Hello fellow cyclist! With the winter chills properly nipping at our extremities, I hope you’ve still been able to get out on your bike in the very fresh air riding for work, shopping or for some exercise but meanwhile, Havering Cyclists have still been campaigning and raising local cycling issues. Please read on for details.
SEASON’S GREETINGS Thank you for being one of our loyal supporters and we would like to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
EASTERN ROAD TRAFFIC SCHEME There has been a dangerous and long-standing gap in London Cycle Network route 12 (LCN12) between Havana Close and Eastern Road across South Street by Romford Station for many years. Now at last, with funding from a nearby development, the council has brought forward a plan to close this gap with a proper safe crossing of South Street and passage along Eastern Road to the far side of the junction with Chandlers Way. As I type, the plan has passed through consultation and now awaits final approval. This will be a great improvement well worth celebrating.
FIVE ASKS UPDATE We are seeing some progress on the Five Asks that we campaigned on for the recent local elections.
Improvements on Marsh Way are now budgeted for in the coming period, plans for Quietway routes are to be revisited with a view to bringing some forward as proposals, more School Street schemes are planned and more resident cycle parking has been budgeted for. There is no progress to date on the Dangerous Junctions ask.
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY SCHEME Following our suggestion to Havering Council to set up a bike loan scheme, we are pleased to hear that they have secured funding for a Try Before You Buy scheme. In other boroughs, these have replaced the loan schemes on which we based our suggestion so this is seen as a positive step.
MAYOR’S CHARITY BIKE RIDE We are planning to organise a charity bike ride in support of the current Havering Mayor’s two chosen charities. We are aiming for this to happen on Sunday 16th April 2023 and we are considering routes that will be suitable for families. Please let us know if you are interested in taking part or in assisting on the day.
MARSH WAY Improvements on this dangerous road are our top priority so following our representations to the new council leader Cllr Ray Morgon, he had agreed that efforts would be made to include it in upcoming plans. We now know that it has indeed been included in the next (LIP) budget for improvements that will run for 18 months of expenditure so we look forward to seeing detailed plans. As noted previously, progress on it will be dependent on the proposed improvements to the adjoining route through Beam Parkway.
REVIEW OF LCN12 AND NCN136 We have been carrying out inspection rides of our borough routes and so far we have looked at Marsh Way, LCN12 and the northern section of NCN136. The more difficult part of getting the issues fixed is yet to come. Please get in touch if you would like to see the resulting reports.
MISSING SIGNAGE We have had some success in correcting missing signage around the borough.
If you notice any other missing signage, please report it using the council’s online tool (https://www.havering.gov.uk/info/20026/roads) and let us know.
HAVERING CLIMATE COALITION The coalition has made some progress in working with the new council administration and the Green Forum meetings are now a regular feature with guest speakers so far from Friends of the Earth, London Cycling Campaign and Mums For Lungs. The new “Green Hub” website is here: https://www.haveringcommunityhub.com/havering/find/lister/what-is-the-green-hub_3425
DOCTOR BIKE We expect to restart our monthly Dr Bike events in Hornchurch Country Park in Spring. Please get in touch if you are interested in either helping or getting your bike checked over.
KEEP IN TOUCH Remember that you can sign up for news updates from our blog at https://www.haveringcyclists.org/blog/ by completing the subscription box in the right-hand panel. Please also get in touch to let us know you views on any of the above. You can contact us through our website www.haveringcyclists.org, through Facebook (Havering cyclists) or Twitter (@HaveringCyclist)