See diary page for more events.
June 17-25 National Cycle Week [see diary page], including...
June 25 MEADOWS BIKEFEST [diary page or http://www.cyclefest.org.uk]
June 26 Scottish Transport Funding / Scottish Transport Bill technical seminar by Scottish Transport Studies Group. 12pm Edinburgh. £50 inc lunch [£30 Spokes members] 01505.502164.
Aug 6 Sponsored ride for testicular cancer, 50 miles in Scottish Borders, start/end Gorebridge. 01875.823709.
Sep 4 Safe Routes to School conference Glasgow, organised by Sustrans. Diana Nicoll dianan@sustrans.org.uk 0117.915.0100
Sep 8-10 Urban Pride Edinburgh conference £50 01312258818
Scottish Transport Minister Sarah Boyack has just announced £5.2m for Safe Routes to School. This is a huge sum in relation to what is currently spent. More in future Spokes.
Edinburgh and W Lothian councils have Millennium awards available [generally around £3000] for individuals for environmental and sustainability projects - including transport related. The Edinburgh contact is Debbie Webster 469.3859.
A reminder of SAMH Change-Travel Week Sep 18-22, to persuade more people to use alternatives to the car. Please volunteer to help in the week [many tasks available] 467.7905.
W.Lothian council has issued 2 bike route leaflets, Linlithgow-Newbridge & Blackness. Free 01506.775296 Graeme Malcolm We may include them in a future Spokes mailing.
Edinburgh Council is consulting on the above, prepared by the University for future expansion. In terms of transport, the overall philosophy seems to be to promote all forms of transport, rather than a big effort on a green transport plan to discourage unnecessary car use. This is unlike, for example, the new Royal Infirmary, where car parking is to be strictly limited, chargeable, and with targets for the proportions arriving by various modes.
Specifically on cycling, a quality route is proposed south to Currie Station, but nothing north to Gyle/Edinburgh Park (this would need a light-controlled or segregated crossing of the A71). You might also want to suggest what is needed in terms of internal routes, cycle parking, etc.
Send comments/objections by 30 June to: A Henderson, Head of Planning, PO Box 12473, 1 Cockburn St, EH1 1ZJ.
It is not essential to see the plans, but
if you wish to do so they are on display at 1 Cockburn St, Balerno and
Currie libraries, and from the University Secretary Peter Wilson 449.5111.
One of Sustrans's ideas for promoting sustainable transport, and extending and making use of the National Cycle Network, in the new Millennium, is to work on Safe Routes to Stations. The following article from Platform [April 2000, 020.7613.0743] describes the ambitions. If you have ideas, want to know more, or can help, see the contact numbers at the end of the article.
"In Germany 15% of rail travellers start their journey by bike: in Denmark and the Netherlands it's 35%. And Britain? Less than 1%. Not surprising when at so many stations cyclists are made to feel like at best an after-thought and at worst a nuisance.
Walking is often not much better. As station entrances have been reduced and car parks plonked as near as possible to the door, walking to and from a station often entails unnecessary diversions, rotten signage and trekking across acres of car park.
There are 22 million bikes in Britain, and 60% of the UK population live within 15 minutes' cycle ride of a railway station. The potential to open up the catchment areas of stations is vast. This is a market that is routinely exploited in mainland Europe.
The good news is that the mighty Sustrans (the national bikepath people) and Bikerail (specialist bike-rail consultancy) are now on the case. Under the safe routes to stations banner, Sustrans has already struck a deal with Railtrack to tackle 12 major stations to show what can be achieved.
York is one of Britain's premier cycling cities but the city's magnificent station is isolated from the town centre by busy main roads with awkward crossings. Not for much longer: new ramps and connections will be put in to provide a direct link from the platform to the riverside and cross-river cycle routes.
The ambitions of the safe routes to stations project run much deeper than a few impressive pilots. The 'big idea' is to raise bike-rail journeys to the levels in mainland Europe. That means all stations looked at afresh, with cycle and walk access in mind.
As well as better signage and safe and direct cycle/walking routes, it also means secure cycle-parking and radical ideas for information and ticket sale points in town centres. This would be particularly useful for many towns where the station is some way from main shopping and business areas. These 'station gateways' could range from information screens to 'station shops' selling tickets and providing information. Instead of the station being in a world of its own, at the fringe, the railway would be an integral part of its town or city, easy to access and with one or more 'shop windows' strategically positioned in the heart of the community.
The project also wants to increase the number of station entrances and exits. Over the years for security, cost-cutting and revenue protection, the trend has been to close station entrances. But this can mean a long and inconvenient walk for passengers.
A recent presentation was enthusiastically received by Transport Minister Keith Hill. With Railtrack already on board, the gateway idea could soon reach critical mass. Sustrans has prepared the way by producing access plans for nearly 100 stations, particularly focussing on those stations that will give access to the national cycle network."
More information: Sustrans, 35 King St,
Bristol BS1 4DZ. 0117 926 8893. www.sustrans.org.uk.
Bikerail, 3 Pottery St, London SE16 4PH. 020 7252 3696. E-mail: bikerail@pro-net.co.uk
As highlighted in Spokes 75, there have been many retreats in government transport policy at UK level since Gus MacDonald was made Transport Minister last year. His big project is to prepare a 10-year Transport Plan, to be announced this summer. Current rumours are that it will concentrate on 'big' - big money for new light rail systems, etc and a big new road-building programme. And yet even without more road building traffic is predicted to grow 30% by 2010.
