Councillor Creasy comments on cycle hub proposal at the station

30th September 2009

Cllr Jillian Creasy commented:

"The announcement is welcome news for cyclists but Sheffield already has
well advanced plans for a city centre hub with these facilities. And we
already have good under-cover cycle parking at the station, although another dozen u-bars would not go amiss.

"What we really need is for Lord Adonis to intervene on the station
barriers. He and his government have the powers to stop East Midlands Trains and they should be used now. The bridge provides a vital connection for those on foot or pushing a bike which must not be lost."

ENDS

FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE ANNOUNCEMENT:

Transport secretary Andrew Adonis has launched a £14m package to transform facilities for cyclists at rail stations and encourage healthier, greener travel.

Over the next two years the money will fund a series of measures, including
cycle hubs at 10 major rail stations and 10,000 extra cycle parking spaces
across the country.

The cycle hubs will include extra cycle storage facilities, repair services,
hire schemes and improved cycle access to and from the stations.

They will be created at stations including Leeds, London St Pancras, London Victoria, London Waterloo, Grimsby, Hull, Liverpool Lime Street, Scunthorpe, Sheffield and York.

The funding will also pay for improvements to cycle access at rail stations
to ensure that bike users can get to and from the station conveniently and
safely.

Adonis said: "More and more people are turning to cycling as a healthy,
green and convenient way to travel - I want to encourage this choice.

"Although half of us own a bike and 60 per cent live just 15 minutes from a
train station, only two per cent of train passengers travel to the station
by bike. This is in contrast to Holland where cycling accounts for a third
of all trips to and from the station."

ENDS