Leicester: Home of Kings and cycling champions

Deniz Huseyin reports on some of the key issues discussed during an action-packed few days in Leicester

Opening plenary at the packed Curve Theatre

Opening plenary at the packed Curve Theatre

Suffragettes ride for Leicester’s historic women

Suffragettes ride for Leicester’s historic women

The Connecting Leicester cycling tour sets off

The Connecting Leicester cycling tour sets off

The Speed Learning session gets underway

The Speed Learning session gets underway

TfL’s infrastructure design guru Brian Deegan

TfL’s infrastructure design guru Brian Deegan

Electric bike try-out sessions outside the Curve

Electric bike try-out sessions outside the Curve

The exhibition area featured over 60 stands

The exhibition area featured over 60 stands

Jon Orcutt from New York’s Transit Centre

Jon Orcutt from New York’s Transit Centre

Ginny Leonard on West Yorkshire’s CityConnect

Ginny Leonard on West Yorkshire’s CityConnect

Cycling UK’s Paul Tuohy on milk and funding

Cycling UK’s Paul Tuohy on milk and funding

Superhighway update from TfL’s Korak van Tuyl

Superhighway update from TfL’s Korak van Tuyl

‘Just do it!’ says NACTO’s Kate Fillin-Yeh

‘Just do it!’ says NACTO’s Kate Fillin-Yeh

A Bikeability gathering took place on day two

A Bikeability gathering took place on day two

The location and timing of this year’s Cycle City Active City could not have been better, following just days after a street parade in Leicester city centre to celebrate an extraordinary footballing triumph. 

This, and the reinternment of King Richard III at Leicester Cathedral last year, has resulted in a surge of civic pride, which has given impetus to the remarkable changes taking place at street level, with the provision of more space for cyclists and pedestrians.   

This was discussed by the city’s elected mayor Sir Peter Soulsby during his keynote speech. He urged leaders at local authorities to “find bold solutions, take risks and seek backing” from central government. “We need to make our cities civilised places where pedestrians want to be and cyclists feel comfortable.” 

Soulsby believes that improvements to Leicester’s urban realm have helped attract businesses to the city centre, such as US technology giant IBM, which has opened its first UK Client Innovation Centre in the city.

Its chief executive Bernard Szczech said the city centre improvements had “made Leicester an attractive place to be”. “One of the reasons we came to Leicester was because of the good quality IT graduates at the local universities,” explained Szczech. “But besides that it was vital to be in a city that has good accessibility, somewhere that has a people-friendly centre, which is easy to walk and cycle around with excellent transport links.” 

The IBM Client Innovation Centre has developed a workplace travel plan that will encourage staff to travel by bike, said Szczech. “When the bike alone is not practical, then integration with public transport, such as bike parking at train stations, widens the potential.” 

This year’s event, held at the impressive Curve Theatre, was hosted by Leicester City Council and organised by Landor LINKS. It was attended by more than 500 cycling practitioners, academics, campaigners and innovators. Alongside a busy conference programme and large exhibition, it also featured cycling and walking tours.

There were also associated events during the two days such as the national Bikeability conference organised by TABS, a membership association that collaborates with government agencies and other stakeholders to deliver cycle training.

The conference, held on day two of Cycle City Active City, was attended by more than 200 delegates including representatives from cycling organisations, local authorities, School Sports Partnerships, Bikeability scheme instructors and trainers.

Philip Darnton, chair of TABS, said: “Cycling is a life skill, a rite of passage. It’s a simple thing but has such a profound effect on our lives. Government funding of £20m a year would mean that every child in the UK would be given the opportunity to learn how to cycle.” 

The Curve Theatre in Leicester was also the venue for the 2016 Wheels for All conference, which took place on day two of Cycle City Active City. The conference brought together those involved or interested in the inclusive cycling movement for a day of workshops and discussions. 

“Leicester is a city with a long and varied cycling tradition and an exciting cycling future,” said Wheels for All cycling projects director Ian Tierney. “The Curve Theatre venue is spectacular and was a perfect place for us to get together and share the excellence and innovation that exists in so many of our Wheels for All centres”.

Chris Boardman, British Cycling policy advisor, who hosted the International Breakfast Briefing, spoke about his visit to Copenhagen with transport minister Robert Goodwill and the need to highlight best practice in cities like London and Leicester alongside that of New York, Dublin and Malmo.    

Also taking place during Cycle City Active City was a bike ride to commemorate the Suffragette movement. The event paid homage to campaigners for women’s rights, the most famous of whom was Alice Hawkins, a trade unionist and worker in the shoe trade who cycled round Leicester and Leicestershire speaking to crowds.

The four-mile bike tour visited Blue Plaques sites marking where Leicester’s women campaigners lived, worked and spoke out for the right to vote and for social reform. Other social rides organised by British Cycling included the Green Bicycle Murder Mystery, a visit to Giant UK HQ and walking & cycling tours of recent regeneration sites.  

An insight into Leicester’s vision for a less car-dominant city centre came from Andy Salkeld, Leicester’s cycling co-ordinator.

He said the urban realm improvements had been influenced by US cities such as New York and the work of NACTO (National Association of City Transportation Officials), a coalition of city transportation departments in 45 cities in North American that work together to develop low-cost strategies for safe street design, cycling, walking and transport.

“These cities went through the car boom and are recovering from it,” said Salkeld. “We learned that city leadership and vision is the key ingredient. Looking at these once car-dominated cities has made us realise that you just have to get on with it and that trigger points for significant change are sometimes very unexpected.”