Warrington Cycle Campain Bites the Big Apple

Warrington Cycle Campaign is to add New York to the list of towns which it has been asked to present its thoughts on cycling to. On October 6th it will be part of an event in New York Town Hall on West 43rd Street in an evening devoted to cycling as part of the annual New Yorker Festival.

The evening is being put together by musician and artist David Byrne who co-founded the group Talking Heads. David has used a bike for transport in New York for the last 25 years and is a frequent viewer of Warrington Cycle Campaign’s world famous website. He felt that our unique Facility of the Month section which satirises some of the ridiculous cycle facilities cyclists have to put up with, would be an ideal part of the event. Since 2001, Warrington Cycle Campaign’s website has been building up a library of one foot wide cycle lanes, 6ft long cycle tracks, cycle paths with obstructions and some which are simply not rideable, from Warrington and around the country. Each month a new one is added with a pithy comment from our webmaster, Pete Owens.

The New Yorker Magazine, which is sponsoring the festival, is therefore flying the campaign’s Deputy Chairman, Jonathan Wood, out to New York for the weekend. Whilst he will be showing a selection of examples from the website, he will also be reporting how Warrington Borough Council is relying less on cycle facilities and is now considering a wide range of measures to encourage cycling.

Many of these have come from Warrington Cycle Campaign’s policies and include :-

In particular at local events 80% of the public wanted 20 mph as a speed limit for residential roads.

“We are delighted to have been chosen to present at this prestigious event. It is really encouraging to find that our views on promoting cycling are respected around the world. The idea that everyone should have the right to cycle on our roads without fear is a universal aspiration shared by communities in all countries. New Yorkers will be able to laugh at the most ridiculous examples of cycle facilities but also will recognise the Council’s determination to make our roads and streets safer for all. This will most easily be achieved once we follow our twin town Hilden in introducing properly enforced 20 mph speed limits on the streets where people live.”