Stuart Johnson, campaign chairman, writes: Plans to change the crossings at the Albert roundabout into one-stage toucan crossings are going ahead. 

The campaign was briefed on the proposed changes at a special meeting with highways officers last month.

The busy junction of North Station Road with the A133 Cowdray Avenue and Colne Bank Avenue has been a collision blackspot for many years – especially for cyclists. 

While some riders do use the current two-stage toucans, it involves two waits. 

Human nature inevitably kicks in: other cyclists, rushing for a train or going home on a rainy night after a hard day at work, are tempted to keep pedalling. They stay on the road and risk the roundabout.

The changes that we are about to see were originally part of the Active Travel Fund north/south route but large parts of this fell by the wayside because of budget constraints.

What are the details? The plan is to replace the two-stage toucan crossings with wider single-stage crossings slightly further from the roundabout (see plan above, the new crossings are in green, the old ones in red). 

The design will also see the existing shared paths on the eastern side of the roundabout widened slightly with planting removed.

We would have preferred to see pedestrians and cyclists kept fully apart but Essex hit a snag over acquiring land from nearby businesses.

We think that, given the limited funds available, this is an improvement we  should all support. While Colchester's cycleways are being installed piecemeal, each mini-project is a pedal-push in the right direction. It doesn't make campaigning easy though!

Jean Quinn writes: Twenty’s Plenty supporters rallied outside Colchester City Hall to lobby councillors before the full council meeting last month.

A motion by Julie Young (Lab, Greenstead) proposed that Colchester writes to Essex to ask for 20mph limits where people live, work, play and learn, with 30mph used only as an exception. This was seconded by Mark Goacher (Green, Castle).  

Unfortunately the Conservative group, backed by most Lib Dems. voted through a watered-down amendment.

It added that 20mph had to be “clearly supported by residents”. This might  sound reasonable but it in effect  blocks progress towards implementing wide-area 20mph as a default speed on residential roads.

I spoke against the amendment during the three-minute Have Your Say, accusing its supporters of deliberately slowing down the introduction of 20mph, lacking leadership and being fearful of a perceived backlash – when in fact national surveys show that 70 per cent of people favour it.

On a positive note, more than 70 parish councils in Essex have voted to introduce 20mph within their boundaries, as has happened in Rowhedge. 

While Colchester Cycling Campaign and 20's Plenty for Colchester are separate groups, we support each other's aims. If you would like to find out more about 20's Plenty, please email me at admin@colchester-cycling.org.uk with "FAO Jean Quinn" in the subject line.

This is your chance to help fund the campaign. Thanks to David Fitzpatrick for last month's kind donation.

Our thanks to Colchester City Council for quickly sorting this issue at the junction of Head Street and Culver Street West. The market inspectors apparently took it upon themselves to add cones to the bollards across the junction "to stop motorbikes". After the campaign raised the matter, the cones have been spaced out to allow cyclists access – some had been riding up on to the corners of the footway to access the Head Street cycle lane.

Despite the signs that say "Pedestrian Area" (an anachronism in the Department for Transport signage manual of the time), cycling is permitted all day, every day and in both directions along Culver Street West. Cars and motorbikes are banned Mon-Thu 11am to 4pm and Fri-Sat noon to 4pm.

CCC News also understands that the iron bollards will soon be replaced with a new layout. We have asked the council to put its plans before Active Travel England to ensure they do not pose a new hazard for cyclists.

This letter in the Gazette had a big effect in both the paper and on social media after it was posted on Facebook and Twitter by the cycling campaign account. Thank you very much, Maria!

Campaign secretary Will Bramhill took part in a wrap-up of the year, including the Colchester PSPO rumpus, in a road.cc podcast hosted by Ryan Mallon.

Among points made by Will: 

“The big problem, of course, is that we’ve had a failure of our transport policy since the 1940s”

"The Dutch have catered for cycling. We haven’t. And cyclists have been pushed off the roads."

"People still want to cycle because it’s a great way to get about. And if you don’t drive and don’t want to catch the bus, it’s probably your choice of getting about."

“If you’re not a cyclist, if you don’t want cycling on footways – then support 20mph, support cycling infrastructure, because that’s the way ahead. It has to be.” 

The podcast is available here and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music

Don't forget that you can hire ebikes and cargo bikes by the hour or the day from Colchester council. They are great for a trip to the garden centre to replenish your garden. Also if you are planning a clear-out trip to the tip, you don't have to book to dump your rubbish if you arrive on a bike. https://www.spokesafe.com/colchester-ebike-hire

Mountain bikers at Iron Latch Wood are relieved: Colchester council is to keep the bike trail and jumps that have been used by generations of teenagers.

The council has had the jumps professionally assessed and  confirm "they are safe and sturdy enough to remain in place for the time being".

