For those of us who care about sustainable transport, it’s good to see the government is running a consultation, or call for ideas, with a view to developing an Integrated National Transport Strategy. It’s targeted at transport workers, members of the public and organisations, so this is a good opportunity to get your views heard. The deadline is 20 February 2025, so those of us who want to contribute will have to strap our skates on promptly.
For more information, it’s worth seeing what the Campaign for Better Transport has to say, along with their line on Active Travel - Walking, Wheeling and Cycling. Another organisation to check out is Living Streets (formerly The Pedestrians’ Association). It has a long and noble track record, campaigning to make our streets safer, with some key successes along the way, such as the driving test and the provision of pedestrian crossings.
Locally, MCA participated recently in a discussion with key councillors and a senior officer in SMDC on how we could work together on climate issues. It was generally a very helpful and productive meeting but we seemed to get nowhere on providing facilities for cyclists, particularly in town centres, although in theory they support active travel. The usual response is that it’s a county issue but the exact division of responsibilities appears opaque to some of us. Maybe local government reorganisation will change this? If so, perhaps we should be working out exactly what we want, if we aim to encourage more people to cycle actively in Moorlands towns, rather than be confined to cycling as a mere leisure activity. What do you think? Should we have a cycle forum to determine what would be realistic requests? If you agree, please tell us what you think via the contact form below.
Cycle Forum Link
Those of us who have cycled extensively abroad are very aware of well-designed and signposted cycle lanes, which make it clear where cycles have priority over cars. The high point of this is the Dutch-style roundabout - a joy to cycle on for us benighted Brits. We applaud those local authorities who have had the foresight and courage to introduce them in the UK, despite the inevitable controversies caused by unfamiliar layouts and widespread unawareness of changes in the Highway Code that give priority to pedestrians and cyclists at road junctions, as part of the recently established hierarchy of road users. Such roundabouts may not be necessary in small Moorlands towns but better provision for cyclists is still needed, along with better public understanding of the new road user priorities.
Photo credit: E. Dronkert, Signs of Cycling, Cropped, CC BY 2.0