The Muppet and the Media

I have been quite busy recently responding to fan mail (not!) following the article in the Evening Post where I suggested that we might be prepared to close the city centre to traffic.  http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Let-s-make-Bristol-city-centre-bike/article-386400-detail/article.html . I have been called a number of interesting names of which muppet is one the polite ones. 

So what does this muppet actually think about traffic, cycling and the city centre?

Firstly the context – at the meeting I was responding to concerns that we were not going to be radical enough in our efforts to increase cycling in the city. Within that context I said the words quoted in the article.

I stand by those words and I do believe we will see the day when the only traffic in the city centre will be public transport, those with disability badges, cyclists and pedestrians. With service vehicles during specified hours.

To achieve this we will have to win the debate with the motorist and improve public transport both of these I am convinced will happen.

Secondly the media. The Evening Post clearly loves motorists and hates cyclists and will currently run any copy that knocks cyclists. I am at a loss to understand why they see cyclist as such a threat. The BBC ran a polemic piece by George Ferguson on cycling on their Inside Out magazine. Again I was quoted on that with the rather fluffy piece about traffic wardens on bikes. What they didn’t run was the more interesting discussion George and I had about closing roads on a regular basis as they have done in South America and in Scandinavia.  So one media outlet takes the sensational view the other the fluffy view. Thank goodness for blogs at least I reasonably sure that I write here is what I actually mean!    

GCSEs and Real Life

Today is one of those days when politics collide with real life. It’s GCSE day in Bristol. Now as a politician, with a passion about education being the best route out of poverty, the poor state of education in the city is an area of acute concern to me. As a real person, and a Dad, I have a 16 year old who picked up her results today.

As a politician in the city the results in the city are ok. The key indicator 5 A-C’s with Maths and English are up 3.5% to 35% which is good travel in the right direction. The local schools Portway and Henbury had mixed results. Portway up 8 points to 24% and Henbury down 1 to 25%. Although these results are good we still have a long way to go to be on a par with the other core cities in the country. The key has to be to regain the confidence of those Bristol parents who do not send their children to Bristol state schools and we have some way to go yet before we which the tipping point were we will see dramatic improvement in our schools performance. This is what we should be aiming for.

As a politician I am sort of pleased with the results as a real person I am delighted. Said 16 year old daughter got 8 A-C’s including Maths and English – Well done Lyds your Dad is proud of you!

Cycle England In Town

Cycle England (the body that have granted £11 million to cycling in Bristol) have been in Bristol this week to discuss how we will spend the money. We will be announcing specific plans in the near future (watch this space).

The major aim of the project will be to double the number of cyclists in the greater Bristol area within the next three years. That means either cloning those of us who cycle regularly or getting more people to cycle. In my view a starting place would be to get those who do cycle, but don’t do so regularly because of traffic (35% of those who took part in Bristol’s biggest bike ride fall into this category) to become more regular cyclists. Events like Bristols Biggest Bike Ride where we close of some of the roads in the city for a few hours could help.

One of the approaches we could consider is to close some of the roads on a regular basis – say one Sunday a month – to allow their use by cyclists, walkers ect. The Portway and the Downs have been suggested as possible candidates. I am sure there are others.

The Cycling Demonstration City money will give us an excellent opportunity to put Bristol at the forefront of green alternative travel as well as making the city healthier. It should be fun over the next few years.

Lark Ascending in Shirehampton

Despite having lived a large part of my life in Shirehampton I must confess to being ignorant about it’s cultural past. For instance I didn’t know, until told at a recent surgery, that the first performance of Vaughn Williams ‘The Lark Ascending’ was at Shirehampton Village Hall in 1920.

This year happens to be the 50th anniversary of Vaughn Williams death. It has been put to me, and I agree, that it would be fitting to arrange a performance to commemorate this event and celebrate Shirehampton’s cultural past and future.

I wonder if there is anyone out there who would come to such a performance and feels that this is a good idea?

I will do what I can to arrange the performance and keep you informed.

Hello world!

I have now been sat staring at my screen for the last 10 mins wondering what to write first. So why don’t I start by telling you about me and my blog.

My name is Terry Cook and I am the Labour councillor for Avonmouth ward in the City of Bristol.  I am also the Executive Member on said council for Neighbourhoods and Involvement. Which means that I have the responsibility for ensuring that the people of Bristol have a greater say in the decisions that effect their lives. One of the ways that I can achieve that is, hopefully, through this blog and the other political / community blogs in the city.

Just for fun, I am also the Member Cycling champion for Bristol.  Which means that I have the responsibility for ensuring that Cycling gets a fair shout in the City council decision making process. As we have just become the first Cycling City in the UK guess I could be busy over the next few months.

Hopefully this blog will help keep you informed on my constituancy issues and the wider role I have in the city.

Well that’s the first one over! The staring at the screen took longer than actually writing – often the way with fear!