Mass cycling is coming to Croydon. Be one of the people who made it happen

The Croydon Cycling Campaign is a small volunteer run organisation whose members have been very busy over the past year, developing our policies, lobbying politicians, engaging with other voluntary organisations and working with council officers.

All of this effort has just been laying the foundations for a cycling revolution in Croydon, foundations that we believe are now firmly in place. Here is why we are excited about the opportunity that now presents itself

• The deputy leader of the party now controlling the council is so supportive of our campaign that he signed up all the Croydon Labour group to the #space4cycling ward asks
• The new cabinet member for transport, Kathy Bee, is a keen cyclist and was formerly Labour’s representative on the cycle forum
• The deputy cabinet member for transport, Robert Canning, will be the new chair of the cycling forum
•  The second member of the cycling forum, Oliver Lewis, is known to be an avid sportive rider

Historically, a lack of political will has been the root cause of a failure for cycling conditions to improve in Croydon, but now we face a complete reversal of that situation, with sympathetic councillors holding several key positions. Funding opportunities for cycling are plentiful with the Connected Croydon project, the cycling “quietways” funding, the school’s cycle partnership scheme and section 105 funding with respect to the Westfield and Hammerson’s development. With political will and funding in place the potential for a serious overhaul of the cycling environment is on the cards.

This opportunity must be grasped. By making cycling safe, not only do we make it safer for current cyclists, but we make all of Croydon safer by encouraging more people not to drive at all. Croydon has an accelerating obesity problem, particularly among children, which must be reversed. Air pollution in Croydon frequently breaches EU legal limits and the problem has been described by the World Health Organisation as the single biggest environmental health risk. On top of that, transport accounts for 1/5 of our carbon emissions, so getting people cycling is a great way to play a part in tackling global warming, perhaps the greatest challenge of our generation.

You can be a part of this change and help us make it something we can all be proud of. We want to hear from people who can spare a little time and enthusiasm to help us take advantage of this opportunity. We need people who can help encourage councillors to prioritise cycling, respond to consultations, work with schools, keep the website up to date or organise rides, events or other socials. We also have a list of other ways you can help. If you think you’d like to join in, come to our meeting on Monday 9^th at the Spread Eagle in Katharine St at 19:45, join our mailing list, or get in touch to let us know you’re keen.