This is a circular to all emailable Spokes members... [Note that if you have recently sent us a change of email address, your change may not yet be in our database, so this message may go to both your old and new addresses] Our summer mailout, including Spokes Bulletin 107, will be packaged up on Saturday 12 June, so you should receive your mailing after that. This email contains various related updates. 1. SPOKES BIKE BREAKFAST, 8-10am, WEDS 23 JUNE Please put this in your diary now - it should be the usual excellent event! - and more stalls than ever are expected. Many members help advertise the event by putting up one or more posters in a local shop, at their workplace, or whatever. If you'd like a poster before your mailing arrives, you can now download/print the poster from our website, and read more about the breakfast... http://www.spokes.org.uk/wordpress/2010/06/spokes-bike-breakfast-23-june/ 2. SPOKES SUMMER COMPETITION Our big annual competition this year asks you to think up a brilliant idea for an artwork for any of the offroad paths in Edinburgh or the Lothians. Full details will be in your mailing, and the competition form will also be on our website in the very near future. There will be the usual great range of prizes, with first prizewinner having first choice, and so on till all 9 excellent prizes are allocated. 3. CANAL TOWPATH OPENING - VENUE CHANGE The Spokesworker in your mailing mentions an official opening at 2.30pm on Monday 21 June of the recently completed towpath surfacing from Wester Hailes to Riccarton and to Hermiston. Please note that the venue for the opening has changed. It will now be at Wester Hailes Road bridge over the canal, NOT at Gogar Station Road bridge. The online copy of Spokesworker (soon to be uploaded) will be correct, but the printed version has the wrong venue. Also, please note that if you intend to come, you should email cycling@edinburgh.gov.uk in advance, so they have an idea of numbers and can inform you of any other changes. 4. WHESTRAIL CHANGES The new Spokes Bulletin 107 has an advert and short article about the planned new WhestRail service, with up to 150 bike spaces (yes, 150) on its trains between Edinburgh/Glasgow and Fort William. Very sadly, the project has had to be withdrawn for 2010 [there is still a possibility of one train in late August] as ScotRail apparently has introduced some new ultra-competitive fares for that route, making the whestrail service financially unviable. However you might still like to check out their website for what you have missed, and for their 'heritage' rail steam trip. Whestrail hope to run the bike-friendly service in 2011, so if you might use it for a group trip please email to help give them confidence to go ahead. 5. MORRISON STREET MAJOR REDEVELOPMENT Too late for the Spokesworker, we have just heard of a public consultation on the future of a huge area beside Morrison Street (including demolition of some existing buildings) - to be known as 'The Haymarket' and including hotel, offices, retail, leisure, car park, etc, etc. A public exhibition will run onsite at "The Consultation Suite, Morrison Street Car Park" at the times below. Please go along and leave WRITTEN comments. Further info from andrew.munnis@montagu-evans.co.uk - or email him your comments, and copy to Spokes. Consultation times... Tuesday 15 June: 3.00pm – 8.00pm Wednesday 16 June: 1.00pm – 5.00pm Tuesday 22 June: 3.00pm – 8.00pm Wednesday 23 June: 1.00pm – 5.00pm Saturday 26 June: 9.00am – 5.00pm Tuesday 29 June: 3.00pm – 8.00pm Wednesday 30 June: 1.00pm – 5.00pm 6. [EDINBURGH ONLY] RED SURFACING / NEIGHBOURHOOD PARTNERSHIPS [NPs] Renewal of cycle lane red surfacing concerns many members. Spokes frequently raises this at the Council Cycle Forum, and Cllr Mackenzie, transport convener, is undertaking a review. However this may take some time to have any effect, and meantime we understand that decisions on cycle lane renewal are taken locally by the relevant Services for Communities manager attached to each of the City's 12 NPs. We urge members to go along to their local NP meeting and highlight any cycle lanes which need resurfaced. There are also many other issues decided through the NPs, which may affect you. To find out about more about NPs in general, see... http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/City_Living/Your_neighbourhood/CEC_neighbourhood_teams_and_neighbourhood_partnerships__2 Then to find your own local NP, what it does, its meeting dates and contact persons, click on 'Neighbourhood Partnership website' and on the next page type in your postcode. 7. SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT DEVELOPMENTS a. At long last the updated 'Cycling by Design' technical guidance on provision for cyclists has been published. This can be useful to refer to when writing to councils about design of cycle facilities, traffic conditions, etc http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/reports/road/cycling-by-design b. There was a debate in the Scottish Parliament on 9 June on the report of the Inquiry into Active Travel by the Parliament's Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee. For more on the Inquiry report, and spokes input to it, see... http://www.spokes.org.uk/wordpress/downloads/campaign-submissions/national/ The 9 June debate report is here... http://scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-10/sor0609-02.htm#Col27085 In the debate Patrick Harvie (Green MSP) and 2 Lib Dem MSPs spoke very strongly on the need for improved funding for cycling, with Jim Tolson MSP appearing almost to be quoting from a Spokes funding survey report! The Minister (Stewart Stevenson MSP) was clearly on the defensive on funding, and made a number of dubious claims. He also said the forthcoming Cycle Action Plan (which is now a year late) was Scotland's first such plan, whereas in fact the 1996 Conservative administration (yes, they ran Scotland then!) also issued a Cycle Action Plan (see Spokes 106, page 1) - unfortunately none of the other MSPs were clued up enough to point this out!! Dave du Feu for Spokes