In the long term the council is looking at improving the site for everyone, with enhanced bike trails, professionally designed bike jumps and paths for walkers. It is to hold a workshop with mountain bikers in the next few months.

Only one feature of the old track, a six-metre high cliff, was blocked off following the safety audit. 

Well done to Hayley Clarke who whipped people up on the Colchester Community Group on Facebook and made the council sit up.

If you are worried about how to walk or cycle your children to school, why not ask the council to set up a school street? The Department for Transport issued new advice last month. Find it here. Please pass this snippet on to any young parents you know.

Kidical Mass held its Christmas ride on December 15. For more photos from the event, visit the Kidical Mass Colchester page on Facebook.

Robbie Spence writes: I attended the protest at Middle Mill bridge on December 10 to mark the first anniversary of the collapse of the weir, which rendered the cycle/foot bridge unsafe. Protest organiser Tony Bland and Sir Bob Russell both addressed the crowd. 

Kemal Cufoglu, a Green councillor for Castle ward, spoke to me and said the delay was due to Essex, which owns the bridge, saying it is waiting for Colchester to decide what to do with the weir. Colchester apparently claims that Essex is delaying the work. If this is the case, it  is a frustrating example of the two-tier local government system.

The nearby cricket club bridge has been put forward as a short-term alternative but this is out of the question as it is not robust enough.

The damage to the weir means that the sluice is now permanently open. Essex says it is following Environment Agency guidance to let rivers flow freely because it is good for fish and other wildlife. I am unsure of Colchester's position on that.

Our weir is a historical anomaly because the mill that was next to it (pictured in the last CCC News) is long gone. There is simply no need for the weir now ...  and no need for the repair of the bridge to be held up.

I think Colchester Cycling Campaign should press for the easiest and quickest solution so that the bridge can be reopened. I would ask everyone reading this newsletter to write to their county and city councillors to ask for more urgency.

Are you puzzled by the location? This is because this snap is from Ipswich not Colchester. It was taken next to Northgate Grammar School (your editor is an alumnus!) on Colchester Road, the town's northern bypass. 

We've chosen it for January's Picture from the Past as the photo is from the mid-Fifties when Sir Bob Russell, Colchester high steward, was a lad ... and  most probably cycling to school.

There was no need for bike lanes back then as car drivers were so thin on the ground but you can bet your bottom dollar that 11 to 15-year-olds would not be cycling there today. 

The image attracted a lot of comments and memories on the "Northgate Grammar School For Girls And Boys. Ipswich" Facebook group. Many of those people are now in their seventies and eighties, their health having benefited from childhood exercise and independence. 

We wonder what today's children will say about those politicians who campaigned against giving them cycle routes.

The editor writes: I love this snap which the 20th century activist Jane Jacobs used in Cyclist, her 1960s essay.  The American-Canadian urbanist foresaw the rise of car culture and its harmful effects. She was also a critic of car dependency and warned of the sociopathic tendencies it fosters. Jacobs’s economic theories recognised the bicycle’s role in innovation.

What's this got to do with our fair city? Easy! Each May the Walk Colchester lobby group organises Jane's Walk, a set of walks that feature aspects of local interest and history. In fact the town hosted the first Jane's Walk in the UK in 2011.

The 2025 programme has still to be unveiled but the website is here. You can find out more about Jane Jacobs here.

Think back a few weeks and you may remember Cop29, the UN conference on climate change that was controversially held in Azerbaijan. 

There is good news for cycling and walking though. Past Cops have concentrated on reducing emissions with electric cars and the like. This Cop actually considered cycling and walking. Details here

Delegates from the European Cyclists Federation shared the Path open letter with national governments, including Mary Creagh, the UK minister for nature. It calls on national governments to commit to walking and cycling in the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions to reach climate goals and improve people’s health and lives. Read the letter here.

The next Bike Meet is due to happen on Monday January 20. It will probably be a virtual event. If you are signed up as a CCC member or supporter you will receive joining details nearer the time.

If you want to try leisure rides, Colchester Cycling Campaign recommends both Cycling For Pleasure and Happy Handlebars. Both clubs run a variety of events for people of different abilities. 

Cycling for Pleasure: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1594722180845186

Happy Handlebars: https://www.facebook.com/HappyHandlebarsColch

Other clubs and local routes to try: https://www.colchester-cycling.org.uk/maps-rides-clubs.html 

Colchester Cycling Campaign has lots of LOCAL cycling advice on its website. If you have a question, make our advice page your first port of call.

Visit https://www.colchester-cycling.org.uk/advice.html

... and still no sign of progress.

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-secretary: Will Bramhill
Treasurer: Catherine Johnson
Your committee: Alex Hooper, Chris Stevenson, Jean Quinn, Nathaniel Catchpole, Alan Spence and Paul Byrne