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Cyclist safety sticker for HGVs

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The Council has been sent this sticker to consider. It will be discussed at next CycleForum.

What do you think of it?

Should SCC recommend this to lorry fleet operators in Sheffield?

It’s come from a consultant who is working on the Construction LOgistics and Cyclist Safety (CLOCS) project for Transport for London.

The design has now been endorsed by the London Cycle Campaign, CTC and Roadpeace and they are currently working with IOSH (Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) to get their endorsement too.

Myself I think it is OK and if LCC and CTC have endorsed it then I’ll go with that.

Pedal Ready have said:

1. It could still be dangerous to undertake even if the vehicle is not turning (or driver  has forgotten to indicate) but the vehicle deviates from a line when it starts moving.   The warning could be read as implicitly saying it’s okay to undertake if there is no indicator.
2.  A solution might be to take the indicator sign off the warning.
3. Rather than ‘stay back’ should the wording be ‘don’t undertake’.
Comments on the email list or posted under this news item please
Danger Left Turning HGV
Thanks
Mick

Hi Folks

I asked LCC and CTC why they endorsed the design of the cycle sticker that has now reached Sheffield for its consideration.

They are below.

The criteria for their evaluation seem to be clarity, legibility, legality and responsibility.

The hope seems to be for one sign used by all.

Mick

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Hi Mick,

The standard Transport for London sign which we worked on several years ago has a bike logo and says: “Cyclists  Beware of passing vehicle on left side”.  That is thought to be to ‘text heavy’ by many people.  The “Stay Back” message came from the TfL marketing people as being something clear and which could be read and understood in a fraction of a second.

The sticker design you have was the winner in a national competition to find a strong graphic to upgrade the text only version. There is a whole raft of other stickers out there that give the wrong message, they suggest that it is always wrong or prohibited to pass on the left while in fact passing on the left is lawful if the lorry is stopped or very slow moving.  It is of course very unsafe if there is any chance of the lorry turning left while a cyclist is beside it.

With all these stickers there is a risk that the drivers will think that a cyclist on the left is unlawful therefore they feel justified in not looking out and taking more care. We, CTC and RoadPeace have endorsed the current design because it gives a clear warning without implying a legal prohibition. It is really important to include messaging for drivers that cyclists will be on their left side and it is always their responsibility to watch out for them.

Regards,

Charlie

Charlie Lloyd

Campaigns Officer
London Cycling Campaign

020 7234 9310 ext 213

077 9160 8116

www.lcc.org.uk

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Roger Geffen <roger.geffen@ctc.org.uk>
Date: 26 July 2013 15:15
Subject: RE: Cyclist Safety Sticker for HGVs
To: Mick Nott <mick.nott@googlemail.com>

Mick

Thanks for your message.

CTC and London Cycling Campaign backed this sign, partly as you say to avoid a proliferation of lorry-back cyclist warning signs, and partly because it does a very neat job of avoiding the pitfalls of some of the badly-designed signs that some individual lorry operators had started using.

·         It uses easily understood imagery – i.e. the iconography of internationally understood road signs – rather than words.  That means it can be understood quickly and easily, including by cyclists who aren’t native English speakers.

·         It gets its message across clearly but without being scary.

·         Moreover, being 2-dimensional, it isn’t clear whether the cyclist is being silly or actually staying back – i.e. it’s a genuine warning without being judgemental (unlike this TfL poster, which LCC and CTC object to strongly – http://lcc.org.uk/articles/transport-for-london-lorry-safety-poster-misinforms-cyclists-and-drivers)

Hope this helps.

Roger Geffen

Campaigns & Policy Director

CTC, the national cycling charity

Tel: 01483 238322

Switchboard: 0844 736 8450

Fax: 0844 736 8454

Web: www.ctc.org.uk/campaigns

CTC National Office

Parklands

Railton Road

Guildford

GU2 9JX

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Sheffield City Council (SCC) Scrutiny Committee to review cycling in Sheffield

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Sheffield City Council (SCC) Scrutiny Committee to review cycling in Sheffield;

CycleSheffield member to collaborate as an adviser.

