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The Lothian Cycle Campaign |
Additions and Updates to this site
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The Lothian Cycle Campaign |
Sarah Boyack MSP, government Transport Minister, was main speaker on 14 March. She has kindly given us her speech notes, and we devote this Spokesworker to them [there will be a normal Spokesworker soon]. This was a public speech, so you can use it in letters to MSPs, council, etc. The topic we had given her was...
Cycling as
Transport: promoting bicycle use in government policy on
transport, accessibility, sustainability & public
health
That's why I welcome the opportunity to set out for you tonight what we are doing to promote cycling. We have a shared agenda - taking sustainability seriously - and recognising the importance of our environment. The challenge is to broaden that support.
Our overall vision is movement towards a healthier, greener, more inclusive, Scotland.
We want to achieve an effective modern and integrated transport network. That doesn't damage our environment.
We need to create an environment where people who are able to will choose to cycle.
There are well established links between levels of physical activity and good health & conversely, between a sedentary lifestyle and illness. The Scottish Executive is committed to increasing levels of physical activity in the Scottish population. We have set up a Physical Activity Task Force to work towards this. The Task Force aims to raise the profile of physical activity throughout Scotland. Towards the end of this year it will put forward recommendations for increasing physical activity.
Cycling as transport can provide exercise as part of normal daily routine. There is a strong link here between what we are aiming to do in transport and what we are aiming to do in health. The important thing is that active modes of transport - walking and cycling - even if it is only to the bus stop or train station - make exercise a normal part of daily life. Not something we have to plan for and fit in round all our other activities.
However we want to make it possible for all those who wish to cycle to be able to do so.
We Have a Good Record - but there's so much more to do.
These are just some examples of the good work that Councils are involved in across the country.
£ 4.2 million has been given to cycling and walking projects in the third round of competition to the Public Transport Fund. These projects will, for example, greatly improve provision for cyclists in Stranraer and Kilmarnock, and for those riding between Dumbarton and Helensburgh, and from Helensburgh to Garelochhead and to Balloch. They will make life much easier for people commuting by bike into Perth and into Inchinnan Business Park and Glasgow Airport. They will benefit those cycling as transport to work as well as those cycling for recreation
£0.58 million was provided to cycle projects through the Cycle Challenge Initiative. 35 have been successfully completed, from work with young homeless people in Aberdeen promoting cycling as an encouragement to lifestyle change; to cycling for the disabled in Glasgow; to provision of up to 260 places on 70 ScotRail trains.
We have provided works totalling over £6 million through the trunk Roads Cycling Initiative for the National Cycle Network. The National Cycle Network covers 750 miles in Scotland. With plans to add another 1000 miles by 2005. I couldn't be at the grand opening in June last year, because of Parliamentary business. But I am proud that Scottish Executive funding provided some of most scenic parts, such as that between Pitlochry and Inverness. These were also some of the most technically challenging. 50 bridges had to be built. But towns have been brought together, particularly Newtonmore and Kingussie. Communities are now closer.
What We Are Doing - We have a continuous programme of research so our policies are informed by up-to date information.
The Scottish Cycling Development Project is reviewing all the information available from local authorities about cycling activity in their areas. This will allow us to assess the progress we have made towards the targets in the National Cycling Strategy.
We do need to make sure that there is evaluation of what has been done in the past. I think it is that important LAs evaluate impact and plug the lessons into their Local Transport Strategy.
Today - Aberdeen visit - 20 mph zones - 75 sites across Scotland.
We are undertaking a review of the levels of uptake of cycle training in Scottish schools. And exploring some of the reasons why some schools don't participate. This will provide a baseline from which to move towards our goal - that all children at least have the opportunity to learn good cycling habits. We don't develop skill without proper training, without practice, without the support of experts. There are many dedicated trainers throughout Scotland. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the time and energy they put into this work. Good training is vital if our young people are to learn to cycle confidently and safely.
ROSPA is currently undertaking a study of the demand for adult cycle training - exploring what training is available for adults and how far it meets the needs. There's also an issue about adult cyclists? People who may want to brush up their skills - that for a variety of reasons have lain dormant. Or people who never had the opportunity to cycle before. People who want to make a change but don't have the skills or confidence. I therefore look forward with interest to the results of the RoSPA research.
We are supporting Velo City. I am really looking forward to opening the conference in Edinburgh on 17th September. As many of you know, this conference takes place in Edinburgh on the 17th and 18th and moves to Glasgow on the 20th and 21st. Mid week, on the 19th, I hope as many delegates as possible will cycle between venues. The whole day has been left clear for this !
The conference has five themes and I think you will feel, as I do, they cover some very important areas. They are Sustainable Transport and Planning, Children and Mobility, Tourism and Economy, Health and Well-being, and Environment and Land use. All very relevant to Scotland - much we can learn and debate.
I hope that this will be one of the biggest and most successful international conferences the world of cycling has seen. To date there have been notifications of interest from 41 countries.
I know Glasgow Council is working hard to make the event a success. There will be distinguished speakers from different parts of the world. And just as important, the Council is organising events that week to involve as many local people as possible. I am sure many people from this audience will be involved in some way that week. The The conference is also an opportunity to help put Scottish Cycle Tourism on the International map too.
We are discussing with DETR how the UK National Cycling Forum might be restructured. To enable it to rise to challenges of the future. One of my officials sits on the Forum. The Forum has recently decided it is time to take stock. To look at the achievements over the last 5 years. And to look at what still needs to be done. No decisions have been made as yet. But I am in contact with Keith Hill on this. We need to get the structures right.
