Cycling UK Forum

Those who live on the route can’t go onto the road to cycle and those who wish to cycle across the route cannot access the inside island. Motor cyclist won’t be able to access many of the routes.

I do wonder how the cyclists’ supporters will get to the route. Internal roads are likely to be gridlocked due to residents having to park on these.

Closed roads for sportives great idea if everyone could join in and the residents consulted or at the very least informed. Road closures for sportives bad idea if they are for profit and excluded all but those who can pay.

This sort of event can be either good or bad for cycling. If it is well-organised, they offer benefits to residents, such as free tickets and promotional items, they clean thoroughly afterwards, and deal equitably with any incidents, the organisers can do a good PR job for cycling.

If, on the other hand, they make life difficult for residents, don't offer them any benefits, and leave a mess in their wake, they will do the opposite.

Any or all junctions can be marshalled. Clubs manage to get enough marshalls for road races, and a sportive that is charging an entry fee can at least cover expenses, and maybe offer other benefits to marshalls, as well.

Other things, such as running family events on the side, offering shorter versions of the sportive or training sessions to locals, etc. can all help to improve community perception of such events.

If I were a local councillor, I would make such things a condition of event approval.

Getting the media on ones side helps

Maybe it would make cycling unpopular in the small area where it is held, and popular elsewhere

Vorpal wrote:Any or all junctions can be marshalled. [...]
If I were a local councillor, I would make such things a condition of event approval.

Some roads across the course remain open but mainly in the east, as far as I can tell. I didn't find the traffic order to see what's required but I did find this quote
“Event organisers have and will continue to address access concerns across the entire route, facilitating access wherever possible.

“Should residents or businesses along the Vélo South route have any specific concerns about access during the day they are encouraged to contact the organisers by email at route@velosouth.com.”

Have you tried that, Lorrimer12?

There's a lot of nonsense in newspapers about residents being "locked in their houses". Er, no, you just can't drive out from it. Either walk or park the car elsewhere and walk to it. Or stay and cheer them past. You're not locked in. Don't overreact.

Come and knock on the doors of those living in Nyewood, Habin, South Harting or Compton. Ask the residents. You I’ll be surprised or they will be. Still no notice to most in the area.

But have you contacted the organisers with the concerns? Or do you just post on forums?

Si wrote:

ianrobo wrote:
actually the Brum one is returning next year but on a different route as the Nimby's of worcestershire persuaded the council to block it.

Don't start counting them thar chickens just yet

New route seems more urban where, I guess, it's easier to close roads, and also flatter, down through Solihull.

thats exactly it, mostly Solihull and Brum now with a bit of North Warks and suspect they will badge sit under the WM Mayor on top, just that the proposed course looks so bland ...

I have contacted them, received an email. Have attended a road show but just got stock answers. ‘We are in discussions with land owners.’ ‘The marshals will organise crossing nags for pedestrians.’

Why can’t the sportive be an A to B event. It is the circular nature of the road closures seems to be biggest reason for such long road closures and that so many people find themselves within the event. I have asked and been told that it would be inconvient for the riders.

Lorrimer12 wrote:Why can’t the sportive be an A to B event. It is the circular nature of the road closures seems to be biggest reason for such long road closures and that so many people find themselves within the event. I have asked and been told that it would be inconvient for the riders.

because then you have a massive logistics test of getting people back, I once did a Oxford to Cambridge ride and took two hours to wait for a coach ....

ianrobo wrote:

Lorrimer12 wrote:Why can’t the sportive be an A to B event. It is the circular nature of the road closures seems to be biggest reason for such long road closures and that so many people find themselves within the event. I have asked and been told that it would be inconvient for the riders.

because then you have a massive logistics test of getting people back, I once did a Oxford to Cambridge ride and took two hours to wait for a coach ....

See recent thread, "the tragedy of drive-cycling"

Lorrimer12 wrote:I have contacted them, received an email. Have attended a road show but just got stock answers. ‘We are in discussions with land owners.’ ‘The marshals will organise crossing nags for pedestrians.’