 

The council are to review the state of cycling in Sheffield as part of the work of a Scrutiny Committee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_and_Scrutiny).

These have been compared as local equivalents to Parliamentary Select Committees.

The detail of what we know so far is below and the work is to start as soon as possible – to finish March 2014.

We may well be seeking evidence from a range of ‘stakeholders’ in cycling, eg bike sales and repair businesses, bike clubs, bike groups, bike training companies, individuals with an interest and so on as well as organisations and departments like Sustrans, SCC’s Parks and Countryside, SCC’s Highways and Transport, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, SYP, schools, BUGS etc

I will act as a co-opted adviser to the committee and will need your help and advice.

Any views, thoughts, reactions, helpful advice as to who should be consulted, how we should collaborate, any of the detail below and so on

please fire them back to this list or to me direct

I am also putting this on our webpage so leave your comments there if you want.

I will post in response to what you say and as and when developments take place, or advice is needed, on email/CycleSheffield websites.

Mick

Chair

Sheffield City Council (SCC) Scrutiny Committee to review cycling in Sheffield;

CycleSheffield member to collaborate as an adviser.

 CycleSheffield, the local cycling campaign, suggested to SCC to hold a local inquiry analogous to the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group Inquiry that produced the report Get Britain Cycling. (1)

This suggestion has been considered and SCC are proposing to review cycling in Sheffield within the work of the Scrutiny Committees.  The Scrutiny Committees, “Provide an effective Overview and Scrutiny function, which operates independently of the Executive, provides constructive challenge, and enhances the Council’s and its partners’ overall policy and performance.  The overview and Scrutiny Committee function determines its own work programme and holds the Executive effectively to account.” (2)

The review would be under the auspices of the Scrutiny Committee for Environment and Economic Well-Being chaired by Cllr Cate McDonald.  This proposal has the support Cllr Leigh Bramall (Cabinet Member for Business, Skills and Development – includes planning & transport) and has the support of the Lib Dems.  The Green Party, with only 2 Cllrs, have a member on the other Scrutiny Committee but are aware of this initiative and will be able to give evidence.  Scrutiny Committees have the power to request evidence from stakeholders outside and inside SCC.

The committee takes on two major tasks in the year and this would be one of them.

It is intended that this review will take 6 months, starting as soon as possible.

It is intended to start as soon as possible.

The committee meets bi-monthly but a separate task group steered by the committee would work on this and report to the committee.

The committee would request and take written and oral evidence from stakeholders with an interest in cycling in Sheffield as well as seek advice from interested parties outside Sheffield.

The committee would consider and evaluate the evidence and produce a report.

Initial thoughts are the committee’s final report would aim to:

  • identify effective current effective practice in Sheffield wrt cycling;

  • make recommendations for the effective development of cycling in Sheffield;

  • make recommendations for an effective process of consultation about, and monitoring of, developments wrt cycling with cyclists.

Meantime current developments and developments wrt cycling, e.g. introduction of cycle audits, appointment of an officer with responsibility for cycling, will proceed.  This scrutiny is not a delaying tactic and present developments in cycling should not be blighted.

Mick Nott, current Chair of CycleSheffield will be co-opted to collaborate as an adviser, alongside SCC staff, to the committee.

It is proposed that the advisor would consult with cycling groups and other stakeholders and advise the committee with:

  • the scope the depth and breadth of the scrutiny (and giving it a name!);

  • framing the scrutiny’s terms of reference;

  • preparing briefings for committee members and identifying a range of stakeholders to give evidence;

  • advising committee members before and during the taking of evidence;

  • helping with the collation of evidence and advising during the writing of the report.

The final report would be agreed by the committee.

The recommendations in the final report would be considered by the cabinet of SCC’s  Council.

 

1.  http://allpartycycling.org/inquiry/

 2. If you want more details on these committees see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_and_Scrutiny and for Sheffield go to https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/your-city-council/constitution-and-governance/code-of-corporate-governance.html and download & read the details of the Code of Corporate Governance.

For more details and/or advice please contact

Mick Nott

Chair, CycleSheffield

mick.nott@googlemail.com

www.cyclesheffield.org.uk

news

Consultation about Sainsbury's Claywheels Lane with cyclists – regret and liability

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We have learned that the consultation about Hillsborough Sainsbury’s and Claywheels Lane has not been successful and the only solution offered is sub-standard..

