Council list ‘too many cyclists’ with fly-tipping + speeding as pandemic 'challenge'; Rail worker stops theft and reunites cyclist with bike; Bollards installed to stop pavement drivers; British Cycling correct cycle licence poll + more on the live blog

It is not our intention to single out or offend cyclists. During the pandemic, cycling has increased but there's not always sufficient infrastructure to accommodate it. We want to rectify this and the survey is one of several ways to gather evidence to support these improvements.

— Hart District (@HartCouncil) July 1, 2020

After receiving further backlash on social media, Hart District Council have now said it wasn't their intention "to single out or offend cyclists". They claim cyclists were included in the list of pandemic 'challenges' faced by residents because of a lack of sufficient infrastructure to accommodate it, and that they want to rectify this. 

We already had to correct the @Telegraph poll for this question guys 🙄

Should the UK introduce a compulsory cycling licence?

— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) July 1, 2020

The latest one from the Jeremy Vine On 5 Twitter account (we think we know which way its presenter would vote) has been altered by British Cycling, who continued: "We should be making cycling easier rather than more difficult."

Why don't cyclists use the 'perfectly good' cycle path? 🤔 This is why. 👇🤕 1/2 pic.twitter.com/xXFoW8SV3V

— Bicester Bike🚲 Users🚴‍♂️ Group🤝 (@BicesterBug) June 30, 2020

Looks appealing...

PC Darren and PC Grant are currently in Upwood Road due to issues raised. Hopefully this will now stop. They are still in the area checking out further roads and talking to residents pic.twitter.com/sOsfyaHkYM

— Cycle Safety Team (@MetCycleCops) July 1, 2020

Our story yesterday about drivers in Lewisham ignoring planters deployed to close a road to through traffic has reached a positive conclusion, with a bollard and extra blockades added to stop more drivers using the pavement to get around them. The Met Police also attended this morning and fined any motorists caught driving on the footpath.

Lewisham Councillor Sophie McGeever - who said yesterday that there was "no excuse" for the drivers' behaviour - has thanked Superintendent Andy Cox and officers who attended to curb the illegal curb-mounting. 

Many thanks to the officers who attended this morning. I’ve been told it made a big difference and things were much calmer (& law abiding!)

Thanks also to @SuptAndyCox who has been giving renewed and import focus to #RoadSafety - increasing confidence which enables🚶🏾‍♀️& 🚲 https://t.co/wdJe5JGGFx

— Cllr Sophie McGeevor (@SophieMcGeevor) July 1, 2020

As ever, the World Bollard Association have approved of the changes...

#WorldBollardAssociation pic.twitter.com/Bk9LP7qp5h

— World Bollard Association™ (@WorldBollard) July 1, 2020

The outdoor specialists surpassed their £750k target in just eight minutes and took another 44 minutes to reach their cap of £1.5 million on the CrowdCube investment platform, gaining an extra 1,380 shareholders. They will use the investment to open new stores and support Alpkit sustainability programmes, at a time where their like for like sales were reported as up by over 50% in the past 12 weeks. 

CEO and Co-Founder, David Hanney commented: “This is an exciting time for Alpkit and we’ve been completely overwhelmed by the support from our customers. For a long time, they've been asking us whether it would be possible to invest in Alpkit and we've always wanted to extend our ownership and deepen our relationship with our customers. So when we looked to add financial strength to our growth plans, we wanted to involve them ahead of other financial institutions. The response has been incredible and we know we wouldn’t be in this position today without their loyal support."

Source unknown...

The latest major announcement as part of the mayor and TfL's Streetspace plan is a new temporary cycle lane on the busy Euston Road, that they say will "transform the key corridor for cycling" between an existing pop-up lane on Hampstead Road and Cycleway 6 on Midland Road/Judd Street. Construction will begin on Thursday, with lanes on either side of the road. 

While there will be consultations on many of London's new cycle lanes to make them permanent in the future, a hurdle for this one is that the road space allocated for it is already proposed to be used for the construction of the HS2 high speed railway network from late 2021 onwards. TfL say that if and when this happens, they will "work with local boroughs to develop alternative routes along side streets" when the lanes are removed. 

I do love these signs by @OfficialTfGM. Make me smile each time I see one. Keep sharing.#SafeStreetsSaveLives #KeepGMMoving #BetterByBike pic.twitter.com/hWCxRMbkd9

— Eve Holt (@evefrancisholt) June 30, 2020

Transport for Greater Manchester are beaming out the words of encouragement to ensure the cycle boom continues. Recently Chris Boardman unveiled the UK's first CYCLOPS junction in the city, a design that protects people cycling and walking while actually improving journey times for drivers - full story here. 

Something nice pic.twitter.com/i3eV1fmXbc

— Nick Burton (@cervelo_nick) June 30, 2020

Some good news to start the morning, as the story of a railway worker is going viral after he waited four hours to reunite a commuter with his bike after stopping a thief from stealing it at Cannon Street Station. Abdul Muneeb reportedly saw Steve Farmer's bike being cut with bolt croppers, challenged the thief and then waited with the bike after his shift. When he spotted Mr Farmer, he asked him to dial in the code on his broken lock to prove it was his and then gave him his bike back. His employer Southeastern have been made aware:

@DrewGibs0n I can't see the post you've shared, but I'm guessing it's about our star at Cannon Street?! We have and we've passed it on, along with all this feedback, to his manager ^RK

— Southeastern (@Se_Railway) June 30, 2020

Chapeau Mr Muneeb, we need more like you...