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Press Release - Minister for Cycling Agrees to Consider Call for National Cycling & Highways Agency

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Minister for Cycling Agrees to Consider Call for ‘National Cycling & Highways Agency’

Ahead of today’s (June 11th) All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group (APPCG) bike ride, the co-founders of Stop Killing Cyclists Steven Routley and Donnachadh McCarthy, met with the Minister for Cycling Robert Goodwill MP on Monday.

He agreed to consider amendments to the new Infrastructure Bill that would ensure cycling was included in the remit of the proposed re-structured Highways Agency.

Donnachadh McCarthy said,

“We welcome the Minister’s commitment to considering such an amendment from MPs. It is crucial that a National Cycling & Highways Agency takes the lead for funding and overseeing the creation of a National Cycling Infrastructure.”

Steven Routley said,

“Cycling must be included in the title and remit of the reformed Highway’s Agency.

For too long cycling provision has been the invisible Cinderella of Britain’s transport investments despite its enormous potential to reduce epidemic levels of diabetes, lung and heart diseases from traffic pollution and obesity, improve economic competitiveness through congestion reduction, making our roads safer for pedestrians and other road users and reducing carbon emissions.”

Other items discussed during the Stop Killing Cyclists meeting with the Minister for Cycling were:

1. The creation of a national version of TfL’s Mini-Holland cycle funding scheme for councils across the country.

2. The introduction of improved national standards for truck safety equipment on existing trucks.

3. Raising the penalties for texting and speaking on a mobile phone whilst driving, to the same severity as drink driving.

4. Increasing UK cycling funding levels to modern Dutch levels.

Date: Wednesday June 11th 2014
Stop Killing Cyclists - logo with website in red
Press Contact: Donnachadh McCarthy
Telephone: 07947 8842 99

Note to editors:

1. Stop Killing Cyclists is the direct action protest group set up after the recent spate of cyclist killings in London. They arranged the mass Die-In at TfL HQ where 1,500 cyclists laid down in the road in protest at lack of safety investment in London.

2. The new Infrastructure Bill proposes to turn the Highways Agency into an arms-length government-owned company.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/infrastructure-bill

3. A study by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) found that a driver’s reaction times slowed by 46% when he or she was making a call on a hand-held mobile, by 37% when texting while driving and by 27% during hands-free calls. For those on the drink-drive limit of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, reaction times were reduced by 13%. For those who had used cannabis it was 21%.
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/Politics/article1420279.ece

4. Britain currently spends a tiny £2.20 per person on cycling infrastructure annually compared to the Dutch £24. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/article3789794.ece

5. Link to pictures and press coverage of Stop Killing Cyclists Direct-Actions: http://stopkillingcyclists.org/

Miscellaneous

Cycling Minister reaffirms guidance to police regarding pavement cycling

3 Comments

Donnachadh McCarthy writes…

Click on the thumbnail to read the letter from Robert Goodwill MP, the Minister for Cycling (pdf, dated 9 January 2014)

Wow - some positives from the meeting with the Lib Dem Minister of State (Department for Transport) Baroness Susan Kramer - see article about that by clicking HERE.

I have received a letter from Robert Goodwill, who is the Tory “Minister” for cycling (aka Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport).

(UPDATE:  click for PRESS RELEASE and LETTER TO POLICE; or to see the MEDIA COVERAGE including the ACPO police response)

Whilst the letter covers only a few of the cycling safety issues I raised with Susan, it does cover my request for ministerial clarification on the guidance for implementation of the fixed penalty fines for pavement cycling.

This follows my being told by Operation Safeway police that they had been instructed by their senior officers to ignore the guidance and to implement the letter of the law instead.

The GOOD news is the minister re-endorsed the original guidance by the Minister who introduced the fines, Paul Boateng which was :

“‘The introduction of the fixed penalty is not aimed at responsible cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of the traffic, and who show consideration to other pavement users when doing so. Chief police officers, who are responsible for enforcement, acknowledge that many cyclists, particularly children and young people, are afraid to cycle in the road… sensitivity and careful use of police discretion is required “

This was one of the issues the Vauxhall Cross Demo was addressing.

He also gives a potential positive to our suggestion that the DfT should be monitoring what local councils are doing on cycling, so that the data can be examined and compared and badly performing councils identified and held to account.

I have attached the letter (click on the thumbnail to see the pdf copy).

Yes We Can!

thanks
Donnachadh