Matt Evans, Air Quality and Climate Change officer to provide a verbal update, ahead of a full update report at the Overview and Scrutiny Committee taking place 6 July 2023.
Minutes:
Matt Evans, Air Quality and Climate Change Officer presented the Cycling Update ahead of a full report to be given at the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in July.
The objective behind the work conducted was to understand the views of cycling and to promote more cycling in the borough. This was to be done by
· Engaging with the Community to understand wider needs
· Using social media to promote and raise awareness
· Engage with county to understand their plans for provisions
· Exploring provision for cycle parking and storage across Chorley
· Resident consultation to garner views.
The purpose of the consultation was to manage expectation and to sign post to Lancashire County Council. 180 responses were received, with two from cycling groups. There were no written responses received, however comments on the Facebook and Twitter page were collated and included.
The majority of the comments were constructive, and the vast majority agreed that improved cycling facilities would positively influence their decision to visit Chorley. The most popular improvements suggested were cycleways, pedestrianised areas, and safe and secure storage for cycles. Interest was also raised for
- bike maintenance provisions
- repair days
- basic skills training
- Cycle training for children and adults
- Confidence building leisure activities
The feedback from the consultation would be incorporated into the objectives, and as a result;
- Partners have been identified to provide training, workshops, maintenance
- Exploration was underway how activities could be promoted.
- Chorley Council’s climate change website to be refreshed with dedicated pages for active travel and cycling.
- A focus on cycling Infrastructure across Chorley
- Bike storage pods for Chorley to be placed in Portland Street Car Park, due to its proximity to the town centre and the transport links. These would be monitored by town centre ambassadors, with updates provided to the team at the end of Spring.
The team were interested in the cycling habits of staff, the cycle pods at Bengal Street were not used as much as desired. It was believed that this was due to
- Change in working pattens,
- Distance between the pods and the Town Hall
- Potential damage to the new ICT equipment through bad weather or accidents,
- Lack of changing facilities in the Town Hall.
Work was underway with Lancashire County Council to ensure that Chorley was represented within the Lancashire Cycle and Walking Infrastructure Partnership. It was clarified that District Councils were not eligible for active travel funds, network planning was ongoing but was delayed due to Covid.
The County Council expressed their wish to be involved with the planning process and to feed in their views when a site or application was compatible with their active travel plans. Members raised about the secure sheds at Adlington Rail Station that were never installed, and no money was provided. It was confirmed that legal advice would be sought for an answer.
Cycling was a part of the upcoming Local Plan, with an emphasis for walking, wheeling and cycling in new developments
Resolved: That the update be noted.