Dear Bugsters,
The weather is turning (has turned!) chilly. We are out of the November restrictions and back to socially distanced groups of not more than six. Wrap up well! We are suggesting Sunday meetings at 10.00am Lynnsport with destinations to be confirmed on the day. Keep an eye on the website or Facebook for updates/changes. If it’s too cold or wet we may abandon or truncate rides because we cannot go inside as a group at any café stop to warm up. So bearing this in mind we are proposing a ride on Sunday 6th December to The Orchard Tea Rooms near Wisbech, a distance of fortyish miles. Bring food and hot drink if you can, and decent lights. It may be deemed advisable to decide when we meet to alter the destination. Hope to see you at Lynnsport.
Official gov.uk advice now says "Across all tiers, everyone should walk or cycle where possible" so please rest assured that you are being responsible and helpful during this crisis by cycling and keeping fit.
The UK government is also backing this advice up with some more cycling budget for England, although it is fair to note that it is dwarfed by the billions being thrown at more "expressways" to rush motorists between congested cities. Norfolk has been allocated another £1.75m from the active travel fund in the last few months and we have asked what it will be spent on: so far, we only know vague things about capacity improvements to the Strikes/KES crossing.
Thank you to everyone who commented on the Gaywood Parkway Park council-developed housing plans. Revised plans have been submitted, but they are still completely substandard for cycling, with dangerous junctions and the Sand Line Bridge rebuilt to what looks like a 1980s narrow hairpin design! MJ continues to submit objections and suggestions, but please reiterate your own objections too if you have time. Pallavi Devulapalli has requested to ask a question at the full borough council meeting on the evening of 3rd December which should be viewable online.
And finally, Vision King's Lynn's survey of how people travelled to the town centre found that "The majority of respondents – 65 per cent – also stated that they do cycle in King’s Lynn, and of those a fifth of respondents cycle five times per week. Keeping fit is the key driver behind people’s walking and cycling habits with this cited by 34 per cent as the most frequent reason why they walk and by 46 per cent as the main reason why they cycle." It's good to see things may be changing! The above will be used by the councils and Town Board to support various plans and funding bids to improve things further.
Thanks to MJ for the providing this information.