colchester city councillors who represent the area – and support us fully.  

Then the heavens opened!  The children cheerfully pedalled on, encouraged by Tim Evans, from Ipswich, and his music trailer, completing a circuit and returning to the community centre for a hot drink and cake. 

Kidical Mass Colchester would like to thank all the marshals, Eric Shaw for his wonderful photos and particularly Nik Hughes who organised things at the Greenstead end.  

Although turnout was smaller than usual, the smiles were huge!

Future KM dates

Saturday July 20, 11am Meet at the Colchester end of the Wivenhoe Trail.  Ride to Wivenhoe for a picnic on King George V playing field before return.

Saturday September 7, 10.30am Meet outside St.John's Green Primary School, Abbey Field site.  Cycle to playpark and Coffee Hogg cafe William Harris Way,  Return to start together.

Saturday October 26, noon to 1.50pm Art and craft activities in Firstsite to decorate bikes; 2pm Hallowe'en Ride at 2pm from Firstsite to Castle Park.    Pitstop on High Street at the Halloween Market for free hot chocolate from market traders

Sunday December 15, 12pm Meet near St Benedict's car park, Norman Way.  Christmas ride to Castle Park with Father Christmas and presents for children. Linear ride with offer of return supervision.

• Note that Kidical Mass is run by Colchester Kidical Mass. While Colchester Cycling Campaign supports the aims of KM, we are separate organisations.

Essex County Council's redesign for St Botolph's Circus is set to be published imminently. We haven't seen details yet but there has been input from Active Travel England, the national walking and cycling expert body that is part of the Department for Transport. 

We hope that the issues we raised during the consultation have been addressed.

At the moment the junction is unattractive and dangerous for cyclists. The levelling-up funding is a great opportunity to transform St Botolph's.

It is important for everyone who cycles and walks that the powers-that-be get this right.

We are in a similar situation at Clingoe Hill on the A133, the road from Greenstead/Hythe to the university.

As reported last month there is a plan to replace the zebra with a toucan crossing as part of the Rapid Transit bus project but the campaign has asked for tweaks to be made in line with LTN 1/20.

Praise here to Ian, the county's principal transport and infrastructure planner, who is really patient with us, especially as we are looking to introduce a facility that only exists in the UK on paper: there are no physical examples to view.

We hope there will be more details in the next newsletter.

Essex County Council wants your views on its draft cycling strategy. Please take a few minutes to read through the strategy and respond to the consultation, which closes this Sunday. 

The campaign will be submitting a response which will include challenges about wider use of 20mph limits, providing safe cycling routes to schools, publishing data so that the success of the strategy can be measured, and engaging openly with campaign groups.

Here's the link. Please don't delay
https://letstalkessexsustainabletravel.co.uk/essex-cycling-strategy

We loved seeing this headline on the Independent website. We then read the story and it meant sportspeople such as Brad Wiggins rather than the average cycle commuter. Never mind, we can dream!

All that said, we have seen that a few Colchester cyclists have decorated their bikes with flowers and soft toys. They not only make you stand out on the street but your bike is easily seen in a bike rack.

Read more here.

The next Bike Meet is on July 15. For joining details please make sure you sign up as a member or supporter of the campaign at colchester-cycling.org.uk.

Look closely and you will see plenty of cyclists in this picture of a busy Colchester High Street when the market used to be held there.

Talk to older folk and they will reminisce for England about the hissing gaslights, the tarpaulins and the happy, smiling market traders.

Indeed, it must have been a wonderful time, perhaps the heyday of the city centre – though we do notice one of the first car traffic jams, so perhaps this picture dates to before the opening of the Avenue of Remembrance, from Spring Lane to Greenstead, in 1933.

High Street was still two-way at this time (it went one-way in the late 1950s).

We can see three cyclists in line ahead going east to west (left to right) and making their way past the market stalls. There's a man walking his bike, and perhaps chatting to a car driver, coming towards the photographer. Close behind him are a man and a boy, both on their bikes, and they are followed by a grocery bike with a big wicker basket. Here is much the same view on Google Maps today. 

... and it is also 200 days since the Middlemill bridge closed because of damage to the adjacent weir. The latest report on that here. 

Have you signed the Colchester Cycling Charter yet? If not, please do. If you work or volunteer, please ask your organisation to sign too. The more people on bikes, the fewer traffic jams will snarl up our city.

Feel free to pass on this newsletter via email and social media by using the link at the very top ... and encourage your friends to join the campaign so they receive their own copy every month.

Chairman: Stuart Johnson
Vice-secretaries: Alan Spence and Will Bramhill
Treasurer: Catherine Johnson
Your committee: Alex Hooper, Chris Stevenson, Jean Quinn, Nathaniel Catchpole, Paul Avison and Paul Byrne 

Love him or hate him but at least he cycles! This bike belongs to none other than Jeremy Corbyn, who is standing as an independent in Islington North. If you're stumped about the international incident, it involved HMS Amethyst in 1947. Details here.