The Transport & Travel group aims to encourage people to reduce their car usage by walking, cycling and making more use of bus services.
We have had several training sessions and a bike maintenance session all in conjunction with, and funded by MDC. We could do more, are you a bike nut? Could we have a bike repair station in the village, next to a water-bottle filling station perhaps or near one of the cafe’s?
This has been mooted but excited little interest at our well-supported event in the school in November 23.
Could an electric bike with some carrying capacity and swap-out-swap-in battery racks be the answer? They work well in Taiwan and Africa. Why not Tollesbury for shopping trips to Maldon, Tiptree and Colchester?
These may follow in strategic village locations, but probably only when an Energy group project for a Community Energy Scheme has progressed further. We do already have an offer from a local business to pay for one, shall we do that now, if so where?
Electric bikes are encouraging more cyclists but they are more expensive, even more than push bikes, they need secure stands at prime locations. We have agreement in principle from the Parish Council, with a number of suitable sites, in mind (although some of the most perfect sites are problematic), and we also have comprehensive information about the design and engineering. We just need someone with the time and enthusiasm to take a lead on this and get the first racks in place.
In the bus shelter we now have full timetables so that traveler’s can see the timings of their return journey as well as the outward one. However, the buses have become increasingly unreliable are too infrequent, and for people trying to travel to and from work are too late starting and too soon finishing. For leisure activities, there is almost no evening and weekend cover. Our concerns are shared by many in the village as the survey in 2023 showed. We have expressed these concerns with the bus company and, with a helping hand from our local councillor, we now have a meeting booked with the MD of First Bus later this month.
We probably won’t get a perfect solution but this is what one might look like:
every-village-every-hour-report.
A long term dream is a cycle path to Tiptree to link with Sustrans National cycle Route 1, as well as connecting buses to nearby towns and villages. This Sustrans route already has a short spur which links to the main line at Witham. Sustrans have demonstrated time and again that when a path is provided, it gets well used. People want to get out and about in the country-side and if they can also get to work, shops, theatres etc and also have links to the entire nationwide bus, rail and cycle networks then it has to be a winner. We have some landowner details and maps. To make the path happen we need people to walk the potential routes and make notes and take pictures. When we have enough ideas and information we can engage the services of Sustrans who are adept in negotiating with landowners. The Government has just announced, (Feb 24), funding for farmers and landowners to open routes for walking, wheeling and cycling.
The time is right.
If you’d like to help with any of these projects please get in touch.
