Kingswinford Academy, Water Street for Mudway help

26 June 2023

Dear Ian Moreton - Head Teacher, Kingswinford Academy  Water Street

I was the old guy who turned up for last Friday's Any Questions discussion on a bike from Halesowen.  It was a lovely ride through Saltwells National Nature Reserve and Pensnett SSSI (for Great Crested Newts).  You kindly let me use the Gents toilet.

Out of sheer self interest, I'm trying to get your nearby cycle-walkway upgraded and more popular for cyclists who share with care to avoid upsetting walkers.  I'm wanting it to be like the wide, hard surfaced one in Woodgate Valley Country Park that I use when cycling into Brum from home.  That council upgraded it last decade and it is now more popular with walkers and cyclists.  We, in the Black Country, get left out over railway reopenings and old railways like the Kingswinford Railway Walk being transformed from what I call the Russells Hall Hospital and Black Country Cycle-Walk Mudway (especially in its Dudley section).  It is convenient for hospital staff and visitors to encourage them to leave their cars at home.

I wonder if you have a member of staff who might like to do a project with pupils on the history, geography, nature conservation and potential for the Kingswinford Railway Walk to be similarly upgraded, like the Brum ones, for active travel.  It runs from Fens Pool Avenue in Brierley Hill to NW Wolverhampton and far beyond, via Wombourne.  I call it the UK's longest and only urban-rural-urban cycle-walkway and the most important for its potential to help cycle commuters and all active travellers to leave their cars at home.  And, therefore, upgrading would reduce the twice daily crawl of car commuters and the cocktail of poisonous gases from our cars with their greenhouse gas emissions to worsen climate breakdown and, all too soon, bring oil reserve shortages.

The cycle-walkway goes through three nature reserves, has two old stations as cafes and one Woodland Trust property.

To explain my own lifestyle choice: I gave up my essential car user status to take to the food fueled bike for nearly all social work visits in the mid 90s!  I did have to use the car, at times.  My reward was 15p/mile on official council business.  It went up to 20p/ml before I retired as a working cyclist and commuter at 65.5 years, ten years ago.

Do let me know if you think this is a suitable matter for a group of your youngsters to work on in school.

Many thanks and best wishes