There's still an awful lot to do
I want to repeat my commitment to continue to give prominence to cycling, walking and safer streets in allocating the Public Transport Fund. I announced in September that the Fund will be increased to £150 million over the next 3 years.
I want to tell you there is more good news for cyclists. As I announced earlier this week, I intend to ring fence an amount within the Public Transport Fund specifically for walking, cycling and safer streets projects. Local authorities will receive additional capital consents, totalling £11.85 million, over two years from 2002-2003. I have already announced awards of £1.15 million for cycling and walking projects in 2002-2003. This takes our additional support for cycling, walking and safer streets to £13 million over these two years.
Local Authorities will not have to compete against each other for their share of additional resources, which will come on top of any other allocations local authorities may receive through the Public Transport Fund. But they will have to identify the projects they intend to support before they go ahead. I will announce the details of allocations to individual authorities in the circular on the next round of the Public Transport Fund later this month.
Another key area is developing a co-ordinated policy on school travel. I'm sure you're aware of the statistics: - in the last ten years over the UK as a whole the proportion of journeys to school by car has almost doubled. - 1 in 5 of the four year olds in the UK is already overweight and 8% of four year olds are actually obese. I think these statistics are appalling.
We need committed people who respect the health of our children, and of our environment, working together for change. One of our challenges in government and outside is to deliver more joined up thinking and action. I believe cycling offers us the challenge and the opportunity to do precisely that. Because encouraging cycling is one of the major ways of achieving this change. And if you want to make lasting change you work with children. It is the children who cycle to school today who are more likely to be the citizens who cycle to work tomorrow.
The Scottish School Travel Advisory Group held its first meeting in September. It will report later in the year with recommendations aimed at encouraging modal shift on the school run. Cycling can play an important part in achieving this.
I will encourage local authorities across Scotland to set up home zones. That is, to design or re-design residential areas around the needs of people, not traffic. So road space can be used safely by all - for a variety of purposes. The Transport (Scotland) Act allows local authorities to designate roads for which they are the traffic authority as home zones.
I intend to allow local authorities to set up home zones with 20 or 10 mph speed limits. And I will issue guidance to local authorities to ensure home zones are safe. This must be good news for cyclists - particularly children. I want to return to our children the right to walk and cycle safely in the road space around where they live.
I will continue to support the Scottish Road Safety Campaign and its promotion of cycle training in Schools. SRSC will continue to develop the Scottish Cycle Training Scheme. A new resource for Road Safety Officers to use when training volunteer trainers, developed by the Campaign, will be issued to Road Safety officers later this month. Funding for SRSC is being doubled over the next three years. These resources will enable the Campaign to step up its road safety education and publicity initiatives
Last, I do want to assure you of my continued commitment to the targets in the national cycling strategy. We have still to see whether we will reach our target of doubling cycle trips by 2002. I remain reasonably optimistic. However, whatever the numbers eventually show, I think our own eyes tell us that there are a lot more cyclists out there. That a lot of good work has been done. But there are also some areas which need a much more concerted effort.
But I think all of us here should give ourselves credit for starting the ball rolling. I think it's a radical agenda - its an exciting agenda - its at the heart of our transport philosophy. The process of change has begun.
He has undertaken several relevant research studies for the Scottish Executive. These include (a) Survey and guidance on Safe Routes to Schools in Scotland, (b) Accessibility guidelines for evaluating transport and planning proposals, (c) Evaluation of the Cycle Challenge Initiative - which provided funds for innovative schemes to encourage bike use [Spokes had two schemes - map production/ distribution, and Safe Routes to School, through Lothian Safe Routes]. Here is a summary (he did not have a written speech)...
1 The development of cycling policy and the role of research (based on his experience as a civil servant working on transport policy in the Scottish Office, then at TRL until privatisation and since privatisation as a consultant). This discussed key landmarks such as the importance of Mayer Hillman's work for the BMA on cycling and health in the late 1980s and how it took 10 years for these research messages to become recognised in national policy.
2 The integrated transport agenda cannot all be delivered "top down" but the top can ensure that the right support is there for "bottom up" community based change. A common approach within transport, economic regeneration, health improvement, and social inclusion policy is to engage communities through schools. The SRTS review/guidance ((a) above) identifies through case studies typical challenges and how to achieve practical solutions.
3 Transport professionals are often understandably pre-occupied with motorised modes given the responsibilities to keep systems moving. Demand assessment is therefore usually the focus of transport models. However a consistent approach to all modes can be taken to evaluating transport and land use changes using accessibility analysis, and the Scottish Executive is now encouraging such people-focused techniques. The research using these techniques shows that cycling is a very fast mode in urban areas and is usually faster than bus travel.
4 A brief description of the review of the 37 CCI projects ((c) above) summarising lessons learned, as set out in chapter 7 of the published research. A conclusion which interests Spokes is that the government could encourage a wider range of stakeholders to fund cycling, through pump priming from:
Spokes Note:
Write to your MSP about these 3 research conclusions,
congratulating them on implementing the first, and ask them what is
to be done about the other two!
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SPOKES, St. Martin's Church, 232 Dalry Road, Edinburgh EH11 2JG
Tel: 0131 313 2114 (a/phone only) or e-mail to spokes@spokes.org.uk