Mr MacDonald often meets the British Roads Federation, but has refused to meet SERA, the Labour Party Environment & Transport Campaign. He has been reported as saying that increased cycle use may threaten government road death targets [Sunday Times 28.5.2000]. A recent quote was "our aim is for all to have cars, like in Italy".
It is not too late to influence Gus. Transport 2000, the UK environmental transport campaign, urges you to write by 26 June to Gus MacDonald, Transport Minister, DETR, Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DU or email gus_macdonald@detr.gsi.gov.uk
It may be too late to influence him against a big new roads programme - though do try! - but urge him at least to include in the 10-year Plan a major commitment to promoting safe local travel, by a massive programme of 20mph zones, cycle networks, home zones, etc, with funding and targets. He wants to be seen to be doing something big, so emphasise the need for a 'massive' programme with 'headline national commitments', etc, etc!!!
The Transport Bill has been published.
Nothing significant in it has changed since the consultation earlier this
year. Along with Transform Scotland (see below) Spokes welcomes the Bill
but is disappointed at many omissions. Main measures include...
Unless the government comes up with a lot more money for sustainable transport, the above 2 measures are the only way that councils can get substantial funds for this. However, there is also a danger some councils will try to use the revenue for road-construction [eg the M77 extension in Glasgow].
Write to the press in support of road user
and workplace charging, pointing out the benefits that such revenue will
bring. In Edinburgh and Lothians, for example, there could be funding for
a rail link to the Borders, cycle network and traffic calming across the
city, a metro system, and so on.
Write to your MSP - ask them to amend
the Bill to include powers to charge large retail and leisure premises
for the number of parking spaces. Use some of the arguments from the Transform
press release below, including quotes from the House of Commons Transport
Select Committee.
TRANSform Scotland News Release - Tues
6 June 2000
Transport Bill welcomed - but needs to be toughened
TRANSform Scotland (1) today welcomed publication of the Transport (Scotland) Bill. TRANSform Scotland believes that the proposals for urban road user charging and bus quality partnerships are essential if Scotland's pollution and congestion are to be addressed. Colin Howden, Campaign Manager, said: "The proposals for urban road user charging are very welcome. In Edinburgh - if not in the rest of the country - there is now an acceptance that there is too much air pollution, too many road accidents and too many cars on the road. Edinburgh Council has done well to present the potential benefits of road charging and they have proved popular with the public." "Just in the last few days, the South East Scotland Transport Partnership (SESTRAN) have spelled out how £500 million raised from road user charges over a 10 year period could buy a light rail system, a rail link to the Borders, traffic-calmed streets and all the other transport improvements people routinely call for. Unless Gordon Brown is prepared to open the Treasury's wallet, this is the only way these improvements will be delivered."
The proposals for a workplace parking levy are also welcome and would make employers think more critically about how their staff commute. But TRANSform expressed disappointment that the Bill proposals do not provide for private non-residential parking to be included in local parking levy schemes.
Colin Howden said: "It is disappointing that the proposals do nothing to control the spread of car-dependent retail and leisure developments. While planning guidelines now discourage out-of-town developments (2), we are not persuaded that voluntary agreements between local authorities and retail/leisure facilities will tackle this problem adequately. The Scottish Executive has failed to present any convincing arguments why out-of-town retail developments should be excluded from the parking levy." (3)
The Transport Bill could make provision tor parking levies for these sites but their omission continues the suspicion, articulated by many over the past two years, that the exclusion from the levy results from the lobby power of the supermarket industry. (4)
ENDS
(1) TRANSform Scotland is the national sustainable transport campaign, bringing together 67 organisations - including transport operators, local authorities, national environment & conservation groups, chambers of commerce and local transport groups - interested in transport, environment, and a sustainable Scotland.
(2) That is, NPPG8 (retail) & NPPG17 (transport).
(3) The Scottish Liberal Democrats have questioned the absence of the proposals. See SIW-7628, submitted on 05/06/00 by SLD transport spokesperson Tavish Scott MSP:
"To ask the Scottish Executive what research or evidence it used to rule out a levy on non-workplace customer parking provided at large out-of-town retail developments..."
(4) We note the view of the House of Commons Environment, Transport & Regional Affairs Committee which, in its April 1999 report on the UK Transport White Paper, concluded [para. 258]: "Road user charging should be designed, where possible, to include out-of-town and edge-of-town retail and leisure facilities and other major generators of traffic." and [para. 259]: "Local authorities should be allowed to introduce customer-parking charges, where they think it is appropriate. We recommend that schemes for customer-parking charges be included in pilot projects to evaluate road user and workplace parking charges or are the subject of separate trials". In its recent report Environmental Impact of Supermarket Competition, the same Committee concluded "the large amount of free parking offered by out-of-town developments gives them a massive advantage over town-centre retailers, as well as generating extra traffic" [Local Transport Today, 20/01/00]. The Committee asked the UK Government to tackle the issue "as a matter of urgency."
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Colin Howden, Campaign Manager, 0131 467 7714. http://www. transformscotland.org.uk
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