Our cycle campaign

An update from our cycle campaign meeting with the Dorset Council Head of Highways and Cllr Executive for Highways and Climate Change, Sustrans and local Dorset Councillors.The Campaign has been going for 18 months. The children want a cycle route/lane from the centre of town to Poundbury where the school is. It would help other children from other schools cycle to school as well as people to go to the hospital, Dorset Council Officers or go into town safely. This would help reduce the amount of cars but also improve air quality. They have worked with Dorchester Transport Action Group to put different routes together in a proposal. Route B which is a direct route is their preferred route. They have also worked with Sustrans to analyse the air quality around the school.It was a great debate with the children standing firm on their preferred route being backed up by sustrans and councillors. Even when the Head of Highways dangled a carrot with a different route that would be cheaper but done quicker they still said no as the route is not 100% safe.The Head of Highways has promised a timetable of targets and time scale in the next 4 weeks for their prefered route. The children asked if Phase 1 of 3 phases could be focused on first. The head of Highways sounded positive especially as the traffic lights within this phase need redoing in the next 2 years. It looks promising.He has challenged the children to hold community talks to get as many residents on side as they can then when they think it is 95% certain it will get through public consultation they will put it out to the public for comment.We still have a meeting with Dorset Council Director of Corporate who has the final say on design of roads and cycle ways. We will keep going, the children have already drawn up some events they can speak at to people of Dorchester.