The Lothian Cycle Campaign

See diary page for more events.

August National Road Victim Month To find out more or to help, contact RoadPeace 020 8838 5102 www.roadpeace.org.uk

Aug 22 Cycleroute evening walk Explore Camps viaduct area old rail lines with Railway Ramblers. Meet Kirknewton 1746pm on arrival of 1721 train from Edinburgh. Raymond 01324.625816.

Sep 4-23 stArt the Net exhibition See the entries from the Spokes competition, Wester Hailes Library.

Sep 3 Spokes Sunday Ride with picnic at Susan & Dave du Feu, Linlithgow [free tea/coffee; bring own food]. Spokes Sunday rides first Sunday every month. Stuart 445.7073.

Sep 4 Safe Routes to School conference Glasgow, organised by Sustrans. Main speaker - Sarah Boyack, Scottish Transport Minister. Details: srsconf@sustrans.org.uk 0117.915.0117

Sep 8-10 Urban Pride Edinburgh conference £50 01312258818

Sep 8-10 Transport, Environment & Sustainability conference, Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth. 01654.702400.

Sep 17 Pedal for Scotland mass ride Glasgow-Edinburgh. Details: 01483.417.217.

Sep 18-22 SAMH Change-Travel Week to persuade more people to use alternatives to the car. Please join in - and volunteer to help in the week [many tasks available] 467.7905. See article.

Sep 22 European Car-Free Day see www.eta.co.uk or phone 0193.282.8882. [Note - Edinburgh Council is not participating this year but is planning for a big contribution in 2001.

Sep 24 Amnesty International sponsored ride 15-mile family ride using Sustrans route Edinburgh to Balerno. 557.2957.

---

IN BRIEF - BUT IMPORTANT!!

• Edinburgh and W Lothian councils have Millennium awards available [£2000-£5000?] for individuals for environmental and sustainability projects - including transport related. The Edinburgh contact is Debbie Webster 469.3859.
• Millennium awards "Welcome to Wellbeing [up to £3000] for individuals with bright ideas to promote a healthier community. 0131.228.9066 or qnismcaps@aol.com
• Campaign Against Drinking & Driving Education Project 2000. An info pack which has already been distributed to all schools in the UK. 0191.2657147 www.cadd.org.uk
• Walk In to Work Out. Another pack for organisations setting up a Green Travel Plan. However, this (free) pack is aimed mainly at potential walkers/cyclists rather than at scheme organisers. From: Dr Mutrie, Centre for Exercise Science, Glasgow University, 64 Oakfield Avenue G12 8QQ.
• Scottish Parliament All-Party Cycle Group. Discussions are underway about setting up this group. Please let us know any MSPs who you think might be interested in joining.

---

SMALL ADS [free in Spokesworker]

• For sale: Ridgeback Moulin mens touring bike. 23" frame, 21-speed Shimano gears. VGC (only ridden a few times). £125ono. Richard_c_gee@yahoo.com or 07771.778.558.
• For sale: Ridgeback 602sls gents mountain bike. 21" frame, 21-speed Shimano megarange. V-brakes. VGC. Selling due to winning new bike. £170ono. Leo du Feu 01506.670165.
• The new Spokes West Lothian Map. Out mid-August. The same superb quality as our Edinburgh and Midlothian maps - or better if that's possible!! Will retail at £4.95, but special introductory offer to readers, just £4 post-free from Spokes.

GOVERNMENT POLICY

There have been some hugely significant announcements on government transport policy in recent months. Generally they are in the right direction, but do not represent a bold move to a sustainable transport approach, and they include many bones for the now vociferous roads lobby. Some aspects also leave leeway for how transport policy will actually happen. The roads lobby will keep up intense pressure to move further in their direction.

Important recent developments include...

• £5.2m for Safe Routes to School in Scotland, to be spent in 2000/01, announced in May by Scottish Transport Minister Sarah Boyack. This is a very significant sum compared to what councils currently spend on SRS, but is just for one year.
• Gradually increasing the Scottish Public Transport Fund from £30m pa at present to £60m by 2003/04. Councils can include major walk/cycle schemes in applications to this fund (e.g. Midlothian's successful application for a cycle overbridge at Sherrifhall), and there will be a big boost to rail and bus. We still have concerns about the structure of this fund [Spokes 74], but our campaign for it to be increased [Spokes 76, page 8] has certainly been answered. The cash is from the £3.4bn allocated to Scotland in the Chancellor's Spending Review.
• The government has announced a massive 10-year Transport Plan [www.detr.gov.uk/trans2010/plan/index.htm]. There is much welcome detail in this, including a target to triple bike journeys between 2000 and 2010 (also to quadruple between 1996 and 2012). However, the Plan includes a major increase in road capacity, and its overall philosophy seems to be to encourage increased mobility (of all types) - surely the aim should be better accessibility to goods, services, etc. =

The Scottish Executive will be announcing a Scottish Transport Plan in the autumn, drawing from the UK plan and with funding from the above £3.4bn [which is for all services, not just transport]. See press release SE2080/2000, 20 Jul 2000 on www.scotland.gov.uk (or 08457.741741?).

