Routes and Rides
May’s ride took place at the University of Reading Community Festival. We had a special and unexpected guest, Yuan Yang, MP for Woodley and Earley. I had a chance to speak briefly with her about the need for child friendly cycling infrastructure.
Yuan Yang commented, “When it comes to urban planning, children are the canaries in the coal mine.”
We agree – a city that works for children works for everyone. We loved having Yuan on the ride – all councillors, MPs and TVP are welcome to join us on our rides to see the reality of cycling for Reading’s children.
The ride itself was great fun, and our marshals were rather more relaxed than usual – the university site has low speed limits on the roads, and many car-free bike paths, which is great for small children.
Kidical Mass also conducted a dot survey at the festival. The answers told a clear story that, although we have some nice cycle paths in Reading, what we don’t have is a safe and connected network of routes. Especially for children, an entire route can be made unusable by a bad junction.
We could also see that poor driving is perceived as a problem, and the provision of bike parking is an issue for some. Almost everyone wanted to be able to ride their bikes more.
Perhaps if we can get safe connections built between the existing cycle paths, and tame and contain cars, we can make that dream a reality.
Recently we have been speaking to Cllr Karen Rowland about a PSPO that is being considered to address (among other things) anti-social cycling, trying to ensure the wording doesn’t have unintended consequences for those cycling respectfully.
We also talked about how the Council might address poor driving. She made it clear that the volume of complaints received is a factor that drives action.
So for all those who report instances of poor driving and parking, thank you – you are helping to make a safer Reading for our children. And to everyone who joins us at our rides – thank you, you help to amplify our voice.
In terms of dates for the calendar, we have Kidical Mass rides coming up as follows:
- Sunday 14 September (Reading Cycle Festival)
- Sunday 19 October Reading
- Sunday 26 October Wokingham
- Sunday 7 December Christmas Rides both Reading and Wokingham
Hilary Smart
