Carole’s August Blog

First big congratulations to anyone who did the Prudential London-Surrey 100 last weekend. Well done.

While in the congratulating mood I should say congratulations to us ! We received a notice that the order to confirm that Muddy Lane is to be upgraded to a bridleway, was confirmed by the inspector on 22 July 2019. Daniel wrote “ The Order is confirmed now and to all intents and purposes effective as stated in para 3 of the  Order. There is however the six week High Court period during which an appeal may be made to the High Court. I certainly wouldn’t bet against this possibility, so there is still the remote chance that the Order could be revoked. We will see!! I’ll keep you informed when I decide to advertise the confirmation. Hopefully very soon.” So slightly bated breath till 2 September. If anyone would like to see the  paperwork, let me know and I will send it to you as an attachment. George and Barbara have been down the Lane and say there is work to be done to make it passable. We will have to make our September ride an inaugural one if all goes well!!!

Meanwhile Norman has been working on the route from Chobham to Woking. I am attaching a draft letter (please see Carole’s original e-mail) from Florence Best who is Executive Assistant to the CEO of Bioreginal and is very involved with the plans of this route.

Some other good news,  Surrey County Council has now got a new cycling coordinator (Jeff Wilson).

I have also attached a copy of a letter written by Norman in regards to the manifesto commitment to improve facilities for cyclists in Woking. At the end of this email.

Our social ride this month will be on 18 August and led by Barbara Rossouw.  We are meeting near the entrance to the children’s playground in Woking Park for departure at 2 PM. The ride will be about 15 -18 miles long taking about 2.5-3 hrs including a stop for tea. Should you need to get in contact with Barbara on the day, her mobile number is 07742 809031. Please be sure to bring a spare inner tube for your bike should you get a flat tyre.

Save the date! Our all day ride this year—route still to be decided— will be on 29 September. More about this in my September blog.

Lastly, Pub night is 27 August at 7:30 at the Sovereigns on Guildford Road.

Happy cycling

Carole Frost
WCUG membership secretary

Norman’s letter re manifesto pledge:

Hi Ann-Marie,

At the Cycle Group AGM I asked members for their concerns about the present cycling arrangements; this did not get me many comments.Have now produced a report which lists many of the ways that cyclists are being failed by WBC and SCC.

Over the last 8 or so years many restrictions have been placed on cyclists in the Town centre,the main one being the unwarranted cycling restriction in the  town centre banning cycling from 10am to 4pm daily.This is despite a petition which supported access to the town centre.

Presently there are no through routes for cyclist from the West.[1]The High St route has had a barrier placed on the cycle route by the new bus stops near to Victoria Arch.

[2]The Commercial Way “National Cycle route” which was  a continuation of the Goldsworth Road route has had all signs removed and is totally messed up by the redevelopments.

The CCTV cover of the cycle parking hoops is minimal, resulting in very serious theft of cycles. See the attached pdf. The surveillance of all cycle securing sites needs to be urgently reviewed and upgraded.

With the exception of a few newly installed hoops near the main entrance to Wolsey Place, a majority of the securing hoops are so close together that it is difficult to use the stands .

Towns generally have weather protection provided over the parking bays. Woking have one sheltered one only which is near to the members’ entrance to the Civic Offices.

In order to overcome the shortcomings of the cycle route from the Chobham Road to the Rail Station a contraflow has been designed to enable cyclists to access the Rail Station using Chertsey Road. This has been  outstanding since 2000 when the Woking Cycle Town works were introduced.  Plans were discussed with SCC engineers over a year ago, however there has been no indication of progress.

Throughout Woking, the on-road and off-road cycle routes have all been neglected. The contrasting colours,white lines and cycle symbols painted to indicate routes, have all been virtually obliterated by vehicle and pedestrian movements.This effects all routes to the borough boundaries

On Station Road near to Mimbridge the “Surrey Cycle Route” is signed down Horsell Common Road.At the point where cyclists coming from Chobham need to wait and cross the road there is no off-road hard standing point where cyclists can wait in safety out of the traffic stream.

The SCC no longer employ a Cycling Officer to cover Woking.

Do say if anything needs to be elaborated.

Cheers

Norman