Back on Saturday 22nd June 2024, the 7th Kidical Mass Nottingham took place! As per most of the others, I have created a photo / video blog post here. I have usually posted the others within days but this one I haven’t got around to doing. Life comes at you fast. With a busy time at work, other bits happening, then a holiday, amalgamating all of the photos and videos togeter kept moving down my to-do list. But the files were there staring at me on my desktop, so here they finally are!
Firstly, on reflection I think also the other reason that delayed me in compiling this post blog is the trauma the council put the Kidical Mass group through. After a successful 6th Kidical Mass back in April, and 5 previous ones in 2023, the council’s Highway and Licensing department, for the very first time, decided to try to get involved.
To be clear, the police are always contacted at least 6 days before the ride takes place and each and every time, they acknowledge this notification and ask for Kidical Mass to inform the highways department. This is carried out.
Someone must have forwarded the email in April to the wrong person. They decided to reply with specific areas that could and could not be ridden on and CC’d in all of the transport operators. This person must have followed the social media output as the following week after the April ride, Highways contacted Kidical Mass and listed the contraventions “witnessed” and somehow summoned Kidical Mass to meet with them, the tram operator, NCT and Trent Barton. I hear the meeting was poorly organised and demostrated that the operators nor Highways understood the point of Kidical Mass and the legal right to protest. Despite this negativity, they bizarrely verbally offered to work with the group by, for example controlling a set of traffic lights to leave them on green for the ride to pass safely.
In a written follow up, a stipulation came that stated that for the traffic light offer to apply, Kidical Mass could not ride as one group but instead, at every light stop and allowed motor traffic to get between everyone. This is not Kidical Mass. This is not safe and cannot be negotiated.
This above took a huge numbers of hours. From the meetings, the email exchances and a demand for a risk assessment, it took its tool. After another lengthy email exchange, Highways then realised that they had got the wrong end of the stick. This was outside of the jurisdiction and they had no right to get involved whatsoever.
The ride went ahead and was a successful as ever!
Here are some photos and videos:
Starting off at Victoria Embankment Children’s Cycle Park.
Here are the videos from Greg:
And Greg took some brilliant photos!
And I was treated to an ice cream at the end!
Here’s the poster advertising the ride:
Thanks for reading,
Samuel
