Previous Reference: Minute 35 (2015/16)

The Strategic Director, Place will present a report (Document “AJ”) which includes the proposed final draft Cycle Strategy and presents the key content of the associated action plan with the top ten issues highlighted for Members’ attention along with this report are the Key Performance Indicators of the strategy.

Recommended –

(1)  That the report, Cycle Strategy and Action Plan be noted.

(2)  That a progress report on the key performance indicators and Action Plan be presented in twelve months.

(Tom Jones – 01274 434983).

Previous Reference: Minute 35 (2015/16)

The Strategic Director, Place presented a report (Document “AJ”) which included the proposed final draft Cycle Strategy and presented the key content of the associated action plan with the top ten issues highlighted for Members’ attention along with the Key Performance Indicators of the strategy.

The Senior Transport Planner, Place and the Chair of the City Connect Advisory Group attended the meeting and presented the Strategy and its associated documents to the Committee.

The Chair congratulated them on the report and the strategy, commenting that it was a fantastic document and that it showed the enormous progress which had been made in the last three to four years.

Another Member queried whether two of the issues in the top ten priorities were in fact the same and was informed that it was a typographical error as two of the priorities had very similar titles and would be corrected.

A Member raised a question in respect of vulnerable young people and cycling and was advised that the West Yorkshire Combined Authority had been allocated £1.5million to encourage such young people into cycling to work. The WYCA was also making a bid to support disability cycling. An observer Member advised the Committee that Bradford Trident Community Council had a bicycle library and had seen massive benefits to local residents from that scheme as well as raising a considerable amount of money through charity cycle rides.

The Senior Transport Planner, Place highlighted the success of the bikeability scheme which ran in schools, explaining that it was now possible to sign up entire year groups at a time as there was a fleet of bicycles to access.

Members discussed the importance of cycling to both tourism in Bradford and the health and well being of local people, noting that it linked into other health initiatives which were also on-going.

A Member stated that a possible barrier to children taking up cycling was that parents were concerned about road safety and asked about progress on road safety. He was informed that a number of initiatives needed to be considered holistically including prioritising local roads, closing roads so that children could play in that space safely and the development of green lanes. A Member also suggested that a bike buddy system would be beneficial to a number of different potential user groups who would be vulnerable on the roads.

Members also asked about progress on the Queensbury Tunnel and were informed that it continued to be investigated.

The Senior Transport Planner, Place reminded the Committee that the Capital of Cycling Team was currently based in the ground floor premises below the Hall Ings NCP car park and urged Members to visit to find out about advice and activities that were ongoing.   

Resolved –

(1)  That the report, Cycle Strategy and Action Plan be welcomed and everyone involved in their development be congratulated.

(2)  That the Cycle Strategy and Action Plan be referred to the Executive for its consideration.

(3)  That a progress report on the key performance indicators and Action Plan be presented in twelve months.

ACTION: Strategic Director, Place