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Pedal on Parliament returns to Edinburgh for fourth edition next weekend

Campaigners continue to press Scotland's politicians to improve safety and encourage more people to cycle...

Next Saturday 25 April sees the fourth annual edition of Pedal on Parliament as thousands of people in Scotland’s capital once again call on the country’s politicians to put in place measures that will improve conditions for those already cycling and encourage more to take to two wheels.

The event comes in the same month as the chief executive of Cycling Scotland said that more investment in cycling infastructure is needed if Holyrood’s ambitious target of 10 per cent of trips being made by bike by 2020 is to be met.

Yet while levels of cycle commuting in some areas – Edinburgh, Inverness and Moray – are in line with that one in ten figure, nationally modal share is just 1 per cent, and most would accept that unless something changes, and quickly, there is no hope of the Scottish Government meeting its target.

Pedal on Parliament was founded in early 2012 to present a manifesto to politicians outