Despite a damp June 15, there was a great turnout and lots of appreciative comment at our 2016 Spokes Bike Breakfast…
Chain clean – tweeted by @jules878
The breakfast, which is part of Edinburgh Festival of Cycling, resulted in well over 100 happy tweets and retweets.
There are loads of great photos and comments, including…
Speeches – tweeted by @MaureenChild1
@jdanielp Finally attended a @SpokesLothian bike breakfast, enjoying a sausage bap and orange juice while the bike enjoyed a clean by @EdinburghBikes
@CiaranPolicy Free brekky, chain clean & security tag. Thanks @edfoc @SpokesLothian @policescotland @EdinburghBikes @Edinburgh_CC
@tracygriffen Really enjoyed catching up with folk @SpokesLothian #bike breakfast and thanks @EdinburghBikes for the free (much needed) chain clean.
@talloplanic @SpokesLothian Much appreciated having veggie sausage rolls available. Thanks for another good #SpokesBB.
Tweeted by @BogdanHandrea
Some top issues raised in speeches and discussions
- Edinburgh Council success raising levels of commuting by bike, walk, bus – and reduced car commuting. And against a background where car commuting rising in other Scottish cities.
- Edinburgh now allocating 10% of transport budget to cycling, including much benefit to walking. Almost certainly unique in the UK – and as a result gaining £m’s extra investment in the city through Sustrans and other match-funding.
- Despite having to cut 2000 staff, the cycle/walk team is being maintained, and thus the cycle budget can be fully used.
- Council East-West route proposal – important for the council to stick to its guns. Not only is it the best route, but a lesser route is unlikely to get match funding in the Sustrans Community Links Plus competition – which could scupper the route and lose the City several £m outside investment.
- Some projects have been seriously delayed – including onstreet secure bike storage for tenement dwellers, and the Meadows-Canal cycleroute connection. Cllr Hinds promises to investigate.
- Top issue – Council elections in 2017 could mean drastic changes in policies and funding, depending on party manifestos and who runs the Council (very likely it will be a coalition). It is vital for everyone to speak to councillors to try and ensure that all party manifestos commit to continue allocating at least 10% of the transport budget to cycling or active travel. Most parties will be consulting their members on manifesto contents, but it is valuable now to contact your councillors – especially of parties you support, whether or not you are a party member.
- The position of the new minority Holyrood SNP government on AT funding is unknown. However the SNP manifesto expresses “determination” to achieve 10% of trips by bike in Scotland by 2020. In Spokes’s view this is now near impossible, but it provides an important opportunity for people to email MSPs asking what will be done to ensure that this ‘determination’ happens.
Councillors/MSPs at the Bike Breakfast
L to R: Cameron Rose, Cammy Day, Andrew Burns, Alison Johnstone MSP, Nigel Bagshaw, Maureen Child, Lesley Hinds, Steve Burgess (and child!), Sarah Boyack (former MSP), Gavin Corbett, Bill Cook. Pic by Chris Hill
Full list of politicians attending – please tell us if anyone is omitted
* = member of Spokes
Ward 4 – Forth
Cllr Cammy Day Lab
Ward 5 – Inverleith
Cllr Lesley Hinds Lab [Transport Convener]
Cllr Nigel Bagshaw* Green
Ward 9 – Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart
Cllr Andrew Burns Lab [Council Leader] – who received a round of applause for cycling to work every day (almost) – the only Scottish Council leader to do so??
Cllr Gavin Corbett* Green
Ward 12 – Leith Walk
Cllr Marian Donaldson Lab
Ward 13 – Leith
Cllr Adam McVey SNP [Transport Vice-Convener]
Cllr Chas Booth* Green – apologies sent, due to child care duties
Ward 15 – Southside/Newington
Cllr Steve Burgess Green
Cllr Cameron Rose – Con
Ward 16 – Liberton/Gilmerton
Cllr Bill Cook Lab
Ward 17 – Portobello/Craigmillar
Cllr Maureen Child* Lab
David Walker Lab
Scottish Parliament
Alison Johnstone MSP* Green
pic by Chris Hill
Cllr Adam McVey (SNP, Transport Vice-Convener) arrived too late for the photo and speeches, but we nonetheless managed to lobby him about including the 10% in his party’s 2017 manifesto!
Stalls included…
- The Spokes stall!!
- Edinburgh Bicycle did a massive job on chain-cleaning and ran a £50 prize draw
- Police Scotland security-marked large numbers of bikes.
- Sustrans Scotland
- Edinburgh Festival of Cycling
- City of Edinburgh Council, cycle team
- Midlothian Council
- Cycling UK (Scotland)