Wakefield MDC and Railtrack
have agreed that the last
500 metre stretch of
unsurface track on the
Wakefield to Horbury Cycle
Route will be surfaced.
This final piece is from just
outside Horbury Junction
to the bridge under the M1
motorway running alongside
the old Yorkshire and
Lancashire Railway.
Havercroft
Heritage Trail
Cycles
and Cycling Exhibition
A
presentation of the proposed cycle and walking route
on the disused railway from Havercroft to Wintersett
and Ryhill was given at the WCUF and outlined to
Pontefract Section CTC members at their recent AGM.
A
Cycling exhibition was shown
during November at Wakefield
Museum. It's theme was the evolution of cycling from cutting edge technology
to a liberating means of transport, to
mass transport and back to cutting
edge. From cutting edge to Green
and Cool. What's
On in Our Area
Nostell
Colliery Redevelopment
Wakefield
Cycle Forum
Landscaping
of the former Nostell Colliery Site and adjacent areas is underway.
The scheme includes a network of trails and features linking the surrounding
villages
of Foulby, Nostell, Ryhill and Crofton. Already the area is in use by Mountain
Bikers.
If
you would like to attend the Wakefield Cycle
Action Forum meetings in Wakefield Town Hall
and get iinvolved in creating the area's cycle
map and route development, Contact Graham
Lawrance, Bill Houlder
or Des Hampshire for
dates, times and locations. Contact Details Cycling
& Public Transport W Yorks
Regional
Benchmarking Project
Yorkshire and Humberside
CTC Regional Benchmarking Project was
hosted by Wakefield MDC on the 1st/2nd November 2004
Success
for CTC Cycling Campaign in our area. By Sandy Clark
The last few months have
seen the campaigning effort of the Pontefract Section of CTC come to fruition
after over three years of tireless work from the
section's members. It was the 2001 AGM of the section that passed a motion
of no confidence in Wakefield MDC. The abysmal performance of the District
Authority in its attitude to cyclists and cycle facilities has meant that
we have one of the worst environments for cycling in the country. Hopefully
change
is on the way with new commitments from the council. Can we now look forward
to the serious promotion of cycling and the provision of good cycling
infrastructure in the Wakefield district?
The first positive sign in this reversal of attitude was the setting up
of a Wakefield Cycle Users Forum which now meets quarterly and is beginning
to
prove effective at holding the council to account for its actions in transport
and other developments that affect cyclists. As a result of the Forum's
activity we have now obtained a number of commitments for the future and
have seen some positive development for cyclists in the District.
It is now just over a year since the appointment of a Cycle Office and
the new officer, Clare Bishop, has helped raise the profile of cycling
in the
council. The forum is now being consulted, for example, on all new transport
schemes such as traffic calming and alterations to junctions and traffic
lights. Hopefully you will start to see more advanced stop lines and feeder
lanes at traffic lights and cycle friendly traffic calming measures. One
of the forum co-ordinators is also monitoring all planning applications
and we are being assured that cycle friendly infrastructure will be incorporated
into all new developments.
The forum has also developed a comprehensive plan of proposed cycle routes
in the District, which the council is endorsing and which will become
council policy. This should ensure that a network of cycle routes in Wakefield
District will become a reality in our lifetime (well at least the younger
ones' lifetimes).
The Five Towns Area Cycle Forum have been responsible for the suggested
cycle routes in our area and we are pleased that their activity is about
to see some concrete success with the upgrade of the existing, but extremely
poor, cycle route through Pontefract Park, linking Pontefract with
Glass Houghton. The work on this should be completed by April this year.
This will be the start of a comprehensive scheme linking Castleford and
Pontefract and next year the continuation of the route to link with the
new Glass Houghton Station and Cutsyke is due to be progressed. In the
longer
term this will be linked into routes in and around Pontefract and Castleford
which would include an off and on road signed route from Cutsyke to the
centre of Castleford.
After some argument we now seem to have succeeded in convincing the council
to install improved crossing facilities for cyclists and pedestrians
at the entrance to Pontefract Park and the route will then past Tanshelf
Station into Pontefract town centre which in the longer term would link
into
a comprehensive Pontefract Cycle Network
As well as the plans for Pontefract and Castleford we have made proposals
for networks of routes around all of the Five Towns area. We hope
that following the Pontefract Park route being completed Halfpenny Lane,
linking Pontefract and Featherstone will be surfaced and will be the
beginning of a cycle route stretching from Pontefract to Wakefield.
The forum meetings have been well attended and there is always lively
and enthusiastic discussion. Why not come along and join us at the next
one?
Future Meetings
Wakefield District Cycle Users Forum Tuesday 12 April, 7pm. Wakefield
Town Hall
Five Towns Cycle Forum Wednesday 8 June, 7pm Glass Houghton Community
Centre, Castleford.
Anyone wishing to put forward any ideas for future forum meetings or cycle
routes should contact:
