EPIKS Try An E-Bike Summer Cycling Events in 4 Dewsbury communities

The summer programme, supported by the Dewsbury’s Kirklees councillors, has started. The photo shows the June event in Crow Nest Park.
There a 4 remaining community events featuring bookable Try An E-bike test rides at different Dewsbury locations on weekends of 23/24, and 30/31 July from 10.30 – 15.30

St Paul’s Church Hall car park, Hanging Heaton – Saturday 23 July
Savile Town Sports Fields – Sunday 24 July
Dewsbury Town Hall (outside) – Saturday 30 July
Overthorpe Park (by Trojans Rugby Club) – Sunday 31 July

These events will introduce residents to the benefits of the e-bike and cycling – and will contribute to a healthier town and a healthier population. Please help by publicising them and getting people booked on test rides. EPIKs is happy to welcome walk up visitors who can be accommodated if there is space and they have ID.
There will also be several more Dewsbury events in late September – see Save the Date – full details in August Newsletter.

Link to Try An E-Bike Booking & Information

Active Travel England Arrives!

Active Travel England was quietly formed earlier in year by the Department for Transport. It is the government’s new executive agency responsible for improving standards of cycling and walking infrastructure in England. Councils in England will now face scrutiny over their designs and installations of cycling infrastructure – so could this spell the end of dangerous and unappealing cycle infrastructure?
Read the blog by Rutger Clarke, CK Committee Member on the web site.
Our photo shows a visit to improvements in Leeds city centre where some of the riders were provided with Tier bikes from York’s scheme.

Active Travel England Blog

Save the Date

Friday 23^rd September:
E-cargo bike information event by EPIKS with test rides. Aimed at Dewsbury business/employers (Tetley Stadium, Dewsbury Rams)
Sunday 2^nd October:
Greenways rides from Dewsbury Country Park. EPIKS organised instructor-led e-bike rides and self-guided rides, exploring three Greenways
Saturday 5^th November:
Improving traffic-free cycling & walking routes in and around Huddersfield (Greenways conference organised by Cycle Kirklees with support of Huddersfield Civic Society)

Holme Deliveries e-cargo bike project now 85% funded with over 50 pledges

Holme Deliveries has over 85% of its Spacehive crowdfunding needed as it starts to demonstrate its potential as a “a cleaner, greener way to boost local business and take action for climate change in the Holme Valley by using e-cargo bikes for deliveries and services”.
Our picture shows project coordinator, Kim Warren, preparing a load with Andrew Bray of Andrew’ s the greengrocer in Holmfirth.
HD still aims to secure another £3,000 in pledges by early August. You can see the e-cargo bike and discuss its future deployment with Kim at the Honley Show on Saturday 23rd July.

Log on to Spacehive

Consultation on Revised Plans for Dewsbury Town Centre

This week saw two consultations launched regarding potential changes to the built environment in Dewsbury Town Centre. Both of these plans will include improvement to the cycling infrastructure in a hope to boost cycling in the town.
The second round consultation for Dewsbury Town Centre Walking and Cycling Improvements, funded by the Transforming Cities Fund, showcases new separated cycle routes within the ring road and plans to link into the proposed Dewsbury-Batley-Chidswell scheme, Leeds Road, Wakefield Road, Dewsbury Railway Station, and the Calder Valley and Ossett Greenways.
Cycle Kirklees has been working with the team at Kirklees since the first round of consultations that ended in November last year to plan a usable and safe network within Dewsbury. Although it is clear that more could be done by reallocating road space away from cars to active travel – with general reduction of traffic and speeds – we are satisfied that we have been able to influence some of the changes.
Plans for Dewsbury Town Parkare out for consultation again. Last year three main options were voted on. The winning choice has been developed with more detailed plans.
The Cycling and Walking Improvements feed directly into Dewsbury Town Park which sits between Dewsbury Town Hall and Long Causeway, with the customer service centre to be demolished and relocated. It will include a two way cycle track running along the current course of Long Causeway.
We will review the documents and will be making recommendations, which we will publish in early August. We ask as many people as possible who visit or travel through Dewsbury respond in a supportive way for improving the cycling environment.

City Connect Consultation Link Dewsbury Town Centre

Community Active Travel Hubs…

City Connect (WYCA) recent competitive fund for the establishment of a Community Active Travel Hub created some problems for third sector cycling organisations in Kirklees – largely due to the notice period coinciding with the busiest time of the year!
In the event CK knows of two bids submitted in time – one for a Colne Valley Active Travel hub based in Slaithwaite and the other to support the work of Streetbikes.
WYCA officers have indicated there will probably be funding in future with more time to prepare. That way in future rounds we may see collaborative bids emerge for Active Travel Hubs develop for Huddersfield, Dewsbury and the Holme Valley.