Summer Update 2022

It has certainly been a hot summer so far with some record breaking temperatures.  I write this update having completed another weeks cycling commute in some of the hottest weather I can remember although the morning ride in has been fantastic.

Moira Nature reserve in the sun.

There is a lot of activity around the area at the moment with a new scheme on the A444 in Stapenhill nearing completion and other parts of future parts of the National Cycle network now progressing.  

Away from the actual NCN, Sustrans have been busy in the Urban Core of South Derbyshire as part of a study looking at increasing activity in Primary school aged children particularly in Newhall and Woodville.  Any feedback given to project officer Alistair would be most useful.  I'd like to have been able to help more directly on this but will share as much as I can to help with the project.  Please keep an eye out on the Facebook page and person Twitter feed.

New surface near Measham

During a recent holiday from work I had the opportunity to do a couple of route checks, the first being on part of the future network and around Swadlincote and the urban core and a separate ride looking at the Heart of Forest area.

Both of these involved signage checks and general surface checks and a few signs were updated or replaced where necessary.  It was good to see some surface works have been completed on the section between the A42 and Measham village centre - a small section has been treated and rolled into a nice smooth and wide surface.  I've asked whether this is part of a larger scheme and hope to update further.  It is certainly an improvement on the stony surface put down around 3 years ago between Donisthopre and Measham.  Although the majority of that surface is now bedding in there are still stony sections.

The current link not bike friendly!

Back in Swadlincote progress is being made on the new estate off William Nadin Way which will link the route between Swadlincote and Newhall in the shape of the housing development growing at a pace.  More notable though is that work is now progressing on the Urban Park as previously mentioned in this link.  We continue to monitor progress to ensure that the route is fully accessible when completed.

Work started on Urban Park!

Currently there is still only a pedestrian bridge linking the newest estate with the Cobblestone Drive estate which then links to Swadlincote so hope there is a plan to upgrade this when complete.  Further along the proposed route is a new estate off Park Road, Newhall which is in the early stages of construction and just had a new roundabout built as part of infrastructure.  Suddenly a route which has been in the pipeline for many years is starting to come to fruition.

Once the Swadlincote to Stanton link is fully open this will hopefully encourage more people to cycle between Swadlincote and Burton and the route into Burton from the Derbyshire border is now being upgraded in readiness.  As part of the NCN review for paths for everyone the section through Stapenhill on the A444 does not meet the criteria for NCN standards due to the large amount of traffic using the route.

A sign shows completed estate & infrastructure

With funds secured from Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Sustrams Paths for Everyone scheme, Stafforsdhire County Council have been able to upgrade the route from Sycamore Road through the Saxon Street.  More about the reasoning behind the scheme can be read here.

The scheme has led to roadworks for around 15 weeks which has not always been well received and the local press does seem to focus on the negativity of the impact on traffic rather than the benefits of the scheme in the longer term. 

As a cyclist it clearly has less of an impact as we can dismount and walk past but this has been necessary at times due to the narrowness of the roadworks and no safe overtaking space for most vehicles - as a point of personal safety I've generally chosen to walk around, especially if going uphill.  Also the timings on traffic lights between red and green do not always allow time for cycles to get through, not that the colour of the traffic lights seems to matter to a small minority of drivers during these roadworks judging by some observations.

The scheme is very nearly complete with surface work done and some signage already up.  Once the new toucan crossings are in I will update with a feature on the completed works which look to have been done to a high standard.

The works look great but roadworks very narrow. 

Other schemes under investigation in Burton included a new pedestrian bridge to link Winshill and Stapenhill to the Washlands and this did have a consultation period to evaluate viability.  We'll monitor this for any further updates but it is more a of a longer term aspiration.

Another scheme in Station Street in Burton to improve walking and cycling links in between the Railway Station and town centre has been delayed until early 2023.  This will see a 20mph zone and cycling infrastructure on Station Street.  Again, the way this scheme has been poorly promoted within the local press and attracts a lot of ill-educated comments about whether the money should be used for other things.  The fact is that it is funded through a scheme where the money would have been spent somewhere else if there had not been a good justification to make the improvements.

The worrying aspect of this probable click-bait media approach is that the local newspaper made a point of of counting the number of cyclists one morning.  This was done during a school holiday and period of roadworks due to crucial gas main works so it would be likely that most vehicles would be avoiding the area, including bikes, so was hardly a fair reflection.  Also, in it's current format the road and the behaviour of a small minority of motorists speeding excessively, it will not encourage cycling and that's pretty much the point why the improvements are required.

I'm hoping to engage with the local press to see if we can do something positive once the works are complete.  If this happens, you'll read it here too!