Bikes in the city… I said BIKES…
Aug. 14th, 2008 11:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
suzyscottdotcomA little over two months ago, Dundee City Council rejected plans for a second-hand bicycle sales scheme in the City Centre, trying to protect local retailers interests (shame this wasn’t considered when the carnival comes to town every year, but I digress – as a city centre resident [still for the next month or two], noise is a big thing!).
05 June 2008
‘On your bike’ say councillors
Allowing a charity to sell recycled bicycles in the city centre would be the wrong image for Dundee to project, councillors decided today (writes Stefan Morkis).
The Claverhouse Group had applied to Dundee City Council’s licensing committee for permission to sell reconditioned bikes in the city centre.
They wanted to sell the bikes in the Murraygate once a fortnight for the next two months and at the same time publicise the project and their showroom in Staffa Place, where the bikes can also be purchased.
John Main, of the Claverhouse Group told the licensing committee, “Claverhouse is the largest training provider in the area and our job programmes are not run for profit.” He explained the charity salvages scrapped bikes and repairs them so that they are roadworthy again.
“Over the last couple of months we have set up a refurbishment programme and recovered old bikes from Dundee up to Montrose,” he said. We have employed two guys to do them up and we want to get some exposure so we can sell them.”
Mr Main said the bikes would comply fully with health and safety standards.
But Lord Provost John Letford said, “We are very protective of the city centre and its reputation as one of the foremost regional shopping centres.
“I have some concerns about selling second-hand bicycles on our streets. I would not be comfortable selling reconditioned cycles in the Murraygate.”
Councillor Rod Wallace agreed that the bikes should not be allowed to be sold in the city centre. He said, “I have a lot of admiration for the work of the Claverhouse Group but we have to bear in mind our responsibilities to the bona fide shops selling bikes in the city.”
Councillors unanimously rejected the application by the Claverhouse Group…
Subsequently to this plan, many letters appeared in the local press wondering why this scheme had been turned down.
Then, in last night’s Evening Telegraph, little over two months later, this appeared. Hmm...
13 August 2008
Dundee cash for reducing travel by car
Dundee has been awarded more than £2 million of Scottish Government funding to develop sustainable travel schemes aimed at reducing car use, (writes Brian Allison, local government reporter).
Minister for Transport and Climate Change Stewart Stevenson announced awards for seven towns and cities, including Dundee, Dumfries, Kirkwall, and Larbert/Stenhousemuir, under the government’s Sustainable Travel Demonstration Communities project.
Self service bike rental schemes — based on successful models in Paris, Barcelona and Stockholm — will be set up in Dundee and Dumfries.
The schemes will allow people to pick up a bicycle at a rail or bus station, use it for free for half an hour then pay a rental fee at an hourly rate thereafter. Once they have finished with it the bike can be deposited at one of a number of interchanges.
“With more cars on our roads, increasing levels of congestion and rising emissions, it is time for us all to look at our travel behaviour,” Mr Stevenson said.
“We need to look at new ways of persuading people out of their cars and on to more sustainable forms of travel such as trains, buses, walking and cycling.”
Dundee City Council planning and transport convener Fraser Macpherson said the fact the funding bid had been successful indicated the high regard in which the city was held by government in terms of travel issues.
“We have been leading the way with initiatives to encourage less use of cars by, for example, bringing in millions of pounds to improve public transport, and this latest funding means we will be able, with our partners, to continue to make improvements that will have a very real effect on people’s lives.”
Councillor Macpherson said the schemes to be operated in Dundee would be delivered through a project called Dundee Health Central, a partnership which includes the city council NHS Tayside, Dundee University, bus companies, sustainable transport charity Sustrans and regional transport partnership for Tayside and central Scotland Tactran, of which he is the chairman.
“The project will be delivered over a three-year period and the cycle hire scheme is one of a number of initiatives designed to encourage healthy living by cycling and walking,” he said.
It is intended to promote change for everyone living in or visiting the city and will reach children and parents through schools, NHS patients through GP surgeries, city centre workers through employers and students through universities.
As well as the cycle hire scheme, it is also proposed to provide bicycle training for all the family to encourage more use of bikes; complimentary trial journeys to get more people on buses; and to identify barriers to walking such as poor surfacing and drainage, narrow pathways or poor lighting.
Corrie McChord, vice president of local authorities umbrella organisation Cosla, said they were happy to be involved in the project.
“We have far too many short journeys being undertaken by car,” he said. “Nearly three in five car journeys are for trips of less than three miles.”
Mr Stevenson said, “The proposals from Dundee have been impressive, in particular the plans to create a bike rental scheme.
