Working together  

It was great to be meeting up on Monday evenings over the summer to chat, explore options and get to know each other. It'll be lovely to be working together as friends as well as fellow campaigners in the months ahead. 

Why not join us at one of the workshops in the coming months where we'll look at specific campaign aims and skill sharing?  We're planning evenings on the Exeter Cycling Charter, responding to planning applications, preparing for the Council elections, whizzy cycling IT tools and designing a cycle network. Get the dates in your dairy: 11^th October;  15^th November;  24^th January;  14^th March 7-9pm in the Community Room at Danes Castle Fire Station.
 

The Exeter Cycling Charter

The Exeter Cycling Charter is a simple statement of the benefits that cycling can bring to businesses, schools, hospitals and individuals, allowing them to show their support for a city where cycling is an everyday means of transport.  

We're currently road testing the Charter with a few organisations to see if it is likely to get their support.  We will then approach as many businesses, shops, schools, colleges and individuals as possible to support the Charter.  We'll need all our supporters involved in this.

This is a good way of demonstrating support for cycling across all sectors of the city and will become a powerful campaigning tool.  Have a think about which businesses, organisations or schools you could approach to sign up to the Exeter Cycling Charter.  We'll run a workshop on October 11th to introduce the Charter and how we can get organisations' support.

Getting in there early

As new roads and buildings go into the city we're eager that provision for cycling is at the heart of the design.  Campaign members are actively commenting on planning applications and consultations in order to offer positive proposals.

See what the Campaign has said about the plans for the new bus station, the Princesshay leisure centre and the St.Sidwells Point.   

We learnt recently of discussions to hand over management of some of Exeter's green spaces to a third party, possibly Devon Wildlife Trust.  The Campaign tabled a formal question to the Place Scrutiny Committee seeking assurance that any changes will bring improved access for people walking, cycling, scooting or using mobility scooters in our green spaces. 

We're looking to build a bigger team of people who can help pull these responses together.  We're all learning together on this and we aim to run a workshop on it soon.  Let us know if you'd like to be part of this team.  


 

"We should ban people cycling on the roads!"

Sometimes opportunities to speak up for cycling in Exeter present themselves in unexpected ways.  When one campaign supporter heard a rant about "bloody cyclists" on Radio Devon recently she took the plunge and phoned in.  A four minute live-to-air interview ensued giving the chance to speak positively about the benefits of cycling to our city and managing to touch on road space, shared paths and who pays for roads.

If you've not heard it then have a listen here so you can equip yourself to be the next person to phone in! (44 minutes in...)
 

We are shaping the city's dialogue

We are changing the nature of the debate in our city by talking with our Councillors, engaging positively with people on social media and making proposals in a recent city transport workshop. We are showing how cycling can change the city for the better for everyone.  The campaign has been invited to speak to the November Exeter Board Committee.

Please add your voice to this by talking with your own Councillors (we can provide resources for this), engaging in discussion and retweeting and sharing our posts on social media.

We are explaining how cycling can address our city's challenges of pollution, congestion and unhealthy lifestyles. We are pointing to other cities' experiences of achieving high cycling levels. They've done this by building a network of safe cycle routes which deliver a health, thriving city.
 

Did you see it move?

* Nope, we didn't either.  

As part of the Bloor Homes development along the Topsham Road a new bus stop has been placed slap in the middle of the shared use path. This is part of a key cycle route into/out of the city and has been significantly degraded with this bus stop. Furthermore. it's position and doorway make it dangerous for people using the buses.

Twitter conversations with @cycledevon reassured us that the bus stop was wrongly positioned and would be moved.  Several weeks later it was still in the same place, now with a lovely tarmac surface underneath.  We were however assured that the bus stop had been moved.....but can you tell this from the before and after photos?  The dialogue continues!  

Our main campaign aim is to get a network of safe cycle routes across the city but we feel it is also important that that the existing cycle routes don't degrade. The Council and developers must keep walking and cycling at the forefront of their minds.

Exeter Cycling Campaign

We aim to realise the full potential of cycling to contribute to the health, wealth and quality of life in Exeter.

We hope to integrate cycling into the fabric of Exeter via comprehensive, convenient and connected cycle infrastructure, making cycling the safe, natural choice for a large proportion of everyday journeys.

We want to change the culture of Exeter's streets to become vibrant public places for people to live, learn, work, shop, socialise, do business and prosper, helping to transform Exeter into an exemplar low carbon city.

Get involved

Twitter - follow and retweet: @exetercycling
Join the Facebook GROUP
Like the official Facebook page, then share the posts
Website: exetercyclingcampaign.org.uk

Get in touch if you'd like to add to the success of the Campaign
email: exetercyclingcampaign@gmail.com