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Comedian pushes petition for safe cycling paths

Galya Dimitrova
BBC News
The Cookham comedian's unique campaign for cycle paths

An award-winning TV comedian has launched a campaign to make her village safer for cycling.

Eline Van Der Velden moved to Cookham, Berkshire, in 2019, but said she found her bike rides were hampered by the lack of cycle paths in the area.

She has embodied her alter ego, Miss Holland from the BBC Three show, to encourage residents to sign a petition calling for "a safe, off-road multi-purpose cycling path network" in Cookham and Maidenhead.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead council has been contacted for a comment.

Particle6 Productions Eline Van Der Velden handing the petition to a woman to sign. She is dressed in a pink beauty queen dress. The other woman is wearing a blue overcoat. There are two horses beside them. It's a cloudy day.Particle6 Productions
The comedian went round the community asking if people want to take part in the video

The Dutch-born comedian's most notable shows have been Putting it Out There and Miss Holland series.

Speaking to BBC Radio Berkshire, Van Der Velden said she "loves" living in the village but "it's getting worse every month".

"I was walking around the high street yesterday and there's nowhere to cross whatsoever.

"I nearly died twice just walking down Cookham High Street street."

PA Early morning mist and frost cover the landscape as it follows the River Thames from Winter Hill towards Cookham, Berkshire.PA
Eline Van Der Velden traffic in Cookham was "getting worse"

She said farm lanes could be used to provide the infrastructure for cycle lanes.

"There is a lot of land that is not being used in the same way or is only being used for farm traffic once in a while," she said.

"We can put nice cycling paths along those tracks, so people don't have to cycle on the roads because I think the roads are too narrow to cycle on."

As well as a petition, she has created an online video with local people showing places where they had experienced near misses.

Van Der Velden said a plan for 10-miles of cycling paths proposed by a local farming family 2019, and rejected due to a "lack of interest", should be revisited.

"The idea was to bring the whole of Cookham together, connect the three Cookham villages to each other via bike lanes and to Maidenhead and Bourne End and improve community connectivity," it reads.

Particle6 Productions Eline Van Der Velden speaking to a man on a tractor. She is dressed in a pink beauty queen dress and is smiling at him. They are out on what looks like a small field. It's a cloudy day.Particle6 Productions
The comedian said farmers had discussed that suitable infrastructure for cycle paths would be needed in view of the increasing demand for housing in Berkshire

The comedian said the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead council had been "super proactive" and she is due to meet council officials to discuss costs.

In 2022, the council launched an infrastructure plan to make walking and cycling "convenient, safe and enjoyable travel options for everyone", which it backed up with a £1.5m investment.

Van Der Velden said she would like Cookham to become an example that other villages could look to and replicate it.

Particle6 Productions Eline Van Der Velden dressed in a pink beauty queen dress riding a bicycle on a Cookham street She is smiling and waving at four women in front of a King's Arms pub. It is a cloudy day.Particle6 Productions
Van Der Velden said she would like Cookham to become an example that other villages could replicate

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