Warrington Cycle Campaign is hosting the next STREETS AHEAD CONFERENCE on Saturday 15th November in Warrington. The Conference is run in partnership with the national CTC and Cycle-Nation(cycle campaign network) organizations. For details please go to www.warringtoncyclecampaign.co.uk
The main programme of the conference will concentrate on the ways to achieve 20mph as the default speed limit for residential roads and on the need to bring in Strict Liability legislation (this removes the need for an injured pedestrian or cyclist to prove that a driver was negligent before any liability is attached to a driver’s insurance company, presently this is particularly unfair as a pedestrian/cyclist will probably not remember the ‘accident’ due to injuries sustained).
During the Conference, if there is demand from delegates with an interest in health issues, a breakout session will be run to discuss: Why Is The NHS So Bad at Promoting Cycling? (This is despite paying occasional lip service to the benefits that we as individuals within the organization are well aware of!)
The breakout session will not be concentrating on the health benefits of cycling, which have been dealt with many times and are well known to anyone on this discussion group. Instead it will address why the NHS, its PCT’s and its individual Trusts are not promoting cycling to give these health benefits to its staff, its patients and to the society generally that it is supposed to serve! From this understanding, strategies can be developed to bring the NHS into line with an evidence-base that is shouting out for the need for cycling based health promotion.
The timing of the Streets Ahead Conference is sadly synchronized to run just after this Spokes NHS Discussion Group is set to be wound up. The Network of Cycle-aware Health Professionals that has been developing during its existence will be lost which itself will be a great shame. By attending the Conference and taking part in this Breakout session we can also plan how to maintain and develop an NHS based cyclists network and how to use this to shape NHS policy.
I am Chris Mayes, Chairman of Warrington Cycle Campaign if you wish to contact me as an individual (especially after the demise of Spokes) please e-mail me at chairman@warringtoncyclecampaign.co.uk

Please note that Spokes is NOT being wound up.

It is NHS Networks that is scheduled to close on 31st October, not Spokes.

Plans are currently afoot to find a new home for all 516 networks in the NHS Networks register. If this falls through, an informal offer has been made to host Spokes elsewhere. However, this is unlikely to include a discussion forum.

In any case, please note that this is the NHS Networks 'Travel and Transport' forum for the use of all NHS Networks site users, not a specific, dedicated Spokes forum.

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Website Editor, NHS Networks

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