In 2008, Hope Valley College pupils organised a petition for safe cycling to their school but over a decade later there is still not a safe route from the villages along the valley to the school. Now more than ever this is essential. It is great that in September the schools will reopen fully but it is not clear how buses, which were at maximum capacity pre-Covid will operate and if measures are not put in place to enable safe cycling then we are likely to see a large increase in the number of parents driving kids into and collecting from Hope on a daily basis.
At the same time the government is enacting legislation and providing funding that enables local councils to make immediate changes to support increased safe cycling. So far, Derbyshire County Council have not implemented any measures in the Hope Valley, so HVCA is working to change this.
A recent survey of primary and secondary school children in the Hope Valley carried out by HVCA found that currently 79% don’t ride a bike to school, but 61% would like to ride a bike to school. The full survey is here and makes for some very interesting reading. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OQQc_Ln66IkI5YfLDSzNU0kInUNgOOiQ/view?usp=sharing
Just before term finished a group of concerned parents organised a pilot Bike Bus from Grindleford, via Hathersage, Bamford, Thornhill, Bradwell to Hope. A group of HVC pupils left Grindleford at 09.15 with some parents to chaperone them. The section of road between Grindleford and Hathersage is among the most dangerous in the valley and is avoided by many local cyclists for its narrow profile, stone walls, and dark lighting under the beech trees. This section was of particular concern when taking a group of children along it. A sign was erected on the verge on leaving Grindleford, Breedon Cement Works were contacted to let them know the timings of the ride, and a bike trailer complete with a large friendly banner brought up the rear of the mini peleton. The ride to Hathersage went without incident, the temporary traffic lights allowing the ‘bus’ the opportunity to let the hand ful of patent motorists who had followed to there to pass safely.
In Hathersage the bus was joined by more students and more parents, swelling the numbers and overall size of the traveling mass. More joined at the T-junction to Bamford, and yet more at the turn to Bradwell so that by the time the bus arrived at Hope Valley College there were in excess of 30 riders. The group were met by the principal and deputy head, and were also joined by a representative from Breedon who were given a tour of the facilities to look at possibilities for increasing the cycle storage provision on the grounds (there are currently only 10 bike boxes for a school of around 600).
The pilot worked incredibly well, with no incidents, and helped show how much support there is for a safe route to Hope Valley College, as well as highlighting a number of issues with both parents, the school, and motorists in the valley. As well as the safety issues, there were a number of cultural issues. Most young people do not want to have to cycle in a bike-bus but would cycle by themselves or with a few friends if they and their parents thought it was safe.
There are also issue with the culture. During the week before the event there was a great deal of discussion amongst parents of HVC students, as their teenagers felt concerned about being seen as ‘different’ for cycling. There can be a nasty culture on the school buses and there are instances of students on the bus jeering out the windows at cyclists. This was reported to the head mistress who was horrified and we hope to tackle this both via the school and through other types of engagement to ‘normalise’ cycling. What Next?The Bike-Bus was a very positive experience in showing the changes that need to be made to enable cycling to school and more widely for young people to be an easy and positive experience. We will be working with the school and parents to influence the council to get segregated cycle lanes to the school and with the school to deal with negative behaviour on the buses and towards cyclists. We are also running an engagement campaign to improve respectful road use and normalise cycling and seeking funding to improve cycle storage at HVC. We will assess with parents and the school how a Bus-Bike might work best during the new school year.
We need as many people as possible to get involved to make the changes a reality, so please join the WhatsApp group of parents and students who have expressed interest in safe routes to Hope Valley College and the Bike – Bus to provide ideas and support and keep up to date with developments, link here: https://chat.whatsapp.com/L6vTRYJdJc310YBlIyzFvb For those interested here are details (including a risk assessment) of the event: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rhNYLmbBuxe7fVOPKtX038OPso_crs7N6QT9ESUjYfY/edit
