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Transport and Environment Minister Sarah Boyack addressed a Labour Party Conference fringe meeting on Saturday (11.3.00) organised by SERA (Socialist Environment and Resources Association. Other speakers were David Spaven of TRANsform Scotland and Cllr. Mark Lazarowicz Edinburgh's Transport Chair.
Sarah Boyack said "there was a time when transport wasn't at the forefront of Labour's agenda". She outlined the benefits of her draft transport bill particularly in terms of the environment and social exclusion. She castigated the previous Government for its transport policies saying "Public Transport was the Tories biggest failure". To demonstrate that transport is still an issue that political parties prefer to fight over, rather than work together to seek solutions, she complained that "it doesn't help when the SNP abandons socially progressive elements of its transport policies".
She mentioned Safer Routes to school, 20 mph areas and Home Zones saying "we should look at what is happening on the Continent - so Scotland is not left behind". The Minister announced at the Home Zones Conference in Stirling last year that the Scottish Executive would monitor three pilot Home Zones in Scotland in addition to the DETR ones in England. However this is a three year process, it would seem simpler to look directly at what actually happens in Germany and the Netherlands etc. and remove this unnecessary delay!
At a UK level transport campaigners have been dismayed at the sidelining of John Prescott by Lord MacDonald who is seen as much less interested in 'sustainable transport'. By comparison Sarah Boyack is regarded as someone who will resist such a change in emphasis in spite of sustained attacks from many quarters - notably the Daily Record.
So it was good to hear her say "we can't all drive, everywhere, whenever we want" as a strong defence of road pricing - which (perhaps only) Edinburgh intends to introduce. More surprising and potentially worrying, especially given the environment and transport minded audience, was her apparent acceptance of "longer travel patterns" and therefore the "need to meet people's social aspirations".
David Spaven broadly supported the Minister and her Bill but said "the problems are obvious - out there on the streets. People are second class citizens to motorists, 35% of households don't have cars". He talked about climate change being fundamentally linked to transport adding that the "marketplace is distorted for transport" with car users "shovelling the costs onto the public - motorists are not paying enough". His view (shared by SPOKES) is that there is a need to "reduce road traffic and reduce the impact of the rest".
He also pointed out that the East of Scotland had the best and worst Local Authorities when it came to transport. "Midlothian is setting the worst example in transport and planning". He talked of the "disgrace of IKEA" saying that the Scottish Office could have stepped in and he didn't know why it hadn't. The Scottish Executive then added "insult to injury" by not having a public inquiry for the proposed spending of £18m on making part of the A701 a dual carriageway.
At question time NAAG campaigner Will Saunders asked Sarah Boyack to put her "hand on heart and say that the A701 was a good road".
She surprised many by saying that she couldn't talk about details of the A701 claiming that it was "a live planning application because the legal process does go on and there is the possibility of objections".
The UK Government has broadly accepted the recommendations of the School Travel Advisory Group report. This was launched at St. Thomas of Canterbury School in London by Transport Minister Keith Hill with Jacqui Smith, School Standards Minister, and Yvette Cooper, Minister for Public Health, The report "recommends a range of measures as a blueprint for improving safety on the journey to and from school and for giving children greater and healthier travel choices, to encourage more youngsters to walk, cycle or take public transport to school and to help reduce 'school run' traffic."
Significantly the Ministers committed themselves to looking at ways of financing secure cycle parking and lockers. Lack of secure parking is probably the main reason that few children cycle to most secondary schools. Many schools want enclosed storage as developed at some schools in York (picture). the question is usually "who pays?"
In spite of devolution, the DETR still has responsibility for many aspects of UK transport policy however the STAG report and the Transport Minister's response has not taken adequate notice of the different educational and local authority finance systems in Scotland. Lothian Safe Routes has written to Keith Hill and Sarah Boyack (Minister for Transport and the Environment in Scotland) seeking clarification.
