Velo South closed roads sportive - good idea?!?

[ianrobo]

Addendum

CSM are planning on another Velo Birmingham scheduled for 12th May but using a completely new urban route including Castle Vale, Bedworth, Coventry, Solihull, Northfield and back into Birmingham.

If it’s as good as the first one, I look forward to it.

it is not, I know the route very well they are doing and it is bland, flat and frankly without a decent climb is not for me .... The other route had some decent climbs which is part of the fun of a closed road and why people pay more for one.

Phil and I on anther forum had a heated discussion about this but where he lives there were signs out saying no to Velo but an awful lot of people out enjoying it, music playing, barbies etc ...

so I have to say a few people can make a lot more noise and these areas tend to be richer with people who know how to make the right noise ....

[Lorrimer12]

For some residents, there are no alternative routes due to the nature of the rural location. Most residents still don’t know about the road closures. Vélo South is a race with a winner, timed and prizes, not a sportive. CSM are taking over a million in entrance fees and they are a private enterprise. Nothing like a football match, Pompey does not shut people in or out there homes for over 8 hours. There is action being taken and this event is still not confirmed. CSM will not return monies as their T&C state that they reserve the right to change the date and the route. This is really damaging for cycling as a whole.

[Lorrimer12]

I will share your opinion with the farmers who will not be able to access their stock and the dairy farmer who will not be able to have a milk collection that day. It will be news to them that they are the wealthy.

[RickH]

For some residents, there are no alternative routes due to the nature of the rural location. Most residents still don’t know about the road closures. Vélo South is a race with a winner, timed and prizes, not a sportive. CSM are taking over a million in entrance fees and they are a private enterprise. Nothing like a football match, Pompey does not shut people in or out there homes for over 8 hours. There is action being taken and this event is still not confirmed. CSM will not return monies as their T&C state that they reserve the right to change the date and the route. This is really damaging for cycling as a whole.

If it is a race, why does it say this on their website?

Vélo South – a major new 100 mile closed road sportive for the UK. (link)

I can't see any sign of prizes for winners either, rather medals & goodie bags for participants. Riders are timed but that is normal for a sportive.

[mjr]

For some residents, there are no alternative routes due to the nature of the rural location.

It's still only one road through each village being closed, isn't it? There are other roads. The main challenge is for the people who live actually on the road being closed, but there are solutions if people organise them, same as for any road closure.

Nothing like a football match, Pompey does not shut people in or out there homes for over 8 hours.

Yes, football shuts up places for considerably more than 8 hours a year, as alluded to about Villa Park and other places above, but it differs in that it's not all in one go like this.

This is really damaging for cycling as a whole.

It's not, despite some poisonous individuals who seem determined to try to blame all cyclists rather than take it up with WSCC and CSM.

I will share your opinion with the farmers who will not be able to access their stock and the dairy farmer who will not be able to have a milk collection that day.

All sorts of things can stop farmers getting to stock or having milk collections, including the frequent crashing motorists blocking roads, as well as more natural things like floods and ice or snow. Most farms have contingency plans for such reasonably forseeable things.

Football has been far more damaging to farms. For example, Pompey's football ground is built on what was good farming land and they notoriously boosted their start-up funds by selling the potato crop that was in the ground when they bought the land!

[Lorrimer12]

Portsmouth was once sea bed. I’m out because this argument is ridiculous.

[ianrobo]

This is really damaging for cycling as a whole.

It's not, despite some poisonous individuals who seem determined to try to blame all cyclists rather than take it up with WSCC and CSM.

yep indeed quite the opposite the overall reaction to Velo Brum despite the issues noted before was very positive and people want to pay for closed road events because they are fun ... Now you could have 10,000o rides on an open road event and the chaos that causes is far more than an closed road event especially if like with the velothon the organisers get it spot on

[Baglady]

As an affected resident, and we have the cyclists every single weekend through our village whom many residents don’t mind (why should we) I cannot see the route planned of being particularly good standard for you to race/cycle on. Not only does it mean that residents in some roads are closed in for the whole day (literally)for others they will need to take massive (I mean massive) detours as the main roads both in and out of the village are closed. In addition, one village on the route has a sporting event the following weekend means the villagers are inconvenienced two weekends in a row. Someone else mentioned road closures for repairs, this usually does not affect three routes through the village when there are only four available one of which means an extended trip of 20 miles to get 5 miles up the road.
Surely sticking to the main A24 or A281 would be more beneficial then the villagers can get on with their lives, meaning they don’t object to cyclists so much (when they are over run with us on a lot of weekends practising en mass)
The roads are of particularly bad maintenance if we stuck to main roads they would only as someone has mentioned with the northern routes need to employ traffic light systems to close roads as cyclists go across thus not antognising the local villagers further!
As for complaints to WSCC and anyone else they do not wish to know!

[pwa]

This is really damaging for cycling as a whole.

It's not, despite some poisonous individuals who seem determined to try to blame all cyclists rather than take it up with WSCC and CSM.

yep indeed quite the opposite the overall reaction to Velo Brum despite the issues noted before was very positive and people want to pay for closed road events because they are fun ... Now you could have 10,000o rides on an open road event and the chaos that causes is far more than an closed road event especially if like with the velothon the organisers get it spot on

If people are paying for closed roads, wouldn't it be more just if the dosh went partly to the communities that are hampered by the events rather than just the organisers who run these things past other people's front doors for financial gain? A few hundred quid into the coffers of each affected Parish Council would smooth over ruffled feathers very nicely.