Please write now to Transport Minister Sarah Boyack [Scottish Parliament, EH99 1SP] about what you want to see in the Scottish Transport Plan. [Send us a copy of your letter and the reply]. Remember that substantial sums should be available, and there is a danger much of it will go on major road schemes such as the Glasgow M74 extension. Ask instead for measures such as...

• A very large sum for community schemes including home zones, safe routes to school, 20mph zones, walking, cycling.
• Measures to reduce the need for long and short distance motorised travel. For example, ensuring that future development is well served by rail. Rail re-openings and capacity increases, in areas without rail [such as Borders] and along congested corridors where there is pressure for road construction and widening.
• Measures to assist rural living without encouraging further motorisation - eg fuller rate relief for local shops and facilities, funds for community facilities based on local schools, post offices, etc. Such measures would tackle the clamour for petrol price reductions - which would mean yet worse local facilities!

SAMH CHANGE-TRAVEL WEEK

Spokes urges members to participate in Change Travel Week, Sep 18-22, organised by the Scottish Association for Mental Health, leading up to European Car Free Day. SAMH is developing a highly professional scheme, and working with many organisations to maximise the impact of the week. Below we reprint some SAMH information indicating the scale of their efforts.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

• Join in the week. Phone the SAMH hotline (see articles below)
• SAMH may have a 'travel market' in Festival Square during the week. If so, Spokes could have a stall if we have enough volunteers. We'd also need a main organiser. If interested in either, phone Dave 01506.670165. [NB - we may also need helpers for a Pedal for Scotland stall on 17 September!]

Organisations already pledged to take part include...

Agilent Technology, Bae Systems, Bank of Scotland, Benefits Agency (East Edinburgh & Borders District), Capital Rail Action Group, Cyclists Touring Club, City of Edinburgh Council, Customs & Excise, East of Scotland Water, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce & Enterprise, Edinburgh Bike Co-op, Ethicon Ltd, Fitness Scotland, Forth FM and Forth AM, HSBC, Lothian Hospitals University NHS Trust, Lothian Health, Metro Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Scottish Widows, Scottish Equitable, SPOKES, Standard Life, Sustrans, Telford College, TRANSform Scotland, University of Edinburgh.

Typical actions promised include...

Aiglent Technologies Publicising CTW throughout company by e-mail, flyer to every member of staff, article in staff newsletter and posters on all noticeboards. Bae Systems Publicising CTW throughout company by e-mail, flyer to every member of staff, article in staff newsletter and posters on all noticeboards. Consideration being given to financial support. Bank of Scotland Publicising CTW throughout company by e-mail, flyer to every member of staff, article in staff newsletter, posters on all noticeboards and financial contribution. Adoption of CTW company-wide to include all staff in Scotland, England and Wales. Take ones in all branches throughout central Scotland. Benefits Agency Publicising CTW throughout organisation by flyer to every member of staff, article in newsletter, posters on all noticeboards and consideration being given to employee volunteering. City of Edinburgh Council Publicising CTW throughout company by e-mail, flyer to every member of staff, article in staff newsletter and posters on all noticeboards. Logistical assistance by staff of City Development. Customs & Excise Publicising CTW throughout organisation by e-mail, flyer to every member of staff, article in staff newsletter and posters on all noticeboards. Possible staff assistance during course of week. East of Scotland Water Publicising CTW throughout company by e-mail, flyer to every member of staff, article in staff newsletter, posters on all noticeboards and financial contribution.

Articles to be included in company staff newsletters...

MOTORISTS THRILLED BY CHANGE TRAVEL WEEK PLANS

ACTIVE FOR SAMH the healthy living initiative in hot pursuit of one of its fundamental aims - the integration of physical activity into every day life, are organising with the help of over 40 companies and organisations Edinburgh's first Change Travel Week from Monday 18th September to Friday 22nd September.

So if you would like to find out what it is like, if for only a day, to live in a city with very little vehicular transport then please join the thousands of others by changing the way you travel and hop on a bus or train, get on your bike or walk to your destination. To help you do this we will mail you maps, route directions, train and bus information and offer a discounted bus pass. We will then reward you for acting on this decision with certificates, T-shirts, corporate cups and an incentive scheme that'll take your breath away.

