Worcestershire again misses out on funding after highways boss said lockdown cycling was “just a phase”

It appears that the Tory run councils received the most money. What a surprise.
In Cheshire East we were allocated £1.54 per person.

In Essex they were allocated £4.91 per person.

PP

Pilot Pete wrote:

It appears that the Tory run councils received the most money. What a surprise.
In Cheshire East we were allocated £1.54 per person.

In Essex they were allocated £4.91 per person.

PP

And to add insult to injury, Tory councils will likely be more adept at spaffing it up the wall. Shropshire council (Tory-run for decades) has certainly not made much use of their allocation.

It must be galling but I hope your wife dosn't get too disheartened. We really need people like her to keep plugging away, playing the long game for everyone's eventual benefit.

But this is why I say we need the bids councils made to be easily accessible to view to compare. What stands out from Worcestershires bid that was linked to, is they were just looking to resurface a number of existing shared path routes, that's not very transformative imo or delivers much benefit, whilst Essex appear to be dealing in terms of installing several miles of new dedicated cycle lanes taking away road space from cars on many key routes in several towns/cities linking it all with public transport hubs.

Do you really need to look at the allocations there to work out which one got the better funding settlement ?

No council has as far as I know claimed they submitted really positive bids that met the transformative guidelines the DfT set, and ended up with alot less money than they expected.

And to claim it's all some north/south political point scoring is...well show me any real evidence for that,because I cant see it.

"No council has as far as I know claimed they submitted really positive bids that met the transformative guidelines the DfT set, and ended up with alot less money than they expected."  I can only talk about the one I know, which is my council. And yes, they are disappointed that their radical plans did not get the funding level they were hoping for.

Something else has come to light which is that apparently more funding was made to councils that have good, comprehensive public transport infrastructure, because of the drop off anticipated due to Covid and the rush to personal car use. That would explain some of the disparity, but not all.

Simon E wrote:

Perhaps it's an opportunity for cllr Amos (and every other obnoxious c**t who thinks they own the roads simply because they are driving a vehicle) to reflect on the harsh reality and the terrible legacy of road deaths.

I notice that the tabloids this morning are reviving talk of road pricing (someone's suddenly realised that as more people buy electric cars, those tax dodging so-and-sos are not paying VED).  I wonder how that will work out for use of bicycles...

The cheque's in the post (£0). 

Lukas wrote:

I've never been called 'wretched' for riding a bike. I've been called a 'c++t" and a 'w+++er' plenty of times. But never 'wretched'. 

Wretched

adjective:
(of a person) in a very unhappy or unfortunate state

So you could be a wretched c++t and a wretched w+++er.  Something to look forward to when drivers get a bit more educated.
 

If someone ever calls you a "wretched w++++r" then likely they've had more practice at it than you.

the last week has felt alot worse on the roads for definite, not entirely sure as to the cause either given England is in lockdown and people are encouraged to only make essential journeys. But just from two 1hr rides this week, Ive had to review at least 10 seperate incidents, to see if it was worth my time submitting them to the police, all the while knowing chances are even if I did they'd just reject them anyway.

Bungle_52 wrote:

He is right. Lock down cycling was just a phase. Post lock down most people who started cycling are too frightened to go out on the roads now. I went out 2 days ago and recorded 7 incidents of what I consider to be intiidating driving. Much worse than before lock down. Not sure why this should be but it is and I know why it won't change. The police aren't interested, the cycling organisations aren't interested. The judges carry on giving ludicrously lenient sentences if drivers are found guilty and juries believe ludicrous excuses so no one is found guilty of dangerous driving.

In my opinion what is needed is a web site where footage can be uploaded and drivers written to if their driving is deemed to be below standard. After a number of warnings prosecutions should follow and sentences should be enough to deter the same behaviour in the future.

Cycling infrastructure is always welcome but at some point every cyclist has to ride on the roads.

Rant over.

I've been cycling to and from work for about 8 years at this point, and things have only just got bad enough for me to buy a camera. Whether it's the constant stream of anti-cycling rhetoric from the media, or the self entitled attitude of motorists reaching boiling point, it's now a terrible time to start cycling. It's far too dangerous, the police enforcement is non-existent, and the punishments for killing a cyclist are pathetic or non-existent in every case.

True. Their proposals should be open and public record.

https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/info/20055/strategies_plans_and_bids/2...

Exactly! Just like that! 

now just need the rest to follow suit   interesting that they bid for 1.5million the majority of which they wanted to spend resurfacing existing routes, not really surprising they lost out, but they must have thought it met the DfT guidance criteria

there are no engineer drawings that I can see so it's all a bit nebulous. Plus much of it seems to be resurfacing and widening of existing tow paths. 

I think councils did publish their bids, or should have. Here's North Yorkshire's.

Wow that's a real compare and contrast moment. I know the sums of money are very different but.....