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9.3 By Councillor Orr – Cycling and Active Travel
“Following the November conferences of Cycling Scotland and Living Streets, Council:
1. Welcomes the status of Edinburgh as the exemplar local authority for “active travel” in Scotland and notes that an estimated 35% of all trips made by Edinburgh residents are on foot with 7% of journeys to work being by bike; notes our ambitious cycling target of 15% of journeys to work by bike by 2020; and recognises that active travel is the most economical and sustainable form of personal transport.
2. Welcomes the fact that 57% of Edinburgh’s primary 6 school children have completed “bikeability” cycle training to level 2 (i.e. on-street training, and up from 31% in 2009/10); notes our ambitious targets of 100% by 2016/17; and notes that 130 bikes have been loaned to 13 primary schools under the Positive Action scheme to support this; notes also that 234 pupils also benefited from subsidised bike sales across 16 schools where bike ownership was low.
3. Welcomes the planned investment in new training facilities for sports cyclists at Huntershall and elsewhere.
4. Notes the significant potential benefits to Edinburgh of cycle tourism and welcomes the recent “Cycling Tourism Report” recently agreed by the economy committee and which is complimented by investments such as in the cycleway alongside the A90 to South Queensferry, and also our vision for the city centre.
Asks the Chief Executive for a report to:
1. Summarise the progress of the Council to date in encouraging cycling and active travel in all its forms, and also highlighting some of our significant plans for the future.
2. Identify whether it is necessary to take more steps to “mainstream” the support and promotion of cycling and active travel across the council.
3. Identify potential gaps in current plans to support existing targets around school cycling training and elsewhere; and cycle safety awareness training for drivers of our own fleet of large goods vehicles; and identifying potential solutions to address such gaps.
4. Assess the need for further support for walking as a travel mode such that it is encouraged and supported in the way that cycling is.
5. Assess how we can better communicate our achievements and promote what we are doing around cycling and active travel.
6. Promote and quantify the many health benefits of cycling, and other related benefits to the people of Edinburgh such as reduced congestion, reduced commuting time, reduced carbon emissions and improved air quality.
7. Investigate implementation and enforcement of the planning policies and guidelines of the Council with regard to supporting cycling and active travel and how these could be improved.”
The City of Edinburgh Council – 12 December 2013 Page 4 of 8
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/download/meetings/id/41688/agenda_of_12_december_2013
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