Assuming that the event does go ahead, what will be most likely to make a difference to the extent that residents and businesses are inconvenienced is going to be painstaking work by parish councillors and others. By that I mean:

1. Reviewing the route where it passes through the parish.

2. Identifying those who may be most affected. Some residents and businesses will indeed be potentially landlocked. In many of the villages there are no pavements, and there are none on the lanes outside the villages, so people would not be able to walk from their homes if their driveways - or even front doors - open directly onto the road.

Only by identitifying those people and considering the impact of closures on them, will it be possible to determine whether the council and organisers are making adequate arrangements. As well as vulnerable people who may need to be visted by carers etc., and livestock owners who may need to be able to reach their animals, there may be many other categories of people who might need to be able to leave their homes on foot and have access to a vehicle within a short distance, e.g. vets on emergency call out and retained fire fighters.

3. Getting precise specific details about the road closures and the procedures from the council and the organisers well in advance.

It might be that the detailed plans for the road closures will address the great majority of concerns of residents. For example, if I lived in a village on the route with no pavement, and the road closure plans specified that temporary metal barriers would be installed to provide a path for pedestrians, then I would probably be satisfied with that arrangement (whereas I would not consider using tape and plastic bollards to be a sufficient barrier given the large number of riders).

What I would not accept would be vague reassurances about organising something, like the response received by one parish council which emailed questions to Velo South (http://www.plaistowandifold.org.uk/):

4. How can people access Church, access their care responsibilities for relatives and friends, get to and from work, feed/attend to livestock, attend other engagements/events.

a. We will endeavour to provide managed access during closures where journeys are necessary.

Parish councillors and others need the organisers to provide specific detail in advance about the procedures and resources for such access (and who decides what is and isn't 'necessary'). If it's left to local marshals on the day to figure out what to do, then that is unlikely to be satisfactory. All this needs to be addressed in advance by developing appropriate procedures, ensuring adequate training and instruction for marshals in those procedures, and ensuring that the resources will be available (sufficient marshals, barriers, traffic signals etc.). All of this should effectively flow from the risk assessments by the organisers.

The other thing the concerned groups of West Sussex councillors should be doing, is contacting their opposite numbers who have already been through this experience with Velo Birmingham in order to learn from them.

Only by doing that painstaking work, will the councillors be able to determine the impact of the closures and whether the arrangements for them will be adequate. If the arrangements are not adequate, or if the organisers fail to provide the necessary detail sufficiently in advance to enable it to be reviewed, then the councillors will be in a stronger position to pursue this further, e.g. with the county council. If the council fails to ensure that the road closures will be properly managed with sufficient procedures and resources, then the parish councillors could threaten to seek a Judicial Review.

To Ianrobo, the riders have made a choice to participate paid to take part and there are only 15000 of them. The residents have not had a choice and there are over 250000 of them.

I'd like to add my support for Lorrimer12 who has been brave enough to post this on a cycling forum and provide reasonable answers to the questions. I live down a lane that opens on to the route and will not be able to drive from my house on the day. I have a shooting coaching session on the day and I cannot leave weapons in the car overnight if it is parked elsewhere, therefore I will have to cancel - cue lots of disappointed youngsters. My local pub in Partridge Green have a wedding reception that is no longer viable. Other rural pubs have their busiest days on Sunday, being inaccessible by car means significant loss of revenue for a business that is marginal at the best of times.

The leaflet drop promised by Velo South never happened, most of the locals I have spoken to know nothing of the event. WSCC have conducted no public consultation.

As other posters have pointed out, if this had been done right it might have been a boon for cycling. Instead I am extremely unhappy and many residents are spitting with anger at ALL cyclists. This event and the arrogant "it's going ahead no matter what you do" approach of the people from Velo South who were at the "roadshow" has done cycling no favours.

Lorrimer12 wrote:To Ianrobo, the riders have made a choice to participate paid to take part and there are only 15000 of them. The residents have not had a choice and there are over 250000 of them.

The residents have had a choice and they elected county councillors who agreed to this and should be specifying route crossings and their procedures, taped-off or barriered footways and so on. It ain't the riders' fault if the county council isn't doing what residents want - don't take it out on them, please.