“Overall, the Dundee Health Central Scheme has the potential to improve travel options for thousands of residents
“This initiative could also be used as a template for other local authorities, showcasing the very best examples of sustainable travel initiatives from across Scotland, resulting in a catalyst for change throughout the whole country.”
05 June 2008
‘On your bike’ say councillors
Allowing a charity to sell recycled bicycles in the city centre would be the wrong image for Dundee to project, councillors decided today (writes Stefan Morkis).
The Claverhouse Group had applied to Dundee City Council’s licensing committee for permission to sell reconditioned bikes in the city centre.
They wanted to sell the bikes in the Murraygate once a fortnight for the next two months and at the same time publicise the project and their showroom in Staffa Place, where the bikes can also be purchased.
John Main, of the Claverhouse Group told the licensing committee, “Claverhouse is the largest training provider in the area and our job programmes are not run for profit.” He explained the charity salvages scrapped bikes and repairs them so that they are roadworthy again.
“Over the last couple of months we have set up a refurbishment programme and recovered old bikes from Dundee up to Montrose,” he said. We have employed two guys to do them up and we want to get some exposure so we can sell them.”
Mr Main said the bikes would comply fully with health and safety standards.
But Lord Provost John Letford said, “We are very protective of the city centre and its reputation as one of the foremost regional shopping centres.
“I have some concerns about selling second-hand bicycles on our streets. I would not be comfortable selling reconditioned cycles in the Murraygate.”
Councillor Rod Wallace agreed that the bikes should not be allowed to be sold in the city centre. He said, “I have a lot of admiration for the work of the Claverhouse Group but we have to bear in mind our responsibilities to the bona fide shops selling bikes in the city.”
Councillors unanimously rejected the application by the Claverhouse Group…
Subsequently to this plan, many letters appeared in the local press wondering why this scheme had been turned down.
Then, in last night’s Evening Telegraph, little over two months later, this appeared. Hmm...
13 August 2008
Dundee cash for reducing travel by car
Dundee has been awarded more than £2 million of Scottish Government funding to develop sustainable travel schemes aimed at reducing car use, (writes Brian Allison, local government reporter).
Minister for Transport and Climate Change Stewart Stevenson announced awards for seven towns and cities, including Dundee, Dumfries, Kirkwall, and Larbert/Stenhousemuir, under the government’s Sustainable Travel Demonstration Communities project.
Self service bike rental schemes — based on successful models in Paris, Barcelona and Stockholm — will be set up in Dundee and Dumfries.
The schemes will allow people to pick up a bicycle at a rail or bus station, use it for free for half an hour then pay a rental fee at an hourly rate thereafter. Once they have finished with it the bike can be deposited at one of a number of interchanges.
“With more cars on our roads, increasing levels of congestion and rising emissions, it is time for us all to look at our travel behaviour,” Mr Stevenson said.
“We need to look at new ways of persuading people out of their cars and on to more sustainable forms of travel such as trains, buses, walking and cycling.”
Dundee City Council planning and transport convener Fraser Macpherson said the fact the funding bid had been successful indicated the high regard in which the city was held by government in terms of travel issues.
“We have been leading the way with initiatives to encourage less use of cars by, for example, bringing in millions of pounds to improve public transport, and this latest funding means we will be able, with our partners, to continue to make improvements that will have a very real effect on people’s lives.”
Councillor Macpherson said the schemes to be operated in Dundee would be delivered through a project called Dundee Health Central, a partnership which includes the city council NHS Tayside, Dundee University, bus companies, sustainable transport charity Sustrans and regional transport partnership for Tayside and central Scotland Tactran, of which he is the chairman.
“The project will be delivered over a three-year period and the cycle hire scheme is one of a number of initiatives designed to encourage healthy living by cycling and walking,” he said.
It is intended to promote change for everyone living in or visiting the city and will reach children and parents through schools, NHS patients through GP surgeries, city centre workers through employers and students through universities.
As well as the cycle hire scheme, it is also proposed to provide bicycle training for all the family to encourage more use of bikes; complimentary trial journeys to get more people on buses; and to identify barriers to walking such as poor surfacing and drainage, narrow pathways or poor lighting.
Corrie McChord, vice president of local authorities umbrella organisation Cosla, said they were happy to be involved in the project.
“We have far too many short journeys being undertaken by car,” he said. “Nearly three in five car journeys are for trips of less than three miles.”
Mr Stevenson said, “The proposals from Dundee have been impressive, in particular the plans to create a bike rental scheme.
“Overall, the Dundee Health Central Scheme has the potential to improve travel options for thousands of residents
“This initiative could also be used as a template for other local authorities, showcasing the very best examples of sustainable travel initiatives from across Scotland, resulting in a catalyst for change throughout the whole country.”