I have sent the email below on behalf of CycleSheffield to Leigh Bramhall who chaired the decisions committee and chairs the Highways Cabinet.
If any members live in Hillsborough ward and/or use Claywheels Lane would they adapt this email and send it to your councillors , let me know you’ve done so.
Sustrans may like to know as well
Don’t let the b*gg*rs grind you down!
Mick
========================================================================================

Dear Leigh
cc Les Sturch, Cycle Champion
 
I regret to inform you that CycleSheffield is at best dismayed and at worse infuriated with the road scheme that is to be put in at the new Saisbury’s in Hillsborough.
 
The consultants are unable to provide a segregated two-way path of 4m for pedestrians and cyclists to access the supermarket and NCN 627 aIong Claywheels Lane.  
Their original design was 3m, We asked for 4m as per DfT guidelines but we are now informed that it can only be 3.5m otherwise the consultants and developers would have to redesign the supermarket’s car parking(!) 
It may be an accommodation by the consultants but wearily we are precisely where we don’t want to be but where we are pushed to nearly all the time – accepting sub-standard designs.
CycleSheffield feel we are at this position because there seems to be no rigour in the design and monitoring procedures.  
And designs are presented far too late for consultation or scrutiny.
The result is not what we reasonably asked for and it is not good enough because it doesn’t fit to DfT guidelines (Next time if we ask for 4.5m then do we get 4m?)
 
As far as we know the DfT guidelines are available to all designers, so can the advice from SCC to external consultants explicitly refer to them everytime for every development at the beginning of the design process please?
 
The spec had Claywheels Lane down as a Sustrans Route and there should be safe and appropriate access to Claywheels Lane for pedestrians and cyclists not only to, but also past, Sainsbury’s. 
CycleSheffield presume this was known to SCC staff responsible for monitoring progress with the designs and the consultants hired by Sainsbury’s to do the designs
So to us it looks like ignorance or neglect of design criteria and/or ignoring the public who will use the facilities and pander to the client who calls the tune with their dosh!
 
Having made our points and as it seems sub-standard designs are to be accepted then CycleSheffield will seek legal advice to ascertain the position if cyclists and pedestrians are in collisions with each other or with motorists on this layout – having made our reasonable points clearly we don’t want possible victims of collisions being blamed for design faults that will be the result of sub-standard design and the acceptance of sun-standard design.
 
We understand cycle audits will hopefully mean that situations like this are not repeated and we urge you to ensure that Highways and Transport implement these NOW.  
We will protest and resist sub-standard designs at every opportunity, and we request that those opportunities are created.
If SCC is able to ensure that external consultants share their designs within appropriate time scales then please will you make sure this has happens from NOW on. 
If this is not possible we would like an explanation as to why not
If SCC staff are monitoring external consultant’s designs then would you please ensure that they adopt a pro-active stance that recognises the city’s signed-up commitment to The Times’ campaign Cities Fit for Cycling and the Welcome to Yorkshire’s TdF legacy, otherwise these commitments are not worth the paper SCC is signing them on.
 
We will write to the local councillors about this particular matter and the CEO of Sainsbury’s.
SCC should be ashamed at this outcome.
 
yours in dismay
 
Mick
 

– 

Mick Nott
Chair, CycleSheffield
news

Lots of CycleSheffield and CTC events for Bike Week 2013

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From Sat 15 June to Sat 22 June 2013 CycleSheffield and Sheffield CTC are putting on lots of events.

There are all sorts of rides, countryside rides, a nightride, learn your way round town rides and even a learn-to-ride ride!
There’ll be lots of stuff on Tuesday 17 June with a CycleSheffield stall (plus cake), a Dr Bike, a view from the cab of an HGV, all in Barkers Pool, followed by a learn a routes around town ride finishing at the Harland Cafe for a bike film show.
In fact there are two film shows during the week, so get along to support all, some or any of these events organised by voluntary labour and coordinated and led by Polly

Bike Week leaflet2013-1

Bike Week leaflet2013-2