This is the article we submitted for the July 2020 edition of the Hayling Herald. They may of course edit their version, and we format this version for the website with extra photos and links. Or view it in your browser.
- Cycle Hayling is 10!
- Revive-A-Bike’s 28!
- Vote for our 2020 vision of a cycle-friendly Hayling
- And check out our 2020 vision for yourself, at at cyclehayling.org/vision.
Cycle Hayling is 10!
Cycle Hayling is 10 years old! No cake, but we’ll treat ourselves to a 10 year celebration wheelie!
I wish we could say ‘Our work here is done’, but we’re only just starting. And we need your support more than ever. If you’re not getting our occasional emails, you’re not on our supporter list – please go to cyclehayling.org/signup. And ask your friends as well!
Councillors need to know they have the public behind them when they invest public money. We’re currently at 350 supporters – get us to 400!
And Revive-A-Bike’s 28!
Our Revive-A-Bike scheme has given 28 flat-lining bikes a new heartbeat!
That’s thanks to Neil and Les at Hayling Cycles (no relation to Cycle Hayling), for doing all the great work. And to Councillor Lance Quantrill, our Hampshire County Councillor, for coming up with the idea, and getting us £1,000 funding.
We’re almost out of funding, so we need the government’s promised £50 vouchers as soon as possible. But don’t wait – revive your bike now and get cycling!
Here are two successfully revived bikes.
Vote for our 2020 vision of a cycle-friendly Hayling
Vote to tell Hampshire what cycling should be like on Hayling at cyclehayling.org/vision.
Covid-19 lockdown has taught us that plenty of Hayling Islanders want to cycle, and stay healthy doing it. And when the roads were empty and safe, we filled them up with bikes. A dream!
Now the roads are full of cars, that dream has turned back to the old nightmare. The main A3023 is back to a cycling war zone. We have some of the most congested school entrances in Hampshire. People tell us cycling is too scary again.
The shocking truth is that in 2020, Hayling Islanders do not have safe, smooth, traffic-free, all-weather cycle paths to go anywhere useful :
- Not directly to the bridge and off the island.
- Not to shops.
- Not to schools.
Our few useful cycle paths are rough, muddy in the rain, and often too narrow to pass anyone with social distancing and safety. And most people don’t know they’re there. Even our treasured Billy Trail is deteriorating.
But over the bridge, and the Billy Trail from Langstone into Havant is up with the best cycle paths in Hampshire. We think Hayling deserves paths like that.
We’re not blaming anyone – it’s hard. But now’s the perfect opportunity to put it right. Covid-19 has changed the world. Air pollution, that kills more than Covid-19, every single year, has plummeted.
Cities and towns all over the UK and the world are rushing to make safer space for cycling. Even Portsmouth.
We’ve seen traffic-free cycling and we’re not going back. We want safe cycling paths, speed limits, and safe, traffic-free school entrances. We’re claiming streets for people, not for cars.
Cycle Hayling wants some of the government’s £2 billion cycling investment to come to Hayling, to build the cycle infrastructure we deserve.
Phase 1 gave Hampshire £863k for emergency social distancing over the next 8 weeks. That’s about 70p per person.
Phase 2 will bring another £3.45m, but still only £3 per person. Pro-rata, that might give Hayling about £53k – less than a quarter mile of cycle path.
It’s a fair share of the remaining £1.75 billion we need.
If we’ve got room for 1,200 to 2,000 houses, surely we’ve got room for a mile or two of 3 metre wide cycle paths? And with all those extra houses, we’re going to need them.
Help us now to build our 2020 vision of what cycling should be like on Hayling, at cyclehayling.org/vision.
Tell Hampshire by up-voting ideas you like. No votes means no money.
Our councillors and MP will need to fight tooth and nail for the funding – help us help them.
Now is the time! If not now, when?
Sign up at cyclehayling.org/signup. Even better, join our campaign committee.