Winter Cycling – Be Safe, Be Seen

by Posted in Uncategorized

The nights are drawing in, so it’s time to get your bike and yourself ready for cycling in the dark.

Lights are mandatory for cycling at night in the UK, so a white light on the front and a red light on the back.

Increase your visibility by wearing reflective clothing, there is a wide range available from jackets, gloves to shoe covers, so visit your local cycling shop to see what is available.

Fluorescent clothing can help you be more visible during the day, with reflective clothing being more effective at night. This can include reflective panniers, rucksack covers and even helmet covers.

Adapt you cycling style to allow for the more unpredictable cycling conditions and adjust your speed to allow for extra grit on the road and black ice.

 

There are more tips in greater detail on this page from Road Cycling UK.

Ten road cycling tips to stay safe this winter

Tell us what passenger transport could look like in an ideal Fife

by Posted in Uncategorized

As part of a long-running conversation about ways the council helps people travel around Fife, staff will be out and about during the last week of November to help residents understand the issues and share their ideas for the future. This is a new type of engagement exercise for the council and we need as many people as possible to get involved.

Fife Council invests some £22 million each year in subsidised passenger transport such as public bus services, rail concessions, school transport and demand responsive transport.At this stage, we’re asking what you’d like to see in an ideal world - irrespective of budgets or the way things are now. This is about gathering completely new ideas, thinking about unmet needs or alternative solutions that might change people’s need for these transport services.

Find out more about the passenger transport services we provide now, join the online debate and submit feedback by registering with the citizen participation platform, ‘Let’s Talk about our Fife’. Even if you don’t have a suggestion, this site lets you rate and comment on other people’s ideas, which could give us valuable insight into what might be a well-supported or unpopular change.

We're speaking to a range of community groups, community councils and parent councils to offer face to face conversations about the future of passenger transport services. Encourage people to get involved. If they can’t get online, look out for opportunities to speak to officers at school events or in community facilities. Freepost suggestion cards will also be available through local offices, libraries and community centres.

Anyone can drop by for a conversation about how resources might be used differently for better results at the following times and locations:

  • Monday 25 November            Dunfermline Bus Station       2pm - 4pm
  • Monday 25 November            Halbeath Park & Ride             4.30pm - 6.30pm
  • Tuesday 26 November            Glenrothes Bus Station          9.30am - 11.30am
  • Tuesday 26 November            Kirkcaldy Bus Station              2pm – 4pm
  • Wednesday 27 November      Leven Bus Station                   9.30am - 11.30am
  • Thursday 28 November          Ferrytoll Park & Ride               4.30pm - 6.30pm
  • Friday 29 November               St Andrews Bus Station           10am - 12noon

 

Cllr Altany Craik, Convener of the Economy, Tourism, Strategic Planning & Transportation Committee said: “People travel for lots of different reasons depending on their age and life circumstances. Whether it’s to get to school, work or leisure activities, to reach facilities from rural locations or to be able to live independently and avoid social isolation. At some point we’ll all be affected by these issues and the services that are available in Fife, so please get involved and get your family or friends involved.

“We’re not just looking to hear what works well now or how existing services could be improved – though that will be useful - we want you to think big. Is there a completely different way of meeting people’s needs? Should we do less of one thing but a lot more of another? At this stage of the process any idea is welcome even if it seems like a pipedream! In the new year we’ll explore how people’s ideal-world solutions sit alongside current policy, legislation, contracts and other practicalities, so that we can refine ideas ahead of a public vote on service options."

Background information is online at http://our.fife.scot/transportingpeople  See why we provide different transport services, how people use them and how much they cost.

 

"Let's Talk about our Fife" is a new platform for citizen participation. It will increasingly allow the Council to open up debates and gather feedback, as well as letting Fife’s residents share ideas and submit proposals, comment on other people’s input and participate in votes and polls. Through the various sections of the system, citizen-generated ideas can lead to concrete actions by Fife Council and partners.

This online platform is being developed by COSLA for Scottish councils to use, so it’s separate from the council’s website. Anyone can read the conversations but to join in you have to register in Let's Talk about our Fife and verify your account.

How to Reach Zero Emissions – St Andrews Space for Cycling Event

by Posted in Uncategorized

Event hosted by St Andrews Space for Cycling

Thursday 5th December 7-9pm  Lecture Room 2, Gateway Building, North Haugh,  St Andrews University

Professor Boyd will discuss his views on the lifestyle and other changes needed to respond to the climate crisis. There’s a conundrum – how do we shift ourselves from consuming? We need to do more about learning to live sustainably. We talk about sustainability but we don’t really know what it means. It will be followed by a short AGM of St Andrews Space for Cycling.

See link below for more details.

Free event, no booking required.

https://www.facebook.com/events/441998473409544/

Free Bikeability Scotland Cycling Training offered to All Schools in Fife

by Posted in Uncategorized

Yesterday Falkland Primary School children celebrated completion of their Bikeability Scotland cycling training, as part of a nationwide programme to get more kids on their bikes.

 

Headteacher of Falkland Primary School, Laura Munro said: 

 “Bikeability Scotland training has increased the confidence of many pupils now keen to access the countryside around their local area on their bikes. We had several outings last year with those who had completed Bikeability 2 into the local area as part of our own curriculum Falkland Footsteps where we promote adventuring.  Groups cycled through the estate and planned journeys to Strathmiglo all under their own steam – developing fitness, resilience, teamwork.

 “Falkland Primary have been involved in Bikeability for over 5 years now. It’s been great having the Bikeability Scotland team come along and deliver this training to our pupils. It has been such an easy process and the children love it.

 

“Bikeability Scotland training has even influenced our school travel plan, informing steps for change relating to reducing the traffic around our school.”

Research by Cycling Scotland has found that 65 per cent of children are more confident cycling after Bikeability Scotland training and 82% of parents say they will let their children cycle more as a result.*

 

Bikeability at Falkland primary school

Bikeability at Falkland primary school