http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/apr/24/invest-cycling-tenfold-report
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
"Invest £1bn a year to boost cycling levels tenfold, urges report"
(30 posts)-
Posted 12 years ago #
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Wow.
In one sense they have done England proud by actually asking for what is required. On the other hand, I worry that Westminster will simply ignore this report on the grounds that it is "unrealistic".
Posted 12 years ago # -
"
The committee says there should be a cross-departmental plan for cycling, with a national "cycling champion" to ensure unified policy."If you see cycling as a sub-department of the Department for Transport and nothing else, no matter how good your cycling minister is they can't factor in the huge savings to public health of people cycling more, or the business growth, whether from a healthy workforce or this idea that people on bikes buy more than people in cars, because they can get to shops more easily," Huppert said. "It's not just about money and the way our roads are laid out, though those are critical, it's about that cross-department action."
"
That's an argument that applies just as well in Scotland.
That's also quite crucial in an Edinburgh context where some aspects of cycling now spread across three department and committees and therefore convenors.
Cycling is directly involved in Culture and Sport Committee, Education, Children and Families Committee and the Transport and Environment Committee.
Must (should?) also feature sometimes in -
Finance and Budget Committee,
Health, Wellbeing and Housing Committee,
Planning Committee (perhaps not as often as it should),
Audit and Policy and Strategy Committees (planning for a significant increase in cycling must be strategic!),
Governance, Risk and Best Value Committee (what could be better value than getting more people on bikes),
Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee,
Executive Committees(?),
Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee,
Economy Committee(!)
Posted 12 years ago # -
[Edit: reference to now deleted thread removed]
Times cover story:
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/article3747215.eceTimes editorial: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/article3747135.ece
Chris Boardman:
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/article3747182.ecePetition asking govt to implement recommendations:
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/49196Posted 12 years ago # -
Was the embargo 00:01 - ie for today's paper (from a pre-Internet age when news wasn't "24 hour")?
Posted 12 years ago # -
Full report here:
http://allpartycycling.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/get-britain-cycling_goodwin-report.pdf
Posted 12 years ago # -
If only Boardman didn't have his face screwed up like cycling was similar to sucking on a lemon.
Posted 12 years ago # -
@chdot What council department covers business/tourism? They should be all over this because:
Better cycling provision as part of a coordinated approach to reducing traffic and increasing human scale transport = better quality of life = greater chance that people want to live and visit here and spend their cash in the city.
Posted 12 years ago # -
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/690/council_departments/869/city_development_department
There is the Economic Committee
There's also Marketing Edinburgh on the tourism side
Plus
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/239/support_for_businesses-economic_information_and_development
"
Better cycling provision as part of a coordinated approach to reducing traffic and increasing human scale transport = better quality of life = greater chance that people want to live and visit here and spend their cash in the city."
ALSO should be one element in attracting the sort of companies that Edinburgh thinks it wants to attract.
Posted 12 years ago # -
@chdot Good point. Hipsters, quality of life-seekers and diversity = buoyant local entrepreneurship :D
Posted 12 years ago # -
"LSO should be one element in attracting the sort of companies that Edinburgh thinks it wants to attract."
This is certainly what American mayors are saying about why they are investing in bike infrastructure.
Hopefully the hipsters eventually become young families and still want to cycle!
Posted 12 years ago # -
@Instography, if onlt there wasn't a car in the cycle lane right behind him!
By the way, he has written a damn good article.
Posted 12 years ago # -
A bit OT
"
The culture secretary Maria Miller has called on the sector to help her make the economic case for investing in the arts."
http://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/23042013-holistic-value-of-the-arts-sectorBit like cycling - have to prove/justify.
Some things are just accepted 'fact' - road upgrading, new bridges etc.
Posted 12 years ago # -
"
Make no mistake, along with Mayor Johnson’s “Vision for Cycling”; the production of this report is a pivotal moment for the possibility of not just cycling, but sustainable transport as a whole in Britain. So: are cyclists – and all those of us interested in the development and implementation of sustainable transport policy indeed “set to win”?"
http://rdrf.org.uk/2013/04/24/get-britain-cycling-are-cyclists-set-to-win
Posted 12 years ago # -
Interesting RDRF link, thank you.
ePetition currently has 11,300 signatures... though it needs 100,000 to get debated in Parliament.Posted 12 years ago # -
"though it needs 100,000 to get debated in Parliament"
This'll help -
"
Dear ReaderThis is a landmark day for cycling in Britain. We would not have got this far without your invaluable support, but we need your help again.
Today, an unprecedented House of Commons inquiry publishes the Get Britain Cycling report, making 18 bold recommendations which call on the Government to make Britain's streets safer and more inviting for cyclists.
Please help us put pressure on the Government by signing this online petition, calling on the Prime Minister to implement the report's recommendations:
Create an annual cycling budget equivalent to £10 per head of population - an increase on the current spend of less than £2 per person.
Fund cycling through health, education, sport and business budgets as well as transport budgets - recognising the contribution cycling makes to other sectors.
Appoint a national Cycling Champion.
Create a cross-departmental Cycling Action Plan with annual progress reports.
