A message to pass on to Labour councils and councillors.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure
Labour councils should be backing cycling in every way
(17 posts)-
Posted 12 years ago #
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Is that not just one of those 'stock' answers?
Personally I wouldn't pin your hopes on any (Labour or other) councils creating vast swathes of cycling nirvana any time soon.Posted 12 years ago # -
Actually, it's more likely that the councils really do believe they have already done so.
Posted 12 years ago # -
In much the same way as the SNP minister believes he has and is continuing to spend "a lot of money" on cycling provision. You may well think that's a load of nonsense, but he is either a very polished liar or genuinely thinks that the pittance cycling currently receives is "a lot"!
Posted 12 years ago # -
I'm not usually a starry-eyed optimist but these are useful things for Labour to be saying.
I'll certainly be taking them to the two new Labour councillors in Fife and inviting them to ask their party to switch transport funds from roads to cycling, in line with their party's policy and then to spend it on high quality infrastructure "not just paint", in line with their party's policy.
Posted 12 years ago # -
The whole twitter conversation was quite instructive - they were talking about signing up to a 'significant' % of transport budget on cycling infra (wouldn't commit to a figure but said at least what the Times manifesto was asking for, which was 2%) and that it shouldn't consist of 'just paint'. We'll see...
Posted 12 years ago # -
I thought it was a useful thing to have because of one of the responses I got from the transport people within Fife Council. He said:
We consult and work closely with Sustrans, Cycling Scotland, the CTC and a number of local cyclists. The problem is that we are very much a minority and therefore cyclists receive little political attention and funding. At present there is zero budget for new cycleway schemes from Fife Council's Capital Resources. We get money direct from the government although this is shrinking year on year. Sustrans grants are on the increase thankfully but we still need to find match funding. Events such as 'Pedal on Parliament' have done a great job of raising the awareness of Politicians to cyclists needs and to make them see that cyclists are now a significant part of society. It looks like the funding tide may be turning so we can only hope that things will improve in the coming years. In the meantime public pressure on local and national politicians needs to continue, particularly given the new administration in Fife. Us Council Officers have only a limited influence in this respect!So I took this tweet from Labour as a gift that I can use to exert some pressure on my local politicians. I'll assume it's true that there is "zero budget for new cycleway schemes" so whatever percentage they allocated would be a huge increase.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Who is "@labourtransport" and how much clout do they have in Scottish councils?
Posted 12 years ago # -
Their twitter profile says "News from Labour's Transport Team in Parliament". They published the party's transport policy review on devolution of transport yesterday.
I have no idea how much clout they have on Scottish councils but I think the more important thing is that it suggests that there will be pressure on Councils to be more cycle-friendly. I don't think this is a magic wand from Labour HQ but it makes it easier for people in Labour council areas to argue that they should be dedicating some of their transport budget to cycling.
Posted 12 years ago # -
@PS From their twitter account: "News from Labour's Transport Team in Parliament. Write to Maria Eagle MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA or Email: maria.eagle.mp@parliament.uk" https://twitter.com/#!/labourtransport
Not sure how much connection there is between Westminster Labour policy and Scottish Labour councils. Not sure if there's a Scottish equivalent either
Posted 12 years ago # -
Aye, you need the Scottish Labour team. Is it Sarah Boyack or somebody else in Holyrood who speaks on transport issues?
Posted 12 years ago # -
Lewis Macdonald
Posted 12 years ago # -
Sarah Boyack was a Transport minister in a former Scottish administration and is supportive of cycling in Scotland. Had a long chat with her about it at Pedal on Parliament.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Our MSP is Pro cycling and it was her husband a (former) councillor who helped to get funding together for the section of the Fife coastal and cycle path from Dalgety Bay to Inverkeithing. Bob has now retired and in his place the new councillor is very pro cycling, I should know, he got me into cycling in Fife and Audaxing.
Posted 12 years ago # -
@scottishlabour isn't quite so gung ho as their @labourtransport colleagues.In reply to whether that opening tweet applies to Labour councils in Scotland, they replied:
Posted 12 years ago # -
Like Glasgow?
If the recent lanes they've put in London Rd and Berkley St are indicative of their support I'll do without it.
Posted 12 years ago # -
@DaveC
Your mate Gavin has picked up the tweets from HQ and has offered to come for a ride to see for himself. And he's not even a councillor for this area.Posted 12 years ago #
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