A welcome focus on Stevenage’s Cycling Strategy
Volunteers from Cycling UK Stevenage Campaigns attended Stevenage Borough Council’s Environment & Economy Select Committee meeting on Wednesday January 28th to observe the Committee’s discussion of the Stevenage Cycling Strategy 2018.
The Committee received a presentation from Alex Robinson, Assistant Director – Planning & Regulation and Councillor Loraine Rossati - Economy, Skills and Transport, at Stevenage Borough Council to provide an overview of the Cycling Strategy, progress against the Implementation Plan, and recommendations for next steps. The full presentation is available to review online on the Council’s website here.
It was good to hear and observe Councillors asking questions on cycling access and routes across town, above and beyond the existing cycling infrastructure. There was a clear appetite from Councillors to more closely monitor progress against the Cycling Strategy – an important aspiration that we support.
The Committee intends to invite community groups to its next meeting in February to provide evidence and recommendations on the Council’s Cycling Strategy. While we have not yet received an invitation, we hope to learn more about this session soon.
Once invited, we will use the opportunity to address some of the issues and concerns highlighted by Councillors in this week’s debate, including:
- How progress of Stevenage’s cycling ambitions can be more consistently monitored and evidenced, for example through the Global City Rating Cycling Score.
- The need for cycling access to the town centre, including through routes to key destinations such as the former indoor market (now North Herts College) and yellow brick road.
- The need for improvements to cycleway surfaces and the demand for lighting of key routes, including underpasses such as the Icon and in Fairlands Valley Park.
- Recent insights from our residents’ panel who have developed a briefing on key routes that people cycle in Stevenage, including alternative routes to the existing cycling infrastructure and barriers for people cycling.
We look forward to working with the Environment & Economy Select Committee and Stevenage Borough Council on recommendations that will realise our joint ambition to make cycling a safe and easy choice for everyone in Stevenage.