More photos from Sustrans.
Local dignitaries made speeches. The chair of Warwickshire County Council's Highways committee expressed the hope of closer collaboration with Coventry on transport matters. I wonder if that means that we might see improved cycle routes between Bedworth and Coventry? Or an improvement to the bridlepath between University Hospital and Coombe Abbey Country Park?
The university's deputy vice-chancellor mentioned the aim of increasing the use of its facilities by local residents. I wonder whether we will see better signage between the university's "Tesco's entrance" and the new path? Directing cyclists along Scarman Road to the main entrance may be best for long distance riders, but Canley parents taking their children to Abbey Fields might be better off with a Health Centre Road route.
I'm told that Warwickshire County Council is becoming more serious about improving the route between Kenilworth and Leamington. The A452 is diabolical. A serious study of the costs of a cycle path is being made and there's talk that construction could be part financed by the proposed development of the Thickthorn area south-east of Kenilworth.
More details about the path
Warwick University's view
It was rather windy at the portrait bench...
I attended this event as well (in fact I think my left eye and the bridge of my nose are visible in the first photograph). I think it's a great route for travelling from Kenwilworth, and I've spoken to a couple of people who now use it (I travel to campus from Coventry, so not suitable for me). I remember voting for Connect2 during the big lottery fund vote back in 2007, and signing various petitions when it looked like Warwickshire County Council were going to pull their funding. It's a fantastic achievement to finally have the route in.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find a bit sad is that it's taken so long to achieve this, and that in that time very little progress has been made in significantly improving any other cycling infrastructure around the University campus, Coventry, Kenilworth and Leamington. It shouldn't be this hard, and it shouldn't take this long.
While I stood in the freezing cold listening to the various speeches with some of my cycling colleagues, one of them turned to me and said "This is great - a bunch of people who drove here eulogising about cycling to a bunch of people who cycled here."