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Elected politicians make the policy decisions about what can and can't be done and set the spending priorities. Let them know how important cycling is.
For local issues, the most important people to lobby are your borough councillors. As well as the usual contact methods, the councillors hold weekly surgeries where you can meet them in person.
Other politicians to lobby are your Greater London Authority member and your MP. London Cycling Campaign produced the LCC 2004 manifesto for GLA candidates (8 KB, pdf format). This will help to keep the GLA members focused on what they have promised to deliver.
There are lots of things which can be done locally to promote cycling:
Positive publicity in the local press is also a good way to make the case for cycling:
People to lobby concerning road safety and traffic law include:
Lobby the local councillors to move crime and anti-social behaviour by drivers up the priority list in the local crime and disorder strategy.
Get involved with London Cycling Campaign (LCC)'s Policing and Enforcement Group - http://www.lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=548.
Monitor local planning proposals to ensure that cyclists are taken into account. There should be cycle parking for both residents and visitors. For some developments, cycle paths will also be appropriate. Contact the Council if things are not as they should be.
The Council consult us during the planning stage of new facilities for cyclists. They also send us paper copies of Traffic Management Orders (TMOs). These are formal proposals for altering traffic arrangements in a locality. New plans which are received are usually reported on our email group or discussed at our monthly meetings. Please feed your comments to us and /or directly to the Council.
Contact Transport for London (TfL) Street Management about matters relating to the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN), which roughly corresponds to red routes, and for all traffic lights in the borough. Contact Wandsworth Council for matters relating to other cycle paths and roads. Check to see which roads are included in the TLRN.
Individuals who report problems really do make a difference. Some ideas:
Check the list of improvements which we have requested. (Note: This is a large page! Be patient if you have a dial-up line.) Keep badgering the Councillors and officers about these things. If you have suggestions for new facilities or concerns about the design of other existing facilities, contact the Council officers and also let us know.
Also contact the Council officers about other problems with an existing facility, eg illegally parked cars or broken glass. The more comments and complaints the Council receive, the more likely they are to sort these things out.
We need as many local cyclists as possible to give input to the CRISP and CRIM process.
Write to the Councillors to let them know how important LCN+ is for Wandsworth. Their commitment to spending the money and following the project through is essential to the development of the network. Get more information from http://www.londoncyclenetwork.org.
Always report bike theft, if only because it helps to make the statistics a more accurate reflection of reality.
Lobby the relevant police authorites to bring cycle crime up the agenda:
We are largely dependent on information which cyclists "on the ground" tell us. Please contact us to pass on any information which you have about the following or other relevant matters:
If you would like to hear about or discuss the latest news on local campaigning, join our email group.
Our parent organisation, the London Cycling Campaign, is dedicated to serving the needs of cyclists all over London.
If you'd like to join in, or just to find out more about us, come along to our monthly meeting. Anyone with an interest in working for cyclists or raising local cycling issues is welcome. See our calendar for details.
We're always glad to hear from anyone who would like to work with us. We make a point of not pushing people to do more than they feel able to - if no-one volunteers for a task, it just doesn't get done. All kinds of different skills are needed and any level of involvement is welcome. Contact us.
