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 C  A MP  A I     G  N 

  June-July 2010  June-July 2010 London Cyclist 2525

Get active:be a Veloteer

Potholes, cycle stands, road

closures — sometimes cycle

campaigning is about the

very local. And with the

recent council elections ocusing

attention, the Islington Cyclists

Action Group (ICAG) decided it was

the perect time to launch its

‘Veloteers’ scheme.

The idea behind the scheme is to

mobilise the LCC membership in

Islington who might not currently be

very active. They might not have the

time to attend monthly meetings or

pore over plans or new traf c

A new scheme in Islington is getting more local people involved incycling issues. Stephen Taylor explains the idea behind 'Veloteers'...

management proposals across the

borough, however, many o them still

want to do something to improve

cycling in their neighbourhood.

The plan is to have at least one

Veloteer in each ward across the

borough. In that way we hope they

will be able to directly inuence local

councillors. While Islington Council in

general has a good track record in

supporting cycling, some individual

councillors are less than enthusiastic,

especially when it comes to local

cycle schemes which might have an

impact on car parking. Councillors

sometimes need to be reminded that

some o their own electorate are in

avour o the cycle schemes.

Where it began

We started planning the Veloteers

scheme in 2009, planning to launch

sometime beore the council elections

in May 2010. The rst stage o the

process was to build interest in the

scheme so we began to include items

in our newsletter, on our website and

via our email group alerting people.

This was ollowed by a mail-out to

the LCC membership in Islington

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inviting them to the launch event on

13 March. LCC was able to provide

names and addresses or this

purpose. We also ollowed up with

more emails and online articles.The second part o the process

was to plan the launch event. At the

heart o the event was a bike ride

around parts o the borough. The

purpose o the ride was to show some

o the good eatures in Islington such

as 20mph zones and specifc schemes

which have benefted cyclists, like

the award-winning scheme on

Penton Rise. We also used the ride to

highlight schemes which are o less

beneft such as the cycle lanes within

the 'dooring zone' on Barnsbury Road.

Hopeully we got the Veloteers

thinking about what could and

couldn’t work in their neighbourhood.

Aterwards the rest o the event,

including rereshments, took place at

Olden Gardens, a hidden gem in the

shadow o the Emirates Stadium.

Learning the ropes

We had identifed that our Veloteers

would need to know who’s who in the

council with regard to cycling matters

and the most eective way to

inuence councillors. And we were

lucky to secure both a senior council

o cer, who could tell us who tocontact in the council, and the lead

councillor or the environment to give

us the inside line on how to approach

councillors to the best eect. The

Veloteers also learned about the

campaigns o ICAG and the LCC,

especially the LCC maniesto or the

local council elections.There was plenty o input rom

the Veloteers as well. We asked them

about the issues that concerned them

in their areas, posting them on a

board. These included a lack o cycle

parking, poor road suraces, cycle

accessibility on one-way streets and

road closures, and dangerous and

inconsiderate driving.

The Veloteers were sent away

with two actions each. First, to ask

the candidates in the local elections

to pledge to take action on the

specifc concerns raised. Secondly,

to adopt one o the many potholes

around the borough so that we can

monitor how quickly they get flled in.

At the end o the aternoon

everyone seemed to leave enthused.

Natalie, one o the attendees,

commented: “It was great to learn

about the developments that have

already happened, and to get an

understanding o what uture

lobbying could achieve, and how we

could continue to get involved.”

Maintaining momentum

The launch event was just the startthough. We also planned how to keep

the momentum going, including

setting up email and Facebook groups

or the Veloteers to share their

successes. Beore the event we had

considered a ew uture events, but

really wanted the ideas or the next

steps to come rom the Veloteers

themselves. They didn't disappoint:

suggestions included 'speed

networking' with the new councillors,

meetings in their own neighbour-

hoods and a big event or Bike Week.

Quite oten people eel they

cannot achieve anything — they eel

isolated and that nothing improves.

We hope that the Veloteers will be

able to share their experiences with

each other about how they are

making a dierence, making changes.

■I you're interested in local

campaigning, contact gerhard@lcc.org.uk or ino about your local group. 

And why not ask about LCC's next

campaigning workshop in June?

C  A MP  A I    G  N 

26 London Cyclist  June-July 2010

LOCAL HEROES: new Veloteers and existing activists discuss what can be done in their area

FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE: of cycling measures at Goswell Road

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