To receive a verbal report from Gordon Oliver on the above titled item.

Gordon Oliver introduced the above titled item. It was highlighted that the Task and Finish Group had reviewed and amended the Cycling Action Plan and that this would be considered for adoption at the 31 January Cabinet meeting. At Cabinet Briefing, members had requested an appendix to the report summarising the priorities for investment and the impacts of the strategy, so a map showing the high priority schemes has  been included together with some accompanying graphics . Members were informed that the Cycling Action plan had been well received at Cabinet Briefing and had much support from members. The plan would be considered at Highways and Transport Overview & Scrutiny Panel on 23 January. Members of the Cycle Forum discussed ways in which they could express their support and opinions and it was noted that David Lambourne had registered his right to address the Cabinet in respect of this item. Cycle Forum members were encouraged to be vocal about their support and register to speak in support of the plan. Councillor Yong highlighted that Councillors are in post to represent the needs of their residents and that members should lobby their local councillors to ensure that the cycling agenda is advanced accordingly and expressed the importance of their vocal representation in the political arena.

The Chair also highlighted that it was good to show support and that cabinet members had been very supportive of the plan. Luke McCarthy stated that he was concerned with the level of allocated funding which had been given and that he felt wider lobbying to the administration was needed. David Lambourne stated that he had previously felt little support for cycling from the previous administration and that he felt other boroughs had been more supportive of cycling by implementing schemes, cycle clubs and cycle circuits. Luke McCarthy stated that a significant infrastructure investment across the borough was needed as part of new development and stated that the Leader had recently published a online statement to this effect.  Members felt that a small budget for cycling schemes had been deployed by the Council and felt dissatisfied with the profile of the cycling agenda in the borough.  Matthew Gordon-Smith asked how cyclists’ needs were taken into account in junction improvement schemes, such as at Hatch Lane / Clarence Road. He stated that he felt that as a cyclist in Windsor that multiple junction improvements were needed to aid the safety of cyclists against high levels of traffic. Susy Shearer confirmed that there were notable improvements needed and agreed that advanced cycle stop lines were needed at Vansittart Road / Clarence Road and the road layout around the Tesco Express at Hatch Lane  was in need of an urgent review. It was also highlighted that on the national cycle route on Thames Street that  cyclists were often not detected by the traffic lights when coming from the bridge.

Members were reminded that the plan had been finalised in June 2018. The Forum discussed that the Cycle Action Plan was designed for a life span of ten years and that it was also linked to the Borough Local Plan. Members were keen to know details surrounding investment and how quickly funds would be allocated to advance the proposals as set out in the Cycle Action plan. Gordon Oliver informed the Forum that Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) funding had been secured for improvements at Maidenhead Train Station and for the Maidenhead Missing Links scheme and that this was a significant investment for the borough. Susy Shearer highlighted that the Cycling Action Plan was an evidence based document and that throughout the Infrastructure Delivery Plan (a supporting document for the Borough Local Plan)  reference had been made to the plan. Members discussed whether there had been a cultural shift towards the importance of cycling by cabinet members and the chair stated that the Cycling Action Plan had been well prepared and that members were thankful for the significant work and contributions made in creating the plan. A vote of thanks was placed on record for all those who had contributed to the creation of the Cycling Action Plan, with special dedication to members of the Cycling Action Plan Task and Finish Group for their contributions and dedication.