[Marcus Aurelius]

As an affected resident, and we have the cyclists every single weekend through our village whom many residents don’t mind (why should we) I cannot see the route planned of being particularly good standard for you to race/cycle on. Not only does it mean that residents in some roads are closed in for the whole day (literally)for others they will need to take massive (I mean massive) detours as the main roads both in and out of the village are closed. In addition, one village on the route has a sporting event the following weekend means the villagers are inconvenienced two weekends in a row. Someone else mentioned road closures for repairs, this usually does not affect three routes through the village when there are only four available one of which means an extended trip of 20 miles to get 5 miles up the road.
Surely sticking to the main A24 or A281 would be more beneficial then the villagers can get on with their lives, meaning they don’t object to cyclists so much (when they are over run with us on a lot of weekends practising en mass)
The roads are of particularly bad maintenance if we stuck to main roads they would only as someone has mentioned with the northern routes need to employ traffic light systems to close roads as cyclists go across thus not antognising the local villagers further!
As for complaints to WSCC and anyone else they do not wish to know!

Putting the route along the main roads would make it dull and un interesting, no one wants to be riding along a sterile section of A road, when there’s a perfectly good little B road network that can be used. The most affected section of the route ( Plaistow and Ifold ) really is a very short section of the entire route.

[ianrobo]

Did anyone see the piece a couple of days ago where there is pressure to shut off some of the Dales roads to us regardless of any event or not.

this is what you get when you allow people like Nimby's to win, it NEVER stops at one event ...

[squeaker]

See Chanctonbury CLC agenda - 6:15 to 6:55pm on Monday, 30 July 2018 at Ashurst Village Hall, BN44 3AP

[Philip Whiteman]

Today, West Sussex County Council held a debate on a motion proposed by Cllr O' Kelly, who is a cyclist herself. A webcast can be found at https://westsussex.public-i.tv/core/por ... ive/360352 [you may have to wait for the recorded rather than live version to become available].

The motion read as follows but was rejected by a very large majority of fellow councillors who argued in favour of the event as proposed by CSM.

‘This Council recognises that the forthcoming Velo South on-road cycle event will raise the profile of West Sussex. This Council equally acknowledges the impact the proposed road closures will have on those residents and businesses who are along and within the loop of the route and therefore calls on the Leader and the Cabinet for Highways and Infrastructure to take steps to minimise that impact by working with the event organisers to either abandon the road closures or introduce ‘short rolling road closures for the elite cyclists only’, noting that ‘rolling’ closures have been the norm for previous major cycle events in the county.’

The proposer's rationale was not great and the response at the end of the motion was even worse with the argument in response to councillors opposing the motion being spurious at best. This contrasted strongly to the other councillors who argued in favour of the event, and whom appeared to be working with their constituents on how to mitigate against any problems created by Velo South.

Now whilst I have expressed serious concerns over CSM's competency when they oversaw Velo Birmingham, it appears from councillors opposing this motion that CSM may have learnt previous mistakes when dealing with West Sussex CC, CSM have clearly worked closely with the local authority on this occasion. CSM are also working harder on public engagement to gain support and listen to concerns of communities - unlike Velo Birmingham - where CSM clearly failed to understand that you needed in depth discussion with the highways and local authorities before announcing the event details publicly.

[Marcus Aurelius]

Today, West Sussex County Council held a debate on a motion proposed by Cllr O' Kelly, who is a cyclist herself. A webcast can be found at https://westsussex.public-i.tv/core/por ... ive/360352 [you may have to wait for the recorded rather than live version to become available].

The motion read as follows but was rejected by a very large majority of fellow councillors who argued in favour of the event as proposed by CSM.

‘This Council recognises that the forthcoming Velo South on-road cycle event will raise the profile of West Sussex. This Council equally acknowledges the impact the proposed road closures will have on those residents and businesses who are along and within the loop of the route and therefore calls on the Leader and the Cabinet for Highways and Infrastructure to take steps to minimise that impact by working with the event organisers to either abandon the road closures or introduce ‘short rolling road closures for the elite cyclists only’, noting that ‘rolling’ closures have been the norm for previous major cycle events in the county.’

The proposer's rationale was not great and the response at the end of the motion was even worse with the argument in response to councillors opposing the motion being spurious at best. This contrasted strongly to the other councillors who argued in favour of the event, and whom appeared to be working with their constituents on how to mitigate against any problems created by Velo South.

Now whilst I have expressed serious concerns over CSM's competency when they oversaw Velo Birmingham, it appears from councillors opposing this motion that CSM may have learnt previous mistakes when dealing with West Sussex CC, CSM have clearly worked closely with the local authority on this occasion. CSM are also working harder on public engagement to gain support and listen to concerns of communities - unlike Velo Birmingham - where CSM clearly failed to understand that you needed in depth discussion with the highways and local authorities before announcing the event details publicly.

“Short rolling road closures for the elite cyclists only”

What “elite cyclists”?

[squeaker]

“Short rolling road closures for the elite cyclists only”

What “elite cyclists”?

Er, those that arrive before the end of the closure?