To get on the mailing list and be first to get your information pack ring the ACTIVE FOR SAMH Hotline on 0131 467 7905.

CAR USERS EXCITED BY CHANGE TRAVEL WEEK PLANS

Last year, on September 22nd, over 160 towns and cities in France, Germany and Italy closed parts of their centres to cars for a day. This year, there are plans for a Europe-wide car free day on Fri 22 September.

In Edinburgh ACTIVE FOR SAMH a healthy living initiative is one organisation leading a large team of organisations and companies down the active commuting road. The project, one of whose aims is an increase in the general population's level of physical activity, is organising the capitals first ever Change Travel Week from Monday 18th September to Friday 22nd September. ACTIVE FOR SAMH's Health Promotion Co-ordinator Ian Rendall Reid said "the aim of the week is to create an environment in which everyone in Edinburgh and the Lothians can look at alternatives to car commuting. We want to encourages everyone who can to try just for a day a different way of travelling to their destination."

ACTIVE FOR SAMH are great believers in gesture politics, not simply because as a small healthy living project that is all they can do, but because they believe that gestures are a vital way of providing all of us with a taste of how things might look with only a small change to our commuting habits. They make no apologies for talking about their vision where all of us enjoy safer and quieter streets, where our kids walk and cycle to school and college, where buses, trams and trains take people around Edinburgh and beyond.

ACTIVE FOR SAMH speaks for many when they talk about a country with fewer accidents and deaths on roads, less air pollution, stress, community disruption and economic inefficiency. They look, as do many concerned with the impact of the motor car on our daily lives, to Europe for ideas and inspiration. They would like to see the regular car-free Sundays presently enjoyed by more than 140 Italian cities, and the much publicised Home Zones in Holland adopted with commitment and enthusiasm in Scotland. Such measures have been enthusiastically welcomed by the peoples of those countries - and why? It is simply because people like them for it makes for an environment that safe, encouraging neighbourliness and offers everyone a better quality of life.

ACTIVE FOR SAMH would like to hear from anyone whose be involved in similar projects and from those in Scotland and beyond who would like one of their information packs. Interested?? - then call the ACTIVE FOR SAMH Hotline on 0131 467 7905.

---

'DUMP THE PUMP'

We thought readers might be interested in views from various organisations interested in sustainable transport on this current campaign by the motoring lobby. Consider using these points if you feel inspired to write to the press about the campaign!!

Transform Scotland [www.transformscotland.org.uk]

Our view is that Dump the Pump simply doesn't have a case: the overall UK price of motoring has not increased in 25 years in real terms - despite recent increases in fuel prices - while public transport prices have increased markedly over the same period. (Evidence: DETR Ten Year Plan www.detr.gov.uk/trans2010/ plan/06.htm chart 3c). In light of this, demands for cheaper petrol are lamentably selfish and anti-environment.

Friends of the Earth [www.foe.co.uk]

Press Release: DUMP THE PUMP: A WASTE OF ENERGY

Here are five reasons why the Dump the Pump Campaign should be ignored by anyone who cares about the environment:

• Fuel tax rises are essential policy to tackle climate change, the gravest environmental threat facing the world. Road transport is the second fastest growing British source of CO2, the main climate change gas.
• Car drivers don't pay the full cost of their driving. Road transport costs the environment £42 billion a year. Tax raised from road transport totals £23 billion a year [1]
• Government figures show that the cost of motoring has not changed in real terms (after inflation) in the last 25 years. But train fares have gone up by 53% and bus fares by 87% [2]
• Cheaper fuel would not help tackle congestion, nor cut air pollution and accidents. The Government estimates that up to 24,000 people die prematurely every year from pollution, much caused by road traffic
• 59% of Britain's poorest households do not own a car, including 42% of the poorest households in rural areas.

Sources: 1 HM Treasury

2 DETR: Quality of Life Counts - Indicators for a Strategy for Sustainable Development for the UK: A Baseline Assessment 1999

Commenting, FOE Transport Campaigner Tony Bosworth said: "The Dump the Pump campaign will do nothing to help rural communities, poorer households or the environment. It is a cynical stunt by the most backward bits of the roads lobby, prodded by populist papers and opportunist politicians. Their campaign is a waste of energy. They want us to drive around all day without putting any petrol in our tanks - a tactic doomed to disaster even in the short run. We say: let's simply leave our cars in the garage instead and walk, cycle or get the bus".

Transport 2000 [www.transport2000.demon.co.uk]