FROM CTC
"With the general election over and new ministers in place, CTC will now be pressing for the points set out in its Vote Bike Manifesto to be implemented by the new Government.
Thousands of members of CTC – the UK’s national cyclists’ organisation contacted candidates from all parties asking them to sign up to the CTC Vote Bike Manifesto. Of the 690 candidates that endorsed the Manifesto, 86 were successfully elected as MPs. Of these 27 are Liberal Democrats, including the new Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, and four are Conservatives. Furthermore, 52 are Labour, one Green, one SNP and one DUP.
CTC Campaigns and Policy Director Roger Geffen said: “We want to see the new Government put cycling closer to the heart of policies on health, transport and communities. We are looking forward to meeting and working with the new ministers, including the new Transport Secretary Philip Hammond, to find out which parts of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties’ policies on cycling will be adopted. The coalition agreement so far gives little indication on how local transport will be treated under the new administration.”
As CTC is pushing for cross-party support in the new Parliament for cycling, CTC Campaigns team hopes that every MP who supported the CTC Vote Bike Manifesto will also join the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group and will attend the MPs’ Bike Ride on 16 June.
Ends
Notes to editors
CTC’s Vote Bike Manifesto calls for:
1. Commitment to cycling from government departments, local authorities, health and other relevant bodies, to contribute to a national doubling of cycle trips whilst halving the risks within ten years.
2. Cycle friendly planning and design by local authorities and developers. Practitioners need the training, skills, assessment tools and political support to deliver quality cycling conditions throughout the road network.
3. Safe drivers and vehicles to tackle the threats of lorries, speeding and irresponsible driving, through training and awareness campaigns for both drivers and cyclists, backed by lower speed limits (e.g. 20 mph for most urban streets) and stronger, better enforced road traffic law.
4. Better provision for combining cycling with public transport by ensuring good access to stations and interchanges, secure parking (including ‘cycle hubs’ at major stations) and sensibly managed provision for carrying cycles on public transport.
5. Encouragement, incentives and opportunities to try out cycling, in schools and workplaces, and for key target groups (e.g. health patients and disadvantaged groups), plus tax incentives to support the use, purchase and repair of cycles and related accessories.
6. More and better opportunities for recreational and off-road cycling including the appropriate opening up of green spaces, forest land, rights of way, waterways and sections of Britain’s coast.
Both members of the new coalition Government have promised to improve matters for cycling – Liberal Democrats propose legislation to improve workplace facilities for cyclists; the Conservatives say that they will ‘give the concerns of cyclists much greater priority’.
More information on Vote Bike http://www.ctc.org.uk/votebike
CTC - the UK’s national cyclists' organisation, with 65,000 members, is the oldest and largest cycling body in the UK, established in 1878. We provide a comprehensive range of services, advice, events, and protection for our members and work to promote cycling by raising public and political awareness of its health, social and environmental benefits. For more information see http://www.ctc.org.uk.
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