Each month, we email a bulletin to everyone who has signed up on this site. Below is the mailout that we sent in October 2019. If you like it, please sign up on our Get Involved section - you will be showing your support for our work and you will receive our free monthly bulletins a month before they appear here. Have a look at our first bulletin to find out more about how RPC was formed and why we are progressing the idea of reducing traffic in the park by charging for shortcut journeys.
UN-FOLDING DRAMA
Eagle-eyed coffee-sippers may have spotted a notice about a stolen folding bike stuck in the window of Colicci and feared that yet another theft has taken place outside the Roehampton Gate cafe - but it turns out this latest incident, which took place on September 12th, is entirely separate from the six-week spate of bicycle nabbings that we reported ended back in March. This new theft took place somewhere along the roadway from Sheen Cross to Pen Ponds, and we hear that it was taken in somewhat peculiar circumstances after the owner stopped to speak to another cyclist. The bike is an electric-powered six-speed Brompton with a cobalt blue frame and M-shaped handlebars. Think you’ve seen it? Give the police a bell on 101, quoting crime reference number 0709984/19.
A-DEER-ANCE TO SAFETY
It’s rutting season for the deer - which means our ungulate chums are frisky in more ways than one. The antlered scamps have been hoofing it pretty quickly across the roads and will continue to do so for the next few weeks, so please keep an eye out for them whenever you are riding in the park. Look to the side as well as up the road, taking special care during darkness - and remember they can be difficult to spot even in daylight as they are camouflaged by their surroundings. Be good to our deer friends, everyone!
CONTROL PANEL
We are going to be representing your interests at the latest Richmond Park Police Panel on Wednesday 9th October. Longtime subscribers will know that this regular event is a get-together of representatives from the police, local councillors, stakeholders and The Royal Parks. With roads and trails busy at times, we help non-cycling representatives appreciate that enforcement against those who flaunt the rules of the road should be proportionate to the danger they pose. Reply to this email with any particular cycling-related concerns that you would like us to bring up.
GOING THROUGH A LONG PATCH
More news from The Royal Parks about its ongoing programme of road maintenance. The patch repairs between Robin Hood roundabout to Pen Ponds car park which we told you about last month have been done but the tar-and-chip resurfacing has been postponed until the warm weather returns next summer.
Meanwhile, the road between Sheen Cross and Richmond Gate will be closed on Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th October for the reinstatement of part of the roadway edge which has begun to fall into the grass verge. Then the road between Robin Hood Gate and Roehampton Gate will be closed for repairs on Wednesday 9th to Friday 11th.
In both cases, please use the bike paths that run parallel to the roads and be aware that the contractors have an obligation to keep you off the site of the repairs. It’s for your own safety!
SEE YOU NEXT MONTH...
Thank you for allowing us to pop into your inbox. Next month we hope to have news of The Royal Parks’ survey that will form the basis of its bid to reduce traffic in the park. In the meantime, keep an eye out on our social media channels for any developments. And, as ever, please share our newsletter with your cycling friends - and if they like what they read, encourage them to sign up to our mailing list too. The more subscribers we have, the bigger our voice.
All the best,
Richmond Park Cyclists
website: richmondparkcyclists.org
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