Create a statutory requirement for all new housing, business and transport developments to consider the needs of cyclists and pedestrians during the planning stage.
Extend 20mph zones in towns and consider 40mph limits on many rural lanes.
Create cycle routes running alongside trunk road and motorway corridors.
Limit the use of HGVs on busy urban streets at peak hours.
Provide cycle training at all primary and secondary schools.
Increase the proportion of journeys made by bike from 2% in 2011 to 10% in 2025 and 25% by 2050.
Thank you for your invaluable support over the last year, please remember to take 2 minutes to sign the petition. You can read all about the Get Britain Cycling report on our free campaign page at thetimes.co.uk/cyclesafetyJohn Witherow
Editor of The Times"
Posted 12 years ago # -
My thoughts here (plus bumping this back up to the top).
http://www.darkerside.org/2013/04/get-britain-cycling/
Everyone signed that petition...?
Posted 12 years ago # -
Worth a read!
Extract
"
The key point, and the one The Times are trying to drive home with that petition, is that this report is not just for those who ride bikes now. It’s also for those who want to, but feel unable. Or those who are stuck in cars in endless traffic jams. Or those who run small businesses that would kill for people travelling by to be able to smell the freshly baked bread in the window and pop in. Or for those who have asthma and just want less exhaust in the air. Or those who watch the NHS budget drain away into treating ‘lifestyle disorders’ like obesity and (some types of) diabetes.Or those who just want their children to be able to cycle safely to the park.
"
Yep, really - 'not (just) about cycling'.
Need more politicians to understand and be bold enough to say so!
Posted 12 years ago # -
"
A new Parliamentary report suggests £1 billion should be spent on improving cycle safety; we hear from an innovative group of cyclists copying the police to be safe on the roads."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s0qmv
R4 after 12:00
Posted 12 years ago # -
I think it is worth getting a cup of coffee (or two) (other drinks are available) and reading the whole report, not just the summary. There's some really strong stuff about law enforcement, and some pretty specific stuff about infrastructure.
I'll blog about it in due course (i've got two other things to blog about first!)
Posted 12 years ago # -
Why thank you :p
I have to admit, it's normally the smell of fish and chips that does for me, but bread seemed to scan better...
Posted 12 years ago # -
Posted 12 years ago # -
"
Lord Sugar and Sir Richard Branson pile on the pressure to get Britain cycling"
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/article3749149.ece
Posted 12 years ago # -
"
WHEN it comes to improving transport in Scotland, widening motorways or faster links between cities is often seen as the way to make progress. But one leading transport expert believes far more priority should given to making sure locals can easily get about their own town or city – by pedestrianising key parts of major streets such as Edinburgh's Royal Mile or providing better information at bus stops."
Editorial
"
We need transport revolution
"ANY man older than 26 who still
takes the bus can count himself a
failure." Whoever said that - and it
probably wasn't Margaret Thatcher
- was expressing a mindset that has
an Iron Lady-like grip on society.
It views transport as a yardstick
of social status: motoring is the gold
standard and public transport the
poor, third-class-citizen's option.
The signs are everywhere: Cabinet
ministers are driven by limousine;
company cars signal one's place in
the corporate hierarchy and streets
are designed to maximise motor-
traffic flow. Meanwhile, pedestrians
and cyclists tremble on the sidelines
while passengers get shoddy facilities
and fares that seem to rise in inverse
proportion to service quality. Accord-
ing to the Better Buses campaign,
the real-terms cost of motoring has
fallen in Scotland in the past decade,
but bus fares have risen sharply.
Clearly, there is work to be done if
more people are to be persuaded to
leave their cars behind. The Scottish
Government will tomorrow publish
the final report in its £15 million
Smarter Choices, Smarter Places
initiative, designed to encourage
more people to walk, cycle and use
public transport. Among its recom-
mendations will be better network
integration and improved payment
systems, so passengers aren't scrab-
bling for change and hanging around
for connections.
Report author Derek Halden also
wants better walking routes. That
will require a concerted effort to slow
down traffic and improve pedestrian
facilities, because right now, walking
to the train station or crossing the
street to the bus stop can be a noisy,
stressful and dangerous process.
Meeting carbon-cutting targets
depends on a drastic cut in car use.
This requires a truly progressive
transport strategy, with the needs
of pedestrians, cyclists and passen-
gers at its heart. If cities such as
Berlin and Amsterdam can provide
sophisticated public transport incor-
porating smart ticketing systems,
Scotland can do likewise. Perhaps if
more government ministers swapped
luxury cars for public transport, they
would understand the issues better
and devise a real solution."
Posted 12 years ago # -
Posted 12 years ago #
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Posted 12 years ago #
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"Olympic champions call for cycle petition support"
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/article3754509.ece
Posted 12 years ago # -
Another year on, more reports -
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-the-economic-case-for-action
"
The DfT is currently undertaking research projects to review the evidence on these questions and the conclusions will be made available later in the year.
"
http://www.bhfactive.org.uk/adults-latest-news-item/300/index.html
Posted 10 years ago # -
LOT of Economic Case stuff here! (p25-41)
Posted 9 years ago #
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