Wheelers Meetings

Notes from Wheelers Meeting held on 11 September 2002
at Sundial Centre, Shipton Street E1

Present: Alex Goodall, Tom Brenan, Alix Stredwick
Apologies: Gary (met in pub later), Owen (ditto), J Grayson, Lyndal Peters (council)

1. Introductions

No intros necessary!

2. Actions from last meeting

All action points done except:

• Gary to get postcard design to Lyndal at the council (subsequently did do this but council is having problems!)
• Alix to email group about September newsletter hand-out session (subsequently did, with good result)
• Lyndal hasn't written anything for our newsletter and Alix hasn't interviewed her for it but this can wait until another issue (perhaps the darker quieter days of winter)
• leaflet and poster of Tube Strike route not produced yet (but Alix will attempt to do this today!)
• as far as we are aware no-one has contacted Owen or Gary to help with the Tube Strike escorting - help gratefully appreciated! (please don't contact Gary as he is away)

Gary and Alix met to devise Bicycle Bus route (John from Rick Sure's was away) and have tested the part of the route that corresponds with the Tube Strike escort route.

3. Car Free Day, 22nd September

Tom and Alex can't make it on Sunday so the discussion centred on who we could ask to join in. People are still needed to help with the Bicycle Buses, DR Bike, talking to people about who we are, getting petition signatures, helping to set up and pack away, coming along for support!

Action:

• Tom to contact Dave
• Alix to contact Mark Butland
• Alix to ask Colin to help with Bicycle Bus
• Alix to directly email previous 'helpers'

4. Cable Street

The meeting on 28th August was successful, with the legal situation about priorities being clarified and Lyndal being persuaded to change two out of three markings after the legislation changes to allow her to do this. What's the next step? We still need to persuade her about the third point so it was agreed that we would continue with the petition, presenting it to her again in the new year. It was agreed that any kind of action stunt for publicity was not worth it and should be saved for a bigger campaign. (Fun stunt ideas were discussed.) We will have a re-think about what to do if the regulation doesn't make it through parliament (but it is likely that it will, we are told) or Lyndal changes her mind.

Action:

• Tom to be on 'regulation watch' to see whether it gets through parliament
• Tom to find out exactly what the wording is - whether it is 'can' or 'must' or 'should', for example.
• all Wheelers to think about any possible future action

5. Training of borough engineers

It was agreed that we should raise this issue with Lyndal. How far can engineers who design cycle facilities incorporate their own views? e.g. with the Royal Mint Street scheme, for which Lyndal has told the designer to remove give way markings that are clearly unnecessary under existing legislation. How far are engineers/designers educated as to the most sensible pro-cycling measures to take, when there is a choice?

Action:

• Alix to liase with Gary about writing to Lyndal on this issue.

6. Gripes survey

The Gripes Survey in the first 're-born' wheelers newsletter (Dec-Jan), subsequently put on to the website and mentioned in other newsletters, has collected a fair amount of responses. It was agreed that we should do something constructive with these responses in order to put forward a wider Wheelers view of what needs to be done in the borough than can be obtained from wheelers meetings. Aim is to present them to Lyndal and ask her what is being done about the problems and how we can contribute. They could also be a basis of our future campaigns.

Action:

• Tom to ask Owen to send all the responses to him to summarise and present at the next wheelers meeting
• put on agenda for next meeting, so that we can decide on the main issues to be presented to Lyndal

7. Tube Strike

Dates were not known at this meeting but are now known to be Tuesdays 24th September and 1st October. It was agreed that we need to target District Line stations in TH plus Central Line's Bethnal Green (as it is near Stepney Green and busier) for handing out leaflets and putting up posters on railings one or two days before. Priority stations to target on morning rush hour hand-outs are, therefore: Mile End, Bethnal Green and Whitechapel. Others to do if 'people resources' permit are Bow Road, Stepney Green and Aldgate East. Stations will be targetted in evenings too if resources allow. Need to produce A6 hand-out leaflets to be handed out plus A4 posters to tie to railings. Message will be 'tube strike? - on your bike!' and 'no tube strike? still get on your bike!' - we'll be doing the routes whether the strikes go ahead or not.

Action:

• Alix to do hand-out text and map and ask Bharat to help with design if needed
• any wheeler who wishes to help be a steward or hand-out leaflets please contact Owen

8. congestion charge T-shirt

This idea, originally Gary's, was discussed. Picture ideas were added to and it was decided that we should take it to LCC central and only take it on if they don't want to do it.

Action:

• Alix to contact LCC Marketing Manager Mark Hubbard.

9. Media

Alix reported a good response to her plea for wheelers to look through local papers for coverage after we do news releases. Alex volunteered to look through the East London Advertiser at work. It was pointed out that the council's Social Services department at 62 Roman Road has numerous supplies of East End Life.

Action:

• Alex to keep an eye on East London Advertiser
• any other wheelers to contact Alix if you want to help out with other papers (East End Life and the Islanders are also already covered)

10. Newsletter

Alix reported that the September 'inbetweener' was ready and is being handed out on the morning of Friday 13th September. Alex and Tom offered to help. Tom suggested an item for the next newsletter: a 'round-up' of all cycle maintenance classes currently available nearby.

Action:

• Alix to email group about hand-out session - this was done and Colin and Owen also helped out.
• all wheelers are reminded that they can subscribe to the extra 'inbetweeners' - suggested donation of £5, can be sent on email as PDF, faxed or posted. Contact Alix please: alix@towerhamletswheelers.org.uk 020 8880 6873

11. Family Welfare Association cycling event

Alix reported that this TH organisation had got in touch and wished to put on a small event in a park at the end of the October half term, to promote cycling to its clients, many of whom have bikes in the shed but never use them, and rarely let their kids ride them in the street. Saturday 26th October is the provisional date and Patrick of the FWA is liasing with Alix and Owen. It was agreed that we would try to take as full a part as possible in this event.

12. AGM and annual report

It was agreed to put this on the agenda for the next meeting.

13. AOB

• Finance report: it was agreed to ask Gary to present a summary of our accounts at or before every meeting in order to effectively plan our activities.
  Action: Gary to present our finances at every meeting.
• Barry Mason of Greenwich LCC's cycle security idea: This is for the police to set up bikes in the Columbia Road area and tag them so that if they are stolen, the theives can be tracked and caught.
  Action: Alix to email Barry saying a) we support the idea, b) maybe send a letter to London Cyclist to start a debate, c) find out how/whether Camden council did it d) consider the 'entrapment' and 'expense' arguments.
• European Cycling Day: it was agreed that we would have a Wheelers social night in the Crown organic pub, Grove Road roundabout from 9pm to celebrate this.
• September ride: Alex can't lead this, on 28th September, so Alix agreed to lead it. Meet 10am on the Green Bridge, Mile End Park. Contact Alix for further details.
• British Waterways: Tom explained that he was stopped by British Waterways whilst on the canal in TH. They are trying to educate cyclists that they need to obtain from BW a free cycling permit, and they should cycle with consideration for pedestrians.
  Action: Tom to write a piece for the newsletter about this (deadline of Tuesday 24th for Oct/Nov newsletter; Sun 3rd Oct for Oct-only newsletter).
• Cycle counts:
  Action: Alex to email the group asking for help analysing the data collected on both our counts.

As the meeting started a little late (7:20pm) we got to the Half Moon on Mile End Road a little after 9pm, meeting with Owen, Gary and Martin.

Next meeting: 7.00pm, 16 October, Sundial Centre, Shipton Street E2 7RU