Tag Archives: cycling

Introducing … Lib Dem Friends of Cycling

Enter the words “lib dem councillor cycling” into a search engine and you’ll find more stories about Lib Dems criticising or being negative towards cycling infrastructure than positive stories about Lib Dem active travel successes. Search for “lib dem cycling policies” and you’ll find little information about our cycling-related policies that is concise or compelling.

Lib Dem Friends of Cycling aims to change that. We are an informal group of party members, ranging from armchair members to seasoned campaigners and elected politicians, who all share a desire for the UK to be a safer and more friendly place for people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to get around by bike.

We offer a place to discuss and promote Lib Dem policies in relation to cycling and other forms of active travel, share campaign materials and promote best practice. We support not just leisure cycling but also cycling as transport for work, education, shopping and other everyday activities.

We aim to promote policies and campaigns for safe and inclusive cycling infrastructure for all people who ride bikes, regardless of whether they ride “standard” bicycles, specially adapted bikes, cargo bikes, push bikes or e-bikes.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, cycling was seen as a radical, liberating mode of transport for women, who gained greater independent mobility without relying upon, or being chaperoned by, male relatives. Increased road danger from motor vehicles and car-centric planning and social attitudes over the years changed this dramatically and these days cycling in the UK is overwhelmingly “young, male and pale”.

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Fifteen minutes to paradise: cities for people

Over the last year the pandemic has brought home just how much time we spend – and waste – travelling. How many hours are eaten up stuck in traffic or on trains or buses, just going about our daily lives. Instead of responding to our needs, towns and cities demand that we shape our lives to suit them, and too often that means long, inconvenient, polluting trips.

How much better would it be if all the places you needed to visit regularly were within 15 minutes of your home: shops, cafes, restaurants, medical centre, park, playground, leisure centre, cinema and theatre as well as school and work. And all accessible without a car.

That’s the vision Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is following.

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Layla Moran: We must stop wasting opportunities to improve cycling infrastructure

This week, Layla Moran held a Commons debate on cycling:

Here’s her speech in full:

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Plaque to commemorate cycling councillor at new railway station

Here’s a lovely story from the Bromsgrove Advertiser:

A renowned campaigner for cyclists who died in 2007 will live on in a commemorative plaque to be unveiled at Bromsgrove railway station, marking a new facility that would have been close to his heart.

Gordon Selway, described as a “larger-than-life” character and who was also a Bromsgrove district councillor, was transport spokesman for the Worcestershire branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and volunteered for many charities.

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Nick Clegg wants to turn Britain into a cycling nation – and earns praise from Chris Boardman

I found out about this not because it came in in a Google alert but because a family member, who has nothing to do with politics, shared it on Facebook. That family member lives in a  key Liberal Democrat seat so I hope he’s going to do the right thing and vote for Danny on Thursday. It’s the only thing to do in Inverness if you really don’t want an SNP MP as I know he doesn’t.

This family member is a really hardcore cyclist. Ten days ago he took part in the Mallorca 312. That’s where people cycle all the way round the island of Mallorca. The first thing they encounter is a flipping great mountain range that goes down almost the entire west coast. He did the whole thing in under 14 hors, too, which was incredible, especially when you think he’s even more middle aged (by 2 months and 13 days) than I am.

Anyway, suffice to say he was impressed with Nick’s plans as revealed in Cycling Weekly and praised by none other than Chris Boardman:

The network asked parties to allocate five per cent of Britain’s transport budget to cycling and set a target for cycling to account for 10 per cent of all trips.

The Liberal Democrats are the only party to nail their colours to the mast and pledge to implement everything the network is asking for,” said Boardman, British Cycling’s policy advisor after Clegg confirmed he is ‘very keen’ to implement the recommendations.

It’s encouraging to hear that Nick Clegg is passionate about Britain becoming a cycling nation to rival our European neighbours.

The difference is that he is actually bold enough to put some numbers and targets against this aim with measures that could have a colossal impact on how people get around.

If the Liberal Democrats form part of a new coalition we will certainly be pressing them to ensure that these ambitions form a central part of the government’s transport strategy.”

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Securing a future for sustained government investment in cycling and walking

Frankly, this is one of the main reasons I went into politics and am now seeking to become an MP. It’s  amendments to legislation such as this that can mark a step change in how we travel around the places we live on a daily basis and the knock-on effects on health, wellbeing, pollution and congestion.

The Infrastructure Bill, which will dictate the future direction and spending commitments for infrastructure once it becomes an Act, is nearing its conclusion. CTC, the national cycling charity, along with a number of leading transport groups, is demanding a change from the old ways of looking at transport infrastructure, as set out in the following statement:

One of the most important bills going through Parliament this year is approaching its conclusion. The Infrastructure Bill proposes a five year Roads Investment Strategy, but currently makes no similar commitment to long-term funding to vitally increase cycling and walking.

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Julian Huppert writes…We need a strategy to promote walking and cycling

We have a huge problem in this country with physical inactivity. Most people do nothing like enough to stay healthy, and as a result problems like obesity and being overweight are very common.

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Stephen Knight AM writes…Putting the car first in urban areas comes with a huge cost to human life and health

Stephen Knight die inLying on a cold and damp pavement in central London as part of a ‘“die in”protest to highlight the level of deaths facing pedestrians and cyclists might not be everyone’s idea of a fun Saturday afternoon, but a couple of weekends ago that is exactly what I was doing.

The reason why?

 

Because the current level of road deaths – let alone serious injuries – is something we can’t continue to accept as being “inevitable”.

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Julian Huppert welcomes advertising ban rethink

The Advertising Standards Authority is a funny old body sometimes. There are occasions when it overlooks quite outrageous flouting of infant feeding regulations in formula advertisements (although one such ad was banned this week for making misleading claims). Then last week it tried to ban a Cycling Scotland advert on public safety grounds because it showed a cyclist not wearing a helmet and cycling too far into the road. The positioning was later proven to be entirely consistent with the Highway Code and it is not a legal requirement to wear a helmet.

There is, in fact, some controversy in the …

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Caroline Pidgeon writes: Making our roads safer for everyone

Yesterday was World Day of Remembrance of Road Traffic Victims.

After the events of recent weeks such a day has incredible significance this year. Just at the weekend a cyclist was killed in Bath in a hit and run accident. And now just minutes ago I have heard that yet another cyclist has died in a crash with a lorry in London.

In less than two weeks the capital has seen six cyclists killed – with today’s latest fatality the number of cyclists already killed matches the total figure for 2012. I …

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Norman Baker: something to get people out of their cars and on their bikes

bicycle route signYesterday the Coalition Government announced a dramatic boost to cycling funding, reaffirming our commitment to promote safer cycling and to get more people to switch from four wheels to two.

As the Lib Dem Transport Minister, I have worked hard to champion cycling within government and to increase investment in its infrastructure. I am delighted that we have now announced the biggest ever single cash injection for cycling funding in England. We are spending nearly £150 million to make cycling easier and safer.

Our party has long recognised the overwhelmingly positive …

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Julian Huppert says, “Get Britain Cycling”!

On Wednesday, after a four month inquiry, the All-Party Parliamentary Cycling Group – of which I’m co-chair – published our plan to “Get Britain Cycling”.

Cycling is fast, safe, healthy, cheap, environmentally sound, and fun. Yet in 2011 less than 2% of journeys made in the UK were by bike.

For a nation in which 30% of our children are overweight or obese, and our roads are increasingly congested, this is a serious problem.

Our report sets out how, with strong leadership from the top, we can increase the proportion of journeys made by bike to 10% by 2025, and …

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Success for Caroline Pidgeon’s cycling safety campaign as new lights to be tested

As the Evening Standard reports there’s good news for one of the issues London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon has been campaigning for with others:

Traffic lights for cyclists are to be brought in under plans to improve safety on the capital’s streets.

Transport for London has pledged to test the Dutch-style lights, which will be at eye-level and could be staggered to give bikes a head start…

TfL chiefs are holding talks with the Department for Transport about installing the equipment as it would require a law change. But managing director for surface transport Leon Daniels suggested that TfL would press ahead with a trial regardless.

