September 2023 Newsletter

Posted on September 1, 2023 by John Garnsworthy

Annual General Meeting report

We held our AGM on August 23rd in Ecolocal’s shiny new Garden Hall in Carshalton. It was a review of where we are and where we want to be, rather than a formal meeting, and we were helped by having Katy Rodda there from the London Cycling Campaign – she is our Network Coordinator and was full of suggestions for the way forward.

We reviewed the current situation regarding progress on cycling infrastructure in Sutton – inevitably a depressing topic, particularly when you look at developments in Kingston and even Croydon (the new segregated bike path on part of Ampere Way is so new it is not even on Google Maps yet).

We all know that it is only the local Council that can bring about infrastructure improvements- and we heard that councillors will not vote for actions that voters do not like. Our thrust therefore has to be to recruit more members and to engage more people in campaigning so as to show councillors just how many votes there are in progress on cycling and active travel.

To this end, work has started on producing a questionnaire that you should receive later this year to identify what you want in terms of better cycling facilities and what you are interested in campaigning for. Katy from LCC had some powerful ideas about how to engage local councillors to give them some of that political will that has been so lacking in Sutton.

Plans for the next year include further work on routes to and between Sutton parks, trying to influence the Council as it prepares to redesign local town centres, and we are planning to return to the Carshalton Ecofair in 2024 after this year’s absence.

The group is in a sound position financially, but we are searching for…. a new Coordinator. Is that you? We need a new Treasurer. Is that you? And before too long we shall need a new Secretary as well. These openings could be your chance to be part of the new team to make sure that something really happens to Get Sutton Cycling. The workload isn’t too onerous – and more of us involved means less work each!

20 mph zones

The Council is set to introduce new 20mph zones around Park Road/Parkgate and Kimpton Park Industrial area. Whilst welcoming these safer roads (20mph zones were one of our Climate Safe Streets “asks”) we are disappointed in their limited scope. The former, for example, could have been extended to Manor Road, where there are a number of shops, and southward to Stanley Park Road.

At the same time, we couldn’t help but notice that neighbouring Kingston already has 70 per cent of its roads with 20mph limits and more are now being consulted on . Meanwhile, 20 mph will very soon become the default limit on residential roads in Wales. Why does Sutton continue to drag its feet, lagging far behind?

Sutton just loves
Low Traffic Neighbourhoods

Is it a typographical error? Is it April the First? No Sutton really does love Low Traffic Neighbourhoods! There’s a clue as to why in the above photograph but for a full explanation simply click here.

Healthy Streets Scorecard

In case you missed it, the 2023 London Boroughs Healthy Streets Scorecard , compiled by LCC and other organisations, was published, over the summer. The scorecard ranks boroughs according to how healthy their streets are according to a range of ten indicators. It probably comes as no surprise that Sutton’s “unhealthy” streets fare poorly, ranking 28th out of 33 boroughs (behind neighbouring Croydon, Kingston and Merton) with a score of just 2.04 out of 10.

New bike project in St Helier

The St Helier Bike Project, a collaborative venture between Community Action Sutton and St Helier Centre Mission, starts on 8 October. Aimed at those who would like to ride a bike, but never had the opportunity, the project will provide advice on cycle maintenance and cycling instruction.

Cycling Quiz: the answers

In our July newsletter, we posed ten cycling-related questions. The questions are repeated below but this time with the answers.

1) Which novelist said “Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.”? HG Wells

2) Which area of England is Britain’s most successful Paralympian, Dame Sarah Storey, the Cycling and Walking Commissioner for? Greater Manchester

3) Which local authority has the highest cycling rate of cycling in England and which has the lowest? Cambridge and Redbridge respectively

5) What colour jersey is worn by the leader of the Tour de France’s Young Rider Competition? White

6) Which county partnered London for this year’s Ride London events? Essex

7) Complete the title of this Sherlock Holmes story: “The Adventure of the ???????? Cyclist” Solitary

8) Who is Glasgow’s velodrome named after? Sir Chris Hoy

9) The highest number of Santander cycle hires last year was recorded on 18 August but how many? (a) 66,972 (b) 53,281 (c) 71,384 (d) 61,286 (a) 66,972

10) In which film does Paul Newman ride a bicycle with Katharine Ross and what song on the soundtrack accompanies them? The film is “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and the song “Raindrops keep falling on my head”.