• Back copies of other recent SPOKES Leaflets are available by sending a stamped self-addressed envelope to SPOKES (address at bottom of page).
• For a set of all available back copies, please send £1 (we have copies left of roughly 50 issues).
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Slow-speed areas, gradually appearing in urban and rural areas across Britain, have a fantastic record for reducing casualties. Hardly surprising when a walker has a 95% chance of surviving a 20mph motor vehicle collision, only 55% at 30mph, and a mere 15% at 40mph! A speed reduction of just 1mph cuts collisions by 2%-7% depending on road type. 20mph zones enforced by traffic-calming cut deaths and serious injuries by 70%. [Sources: Slower Speeds Initiative - 01432.277857 www.slower-speeds.org.uk; TRL reports 440 (Characteristics of Speeders), and 421 (Speed & Accidents) - www.trl.co.uk 01344.770783].

Locally, many small 20mph zones are now in place, but several major initiatives are underway. Back in 1998, West Lothian's planning and transport director David Jarman said "in 20 years' time the idea of vehicles travelling inches apart at closing speeds of 120mph plus, and mixing with pedestrians and cyclists at potentially lethal speeds, will seem as archaic as open sewers down the middle of streets do now" [Spokes 69]. At last action seems closer...

• Orders are in progress to convert the entire Linlithgow town centre, from High Street to canal, to a 20mph zone - even including such 'main roads' as Preston Rd.
• Another long-promised project is the 'Bathgate Hills Quiet Roads Initiative', under which cyclists, walkers and horse-users would have greater priority in the hills between Linlithgow, Broxburn and Bathgate. Lower speeds, traffic-calming, and road closures are options. The Council is now consulting - please write a.s.a.p. to.. Peter Scott Planning, 86 Cammo Grove, Edinburgh EH4 8HD.
• Edinburgh is about to consult on a City-Centre 20mph zone, from Princes St to Canonmills, and McDonald Rd to Magdala Crescent. There will certainly be objections, so please write in support to... Cllr Andrew Burns, Transport Convener, City Chambers, High St, EH1 1YJ.  

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• Hopetoun Estate has closed its western entrance, near Abercorn Church, due to motorists using these private roads as a short cut. The path through the estate is vital to cyclists as part of a quiet route from Queensferry to Linlithgow, and is shown on council recreational ride leaflets. If this route is important to you, please write to Graeme Malcolm, Cycle Officer, County Buildings, Linlithgow EH49 7EZ [he also supplies the free W.Lothian ride leaflets].

• Midlothian Council has killed off the controversial A701 proposals, at least for the present. Instead it is investigating Penicuik rail access, and on-line upgrades to the existing A701. It hopes to extend Bilston Glen Viaduct path to Roslin, as an A701 alternative for some journeys, but is meeting resistance from Roslin Institute. Meanwhile Spokes Midlothian is seeking a more cycle-friendly design for the proposed A701 roundabout at Gowkley Moss [Gerry Lawson 440.4412].  

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Edinburgh's Executive Member for Transport Cllr Andrew Burns, addressed an articulate 100-strong audience at our autumn public meeting - and left a positive impression! Cllr Burns is full-time and so could promise to visit several of the problem areas raised during questions. Points he raised during and after the meeting included those below. To take up these or other points, write to: Cllr Andrew Burns [Executive - Transport], City Chambers, High St, EH1 1YJ.

• Local traffic problems are only beginning! By 2005, 50,000 more people and 30,000 more jobs are likely in Edinburgh and Lothians. Transfer from car to walk, cycle and public transport is crucial, and this can only be achieved through road-user charging, to deter excess car use and to provide substantial funds for alternatives.
• The Council recognises the need for a stronger cycle team and hopes to increase staffing after 2002. Moves to increase bike/pedestrian awareness throughout City Development Dept. will also continue [the example of Cammo Walk, below, shows the importance of this!]
• Council research finds that the main local deterrents to cycling are perception of danger and lack of storage (at both journey ends). The council will provide more on-road cycle facilities, parking at destinations, and parking experiments for the 58% of Edinburgh households who live in tenements! One possibility, he said, might be on-road lockers, as for the on-street locked waste bins.
• Following replacement of the CERT rapid-bus scheme by WEBS, which excludes a cycleroute [Spokes 80], the council may apply for cycleroute funding from the government Public Transport Fund.
• After discussion with Sustrans, the Council is setting up a 'coherent maintenance regime' for off-road paths, one of the two main complaints from Spokes members [the other being cars parked in cycle lanes]. Major work will take place in 2002/03 (£10K) and 03/04 (£80K); for example improving drainage and removing trees close to the path. This, it is expected, will make cost-effective regular maintenance possible, whilst also respecting wildlife aspects. The council says "I am confident you will see very real improvements in the future" [letter 6.11.01]. This whole initiative results from a Spokes year-2000 campaign [Spokes 76,78]. We thank the many individual path users - such as you! - who wrote to councillors about path maintenance.  

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• Spokes has achieved a big victory at Cammo Walk, the Cammo - North Gyle minor road. Astonishingly, given its cycle policy, the Council proposed to make Cammo Walk one-way!! - meaning detours and increased traffic speeds. That such a proposal ever emerged shows traffic schemes are not all being 'cycle audited', as is supposed to happen. Fortunately the council did listen to us, and agreed to retain 2-way traffic with a 'plug' at one end to prohibit motor entry - though our first choice was complete road closure part-way along.

• The Council consulted on Leith to Straiton/Ferniehill Quality Bus Corridor, sections south of Princes Street, including serving the new Royal Infirmary. We notified all members adjacent to the route, and thank all who submitted comments. Comments from Spokes included..

• cycle lanes where all bus lanes terminate
• advance-stop-lines needed at more junctions
• improved direct crossing Pollock Halls to Duncan St
• signed light-controlled crossing for Sustrans route 1
• cycle lane from new Infirmary to Ferniehill  

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In the US, transport emissions are rising fast, due to the fad for fuel-thirsty utility-vehicles/light-trucks, whose sales now exceed cars [www.carbusters.ecn.cz] - a UK trend also.

Meanwhile, climate change continues. Nine of the ten hottest years worldwide since records began in 1860 were since 1990: hottest 1998, followed by 2001, 1997, 1995. And Britain has just experienced its wettest 12 months since records began in 1766 [www.carbusters.ecn.cz].

[Useful government website: www.scotland.gov.uk/climatechange]  

Thanks to

photo: Superfast 

EC and government grants, a 'superfast' Rosyth-Zeebrugge (Belgium) ferry begins operation this summer. [www.superfastscotland.com]. We are delighted that bikes will go free. Will there also be bike-friendly policies on parking, storage, rail links, and cycleroutes to the Forth Bridge and the planned Forth Circular route? Please write to: Alan Burns, Forth Ports Manager, Tower Place, Edinburgh EH6.  

Lothian Safe Routes, originally an offshoot of Spokes [Spokes 70], has initiated a campaign for...

• On-road cycle training available to all 10-12 year olds
• Cycling given similar status in schools to swimming
• Cycle activities more easily available at schools, after-school clubs and leisure centres, using qualified staff.

Stop Press: The latest UK National Travel Survey suggests that growth in car school travel has been halted or even reversed, the decline in cycling ended, and walking is starting to rise. Is the publicity and work on obesity, healthy travel, etc starting to get through?? [Safe Routes to School newsletter, autumn 2001. This and various SRS info sheets free from Sustrans 0117. 929.0888 - send donation if possible - Sustrans is a charity].

The TRL research report Achieving the Aims of the National Cycle Strategy [to get a copy - details] has some not-so-obvious lessons....

• Leisure cycling is useful and healthy, but encouraging it is unlikely to raise utility cycling or help meet such targets, except perhaps if activities/facilities are well linked - like routes serving both leisure and commuting.
• Fear of traffic peril is a huge deterrent, though fear often exceeds true danger. Discussion of safety frequently sharpens fear, and so deters cycling - councils with big helmet campaigns had very significant falls in cycling!
• Most existing and potential cyclists find urban traffic daunting, but some are happy with it.
• Cycle training should be available for children/adults, and should include understanding of driver expectations.
• Some road features, e.g. mini-roundabouts & narrowings, don't increase collisions, but do cause fear, so should be made friendlier [e.g. ban overtaking], or not built.
• Publicity alone, without better facilities, conditions and legislation, will not bring a permanent rise in bike use.
• Government or council pro-cycling publicity will be seen as hypocritical unless they also introduce restrictions (e.g. charges or parking controls) on excessive car use.
• A national campaign to make cycling more acceptable both to decision-makers and to individuals should feature prominent politicians and personalities.
• Publicity to encourage cycling should concentrate on its practical advantages (e.g. convenience) and the benefits to health and appearance (e.g. looking healthier).

The potent images created by massive car advertising mean criticism of car-use tends to be counterproductive. Also most potential cyclists own and want to keep a car. 

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This major report for the government's Commission for Integrated Transport [www.cfit.gov.uk] draws lessons for UK transport from European countries and towns. In Britain, falling bus use, cycling and walking, together with streets dominated by car-mobility, seem an inevitable result of 'progress' - but deliberate policy in many European countries has achieved a completely opposite picture.

Despite Britain's compactness, we spend more time commuting than any other European country. CfIT chair Prof David Begg says [SH 25.11.01] we are Europe's most car-dominated country and moving to a US model where walking and cycling is an oddity and you drive 3 miles for a pint of milk. The car-lobby has been so successful that politicians are afraid to do anything remotely anti-car.

MOTOR TAXATION

Yet, despite media and public perception that motor taxes are high, they are in fact about the European average while bus and rail fares are much higher. [For CfIT factsheet on European motor taxes see www.cfit.gov.uk]. Thus Britons are 'forced' into cars where Europeans would use other modes.

The new CfIT report looks at 'outcomes' of transport policy - congestion, safety, environmental impact, social inclusion; 'inputs' - costs, expenditure; 'outputs' - levels of cycling, walking, public transport; and 'transferability' - how to transfer European successes to Britain.

To attain European-type success, two factors are said to be crucial. Power and funding for transport and land-use planning must be regional rather than through the present hotch-potch of small competing councils and transport operators. Second, 20-mph areas covering all but main roads have been critical in converting European cities 'from noisy polluted places to people-centred ... with street space re-allocated to walking, cycling & public transport'.

To attain a major shift to cycling it says we need well-planned, extensive, cycle networks, and 20mph limits on all but main roads. There must be a new cultural attitude to cycling - through government making it utterly clear that cycling is a fully-accepted transport mode, a desirable alternative to the car, and not primarily a leisure activity. Finally, the strategy must include making cycling far safer. 

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