Category: News

News items from Cycle Hayling

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Seafront path upgraded

The seafront accessibility path did not start well. Some sections had fared better than others, but even the best quickly broke up leaving large, loose pebbles across the path. It was only suitable for bikes with big tyres which – ironically – had no problem with the original terrain.

We’ve had discussions about the state of the path with Havant and we’re pleased to report it’s had a significant upgrade.

The large pebbles have gone and they’ve been replaced by a much smoother surface. That’s not only safer and more comfortable for bikes but also more suitable for pushchairs, wheelchairs and mobility scooters.

The new surface is the same as that used on the Billy Trail just south of the bridge. We have reservations about durability. It will be interesting to see how the surface fares over winter.

The area around the COPP memorial has also been upgraded and it looks like Havant has found a way to use some of the pebbles removed from the surface of the path…

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Evening social meeting on Wednesday 13th August

Following the Three Churches’ Fete on Wednesday 13th August, Cycle Hayling is holding an informal meeting that evening from 6.30 pm at “The Orchard”, Copse Lane, Hayling Island, PO11 0QB (Sue Underwood’s house, not a pub!).
There will be food and drink, hopefully to enjoy outdoors in the garden. It should be a good opportunity to find out what Cycle Hayling has been doing over the year, meet fellow supporters and share ideas about improving cycling on the island.
To give us an idea of numbers, if you plan to come along in the evening, please could you email Sue at sue@cyclehayling.org before Tuesday 12 August. You’ll still be welcome, however, even if you don’t book your place!
If you want more details or directions, again please email Sue.

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Cycle Hayling Stall at the 3 Churches Fete

Cycle Hayling, in conjunction with Portsmouth CTC, will have a stall at the 3 Churches Fete to be held from 12.00 to 16.15 on Wednesday 13th August in Hayling Park. Come along and have a go at our Turbo Challenge (how far can you pedal from a standing start in 1 minute?) – We have 2 bikes (one adult size and one childs size) so anyone can have a go! Call in to find out all about Cycle Hayling and Portsmouth CTC or just to have a chat about any aspect of cycling. Looking forward to seeing you there!

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Another Billy Trail closure – more improvement

See below for an update from the Havant Transport and Implementation Team. We don’t yet have dates for the closure but will post them here when we do.

It’s good to see more improvement. It’s early days, but the new section seems much better than the southern section, so we’re hoping it will set the standard for future improvements.

Continue reading “Another Billy Trail closure – more improvement”

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30mph speed limit to go ahead

30mph road sign

We made several responses to the Hampshire County Council proposal to implement a 30mph limit on the stretch of the A3032 from New Cut to the Mill Rythe roundabout. They were seen as constructive and helpful by Frank Pearce (the county councillor responsible for making the final decision) and the Hampshire officers involved, so we were invited to participate in a meeting called by Frank to discuss the proposal.

Continue reading “30mph speed limit to go ahead”

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Bike hire on Hayling Island

Bike hire on Hayling Island is available through Black Point Cycle Hire (or on Facebook at facebook.com/BPCycle). They’ve been going since 2014, and still going strong as at June 2023.

They have a good range of Scott and Specialized hybrid bikes of all sizes, male and female, and some for children. The company is based at Sandy Point but will deliver direct to you and pick up when you’re done. Prices look reasonable and include puncture repair kits, pump, lock, helmet and backpack.

If you’d like to get back into cycling or if you have visitors that would like to explore the superb countryside in our area, please consider using Black Point. It’s been a long time since we had generally-available cycle hire on the island – they deserve our support.

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Billy Trail re-opens following upgrade

The section at the north of the island is now open again, although all users are being asked to treat the new surface with respect while it is bedding in.

There’s also some more work to do that will not require the path to be closed, so please watch out for people working.

Peter Drury’s blog has some photos of the new section and some taken while it was under construction.

We are all hoping that this will prove to be an excellent development that will show the way for future Billy Trail improvements. We’ll be keeping an eye on it as time goes on.

Thanks – once again – are due to Peter Drury who has done so much to bring this about through his Hayling Billy 50 work. I’m sure he’d be the first to point out that it’s been a team effort involving Havant, Hampshire, National Lottery and a bunch of others.

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Survey results

Thank you to everyone that helped us with our survey which asked supporters to tell us the relative importance of each of our cycle path projects to cyclists.

You told us that:

  • The North-South link and an upgrade to the Hayling Billy trail are most important
  • Footpath 102 is a clear runner-up – which puts the main routes on and off the island in the top positions
  • We are justified in keeping the relief bridge as aspirational for the time being
  • There are regional variations but they do not differ widely from the overall findings

You gave us a lot of comments. Thanks for all the messages of support. They are very welcome. We’ll take the comments into account when pursuing the individual projects. We’ll also add the possibility to provide an off road route from Beachlands to the Ferry as an aspirational project – it’s unlikely we’ll be able to make any significant progress, though, while the future of the ferry is so uncertain.

Continue reading “Survey results”