I've recently sent an email to Northern Rail and Cheshire East/
Congleton Council (see below) about the lack of cycling facilities at
Congleton Station.

I was unaware of your acitivities until I read about your station
surveys online. I would be very interested in joining a campaign for a
bike shelter/stand at Congleton station.

Oliver

From: Oliver Charlesworth <x...@xxx.com>
Subject: Congleton Station - Bike Shelter
To: customer.relati...@northernrail.org, mark.bar...@northernrail.org
Cc: enquir...@congleton.gov.uk, Suggesti...@cheshireeast.gov.uk
Date: Sunday, 21 June, 2009

Dear Northern Rail and Local Council,

I have recently had my bike vandalised beyond repair at Congleton
Station (Cheshire). I hasten to add that I am in no way seeking
compensation.

I am however surprised to see an unused outbuilding attached to the
main station with locked gates housing bike stands which, if in use,
could have prevented the destruction of my bike. Having spoken to a
lot of people about this, I am certain that I represent a large
proportion of people wanting to cycle to Congleton but are put off by
the inadequate bike facilities there.

Would it be possible to allow the use of a modernised version of this
facility via a ‘Congleton Station Bike Scheme’ whereby anyone wishing
to use the shelter would be able to register their details, send a
deposit/fee and get allocated a padlock key to the gate? The deposit
or fee could at a minimum cover the cost of cutting a key (£3 incl.
P&P) or at the most be an annual subscription covering a % of the
upkeep and initial costs (£15).

The Benefit to Cost Ratio does not have to be less than one if a
little thought goes into this.

Benefits include:
-          reducing CO2 from car emissions (green costs associated to
Northern Rail, Congleton Town, Cheshire)
-          increasing the number of parking spaces making rail travel
more attractive to those put off by lack of parking
-          reducing the number of bikes taken on trains
-          increasing customer satisfaction
-          increasing customer well-being and station attractiveness

Costs include:
-          new permanent bike stands
-          upkeep
-          multiple key locking system

If you are already 100% utilised then I am willing to give as much
time as necessary to get this scheme up and running. This can include
being responsible for the creation and maintenance of a key holder
database and advertising -  as long as there is no monetary expense to
myself.

I am a full time professional working for a consultancy firm in
transport planning.

I will be commuting every day from Congleton to Manchester once this
scheme is in place.

Regards,