XR Manchester installed pop-up cycle lane "in 20 minutes"; Trafford Council remove ANOTHER pop-up cycle lane; Driver who admitted killing cyclist remanded in custody; Shapps considering Bikeability for adults + more on the live blog

Our 'Missing the Point of the Day Award' goes to the writer of a letter to the Yorkshire Post, who says she lives within six miles of Harrogate town centre, but is not happy about new cycle lanes and pedestrianisation that is designed to make the place less polluted and more pleasant to live in. 

"I have been fortunate to have lived within a six-mile radius of Harrogate all my life", writes Patricia Perry. "The motorist seems to have become alienated in favour of plans for pedestrianisation, cycle lanes, complex traffic flows and elimination of town-centre parking.

"Surely now is the time for our political leaders from all parties to meet and comprehensively discuss putting alternative schemes in place? They all know how vitally important it is to protect businesses in our lovely town, which is the envy of visitors from the UK and abroad."

Harrogate has previous with ill feeling towards cycling, having turned down the chance to host a stage of next year's Tour de Yorkshire following a huge fallout over the effect of the 2019 Road World Championships on the town’s residents and businesses. One of the main areas of controversy was the condition that parts of The Stray, a 200-acre public park, was left in after the event, much of which took place under severe weather conditions including torrential rain on the final day which forced organisers to close the Fan Zone there on safety grounds.

MISSING PERSON – TRACED

We are pleased to confirm that John Glynn has been traced safe and well. We would like to thank the public for their assistance.

— EdinburghPolice (@EdinPolNE) June 23, 2020

John Glynn was last seen on 12th June before he was found, and extra concerns were raised because his bike was also missing from his flat. The police have now thanked members of the public who assisted them in tracing the 38-year-old. 

Alex Waddington of Stockport will ride armed with a folding litter picker, plastic gloves and a stash of rubbish bags, riding across the Peaks and bagging as much litter as he can. He'll take in the brutal Holme Moss climb to start his day, and will ride over 100 miles in total while making plenty of stops to bag trash. 

Mr Waddington hopes to raise £2,500 for the Peak District National Park Foundation - the fundraising link for his 'Spin and Bin' can be found here.

All children will be able to access #Bikeability (formerly known as Cycling Proficiency) says @grantshapps but would like to extend this to all adults who might not have been on a bike for a while, and "is actively looking at this to achieve"

— Cycling UK (@WeAreCyclingUK) June 24, 2020

We reported earlier this month that experts were calling for Bikeability - which is currently the name for the free cycle training scheme delivered in schools - to be extended to adults; and this morning the Transport Secretary has said he is "actively looking" to make this happen. We'll have more on all of Shapps' announcements on cycling made to the Transport Committee later today. 

Congrats to @XR_MCR for doing what @ManCityCouncil wouldn't.

The A56 popup cycle lanes are now extended from the trafford border to the deansgate Interchange Cycleways, so you can now get to the city centre in safety from Sale, 5 miles away! pic.twitter.com/suFNMJCvCp

— bicycles, beans, beer 🚴🌱🍻Ⓥ (@MCRCycleSam) June 24, 2020

After we reported that yesterday that Trafford Council had removed a section of pop-up cycle lane installed on the A56 following complaints from drivers about 'congestion', it seems that the environmental group's Manchester branch have took matters into their own hands by linking up a section on the border between Trafford and Manchester City Centre. According to the tweet above, it now means there's a fully segregated cycle route into the city from Sale, which is five miles southwest of Manchester. 

This morning a group of local residents from @XR_MCR took matters into their own hands to create a lane to link the A56 pop-up lane from Trafford over the border into Manchester and on to safety. Just 300 yards or so - but bizarrely ignored for last 3 weeks by @ManCityCouncil https://t.co/0Dg3jOOvlZ pic.twitter.com/PwYkd8PIZJ

— Claire Stocks (@stocksyatlarge) June 24, 2020

The company behind the Segway PT will stop producing the two-wheeler next month, after the company revealed that it now accounts for just 1.5% of revenue. Prone to crashes and proving rather awkward to ride, with the pilot needing to tilt it forward to make it move, the Segway PT was sadly never the mobility revolution its inventor Dean Kamen envisioned, and the company will now focus on their e-scooters, one-wheelers, e-skates and robotics products going forward.  

We reported earlier this week that Go Outdoors were looking to appoint administrators; and less than 24 hours after Deloitte were called in, Go Outdoors' owners JD Sports have took it back for £56.5 million, off.road.cc reports. 

The move will involve restructuring to make the business viable, although JD Sports say they will look to save most of the 2,400 jobs and 67 stores as staff are transferred over to the new company. The JD Sports Fashion CEO Peter Cowgill said: "As a consequence of Covid-19, Go Outdoors was no longer viable as previously structured and would have absorbed capital at an unsustainable rate for the foreseeable future.

"Having investigated all available options for the business, we firmly believe that this restructuring will provide Go Outdoors with a platform from which it can progress whilst remaining a member of the group. Most importantly, we are pleased that it will protect the maximum number of jobs possible.

"We look forward to having positive conversations with landlords and agreeing new flexible lease contracts which reflect the widely reported challenges of reduced consumer footfall."