Posted in London and News | Also tagged | 1 Comment

In other news… Teather on pupil premium, State of play for Welsh Lib Dems & other stories

Here’s a round-up of stories we haven’t had time to cover on the site this past few days…

Teather: Pupil premium ‘changing the way schools think’ (BBC)

The Liberal Democrat MP and minister at the Department of Education Sarah Teather, said the policy is about “changing the whole way schools think”. Speaking to The World At One, she said there is a “scandalous gap” between those from poor backgrounds and those from wealthier backgrounds. ” about focusing money on the individual child regardless of where that child is,” she told Martha Kearney. Under the policy, by this September schools in England

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LibLink: Tom Papworth – why Norman Baker is my Liberal Hero

Over at liberal think-tank CentreForum’s blog, Tom Papworth has nominated Lib Dem MP and transport minister Norman Baker for the honorary title ‘Liberal Hero of the Week’. The reason? Norman’s libertarian stance on the proposal that wearng cycle helmets should be compulsory:

I think anybody who rides a bike without wearing a helmet is taking an enormous risk. I’ve fallen off my bike in the past and had my helmet (rather than my head) bounce off the tarmac. I also know that cycling can be very dangerous; the chair of one the neighbouring constituency party was killed a few years back

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Opinion: How my life changed forever – 100 days in!

At the start of this year I was a Lib Dem from Yorkshire working and studying in London who according to some journalists was an “unknown” – although I was quite well known in certain Lib Dem circles, especially for my quiches! The resignation of Diana Wallis, as Lib Dem MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber changed all that.

In 2009 I was third on the Lib Dem list for Yorkshire and the Humber. When you are third on a regional list and the …

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Norman Baker MP writes… A virtuous circle for cycling

Many of you will know that I don’t need to be asked twice to wax lyrical about the benefits of cycling. Cycling isn’t just about getting from A to B. Quite often it’s the quickest way of getting around, not to mention the healthiest, most environmentally friendly and the most predictable. It’s wallet-friendly, for those of us with an eye on rising fuel prices, and it’s space friendly, at a time when parking spaces in town and city centres are both at a premium and becoming increasingly expensive to use. Each car parking space could fit up to 20 bikes, …

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The Independent View: how London Mayoral candidates shape up on cycling and transport

The way that we travel and the places we live in have a massive impact on our lives, going well beyond what’s traditionally considered transport policy. Increased car use is driving up levels of obesity, polluting our cities and leading to more accidents. As London’s population grows, the demands on our transport system make it an ever tougher nut to crack.

Sustrans wants to see a London, and a country, where everyone is able to get around, to work, school, shops and leisure facilities. Making it easier and safer to walk and cycle for our short …

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The Independent View: Why the Lib Dems should put cycling at the heart of their transport policy

More motorways, airports and cities, cried the leader of the “greenest” government ever. The Prime Minister is absolutely right that we need new infrastructure but what we need is not ever wider motorways but a modern cycling infrastructure, to get the ridiculous 50% of journeys under 5km that are currently taken by car, out of the way of essential business traffic.

Millions of UK citizens are too old, young, poor or eco-conscious to own a car. In countries from Denmark to Japan, their governments provide safe cycle-paths. Our roads however are not fit for purpose, as …

Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Also tagged | 21 Comments

Julian Huppert MP voted Lib Dem Backbencher of the Year

Cambridge First reports:

The MP for Cambridge was handed the accolade by the magazine Asian Voice after its readers cast their votes in the publication’s annual political and public life awards.

Asian Voice – which launched 35 years ago to forge links between British and Asian communities – reported: “Julian Huppert has quickly established himself as one of the most refreshing and exciting MPs to have been elected in the last General Election.”

Dr Huppert said: “I am delighted to receive this highly prized award from such a prestigious magazine. I thank the readers of Asian Voice for their encouragement.”

The city MP

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Pugh sticks up for posties sacked for not wearing cycle helmets

The Express has the story:

ROYAL Mail bosses were branded draconian yesterday after sacking three postmen in a week – for not wearing cycle helmets. They were accused of adhering rigidly to ­guidelines to cut staff and slash costs ahead of ­privatisation. Many others also face disciplinary action ­following the clampdown in Southport, Merseyside. Several have launched an appeal to be re-instated. Father-of-two David Smith was dismissed after 17 years.

Southport Lib Dem MP John Pugh believes the posties have been treated unfairly:

The only one at risk for not wearing a helmet is the postman himself – so why is

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