(Letters to Keith Hill and Sarah Boyack) Full STAG report, related Press Release
LSR Campaign LSR Press Release to Scottish Press Evening News Story
Plans for an upgraded walking and cycling route from Morningside to the Pentlands may be affected by Ministry of Defence plans to build houses on the 'Polo Field' at Dreghorn. The Braid Burn 2000 scheme proposes that the whole route should upgraded and suitably signed. Residents in the Colinton area are fighting the MoD's plans and have set up a website to help their campaign.
The Slower Speeds Initiative has published a new pamphlet - Speed Kills. This shows that
Full text HTML Version (50K) Word 97 (91K)
Copies of the guidance have been sent to every school and to each local authority in Scotland.
SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
Kenny MacAskill
Latest News see above
Early this year SPOKES asked all MSPs whether they would require a car parking space when they eventually move to the new parliament building in Holyrood (2002). The design brief was for one space per MSP (129). It soon became clear that that a significant number would never need a space and many others only occasionally. SPOKES wrote to Presiding Officer David Steel suggesting that the whole business of parking at Holyrood should be reviewed. He has now sent a reply saying that the number will be reduced to 65! (Previous story)
Last week City of Edinburgh Council's Education and Transportation Committees passed a report on Safer Routes to School. While the Transportation Committee, steered by Councillor Mark Lazarowicz, is committed to 'Safe Routes', Education has been happy to look on and be relatively uninvolved. The City Development Department has paid for racks in schools and is now going to pick up the tab for the Road Safety (Curriculum) development Officer - a seconded teacher!
The Scottish Executive has just released "Guidance on How to Run Safer Routes to School' (press release) but unfortunately still expects local authorities to fund SR (and Home Zone) projects without any extra money.
Children from Sciennes Primary School took part in a photocall to launch the Guidance booklet and handed the minister a membership card for the Sciennes School Cycle Club
Sciennes wins National Competition
Safe Routes to School work at Sciennes Primary School has been recognised in a competition organised by the ctc (Cyclists Touring Club) and the Cycle Campaign Network (SPOKES is a member). Although Sciennes is not one of City of Edinburgh Council's 'Safer Routes to School Pilot Schools' it has done more than any other school in Edinburgh to encourage cycling (and walking).
This is as a result of keen parents (quite a few are SPOKES members) a very supportive Head Teacher and enthusiastic children. A group of parents (chaired by Cathy Scott) set up a Safe Routes Group two years ago. One result was that the City Development Department put 'Sheffield' cycle racks into the school. However, as many young children were cycling (on the pavement accompanied by an adult), it was soon realised that the racks had to be modified, with an extra horizontal bar, to stop small bikes falling over. This now known as an 'Edinburgh Rack'.
The school has made Cycle Training part of the curriculum. Three P7 classes (over 90 children) were trained in the summer term - a record for a school in Edinburgh. Sciennes has also held several Walk to School Weeks and has a couple of informal 'walking trains' which have attracted a lot of interest and been joined by MSPs and councillors.
On Monday (6.12.99.) a group of Sciennes children will be at the Scottish Office in Leith to take part in a photocall with Transport and Environment Minister Sarah Boyack. They will also be present at the start of a major conference on promoting cycling.
On Thursday (2.12.99.) a conference on Cycle Training attracted 120 people to York. It was organised by York City Council and the Road Danger Reduction Forum. The Forum is mainly a group of road safety professionals who take a less traditional approach to 'road safety' issues than some of their colleagues.
York is one of a relatively small number of local authorities which believes that Cycle Training should be done properly - with paid trainers - not relying on volunteers.
The RDRF has recently produced a
paper on The
Future of Cycle Training
which recommends-
1. That the government, in co-operation with appropriate road safety
bodies, establishes a national standard covering all aspects of cycle
training.
2. That the government establish a fund of £10 million per year
to support local authorities whose cyclist training services meet the
national standard. Authorities would be able to claim £20 for
each child trained in primary school and £10 for each receiving
training at a secondary school.
A previous RDRF publication is Is It Safe?
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