CycleSheffield membership has risen by 50% this year.
We now have 367 members. More members means:
more political clout and influence, our basic work is political – with a small p;
more ears and eyes on the ground; the better the intelligence for us
a bigger pool of people willing to share campaigning tasks no matter how small or big
the more we can negotiate in terms of members benefits
the more the economies of scale and the more we have to spend on campaign/publicity materials and the less likely we need to raise subs
We are grateful that so many people are joining us. It is good to see that so many people want to support safe & pleasant cycling for everybody in Sheffield.
Members benefits are at http://www.cyclesheffield.org.uk/2013/10/02/7715/ and are updated as and when we negotiate them.
We offer standard membership and we also offer affiliate membership to Sheffield CTC and other groups, clubs and BUGs that would value our membership for their members.
If you know somebody who would like to arrange this then ask them to contact membership@cyclesheffield.org.uk
Subs pa | Individual | Household | Concession |
Standard subs | £6 | £8 for all household members | £4 concessions student/unemployed. |
Affiliate subs | £4 | £5 for all household members | £3 concessions student/unemployed. |
These aren’t proportional reductions but there what we have offered to groups – we can review it in the spring when we set our budget
Meanwhile please would you ask friends, family, colleagues to consider joining CycleSheffield. Chris Rust has helpfully sent the email below to some of his friends and colleagues who he thinks would be interested in our work and directly supporting us. Please use it as a template to send on to anyone you think would want to support us.
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Hi folks,
I’m writing because you are all cyclists that I know personally. Would you please take the trouble to sign up as a supporter (member) of the CycleSheffield campaign group who are doing great work to get the authorities to improve the lives of cyclists and make it possible for more people to cycle in our city? You don’t have to be an activist to join, although active members are very welcome.
You can find out more and join here http://www.cyclesheffield.org.uk/
It costs £6 for individuals and £8 for families. We have around 350 members and are aiming for more since nothing gets the attention of politicians better than knowing that a lot of voters are interested. Membership fees go towards the practical costs of campaigning. Members receive regular updates by email so you know what we are doing and can join in if you choose.
Recently we have persuaded the council to hold an enquiry into cycling which has gathered evidence from 150 people and organisations and is transforming the council’s understanding of people’s feelings about cycling and the barriers to more people using cycling for transport. After years of poor policy and patchy action we believe we are seeing a significant change in how our local authority understand cycling and a real wish to make progress towards a cycle friendly city.
Other campaigns and activities of CycleSheffield include:
Scrutiny of planning decisions and planned changes to roads to ensure that cycling is not overlooked (a constant struggle).
Regular consultation with the local authority to ensure that cycling is on their agenda
Campaigning for better provision for bikes on trains and (in future we hope) trams
Working for the CTC’s Road Justice Campaign to ensure that motorists who cause accidents with cyclists and pedestrians are properly prosecuted
Working with South Yorkshire Police to ensure that dangerous driving is dealt with and cycle routes are kept free of illegally parked cars
Campaigning to keep cycle routes open and free of problems, recently we worked with the council to ensure that cyclists on the well-used Sheaf Valley Cycle Route were not endangered by vehicles using the Virgin Active car park as a “rat run”.
Sheffield FridayNightRide a brilliant monthly social cycling event attracting up to 60 people
Nether Edge Bikebus, my own little project helping less confident cyclists find safe routes around this part of Sheffield
So if you think this is worthwhile and would like your name to be on our list of members to add weight to our campaigns please sign up.
NB, if you go for the Household or Family membership, every member of your family will count as another supporter so that’s a huge help.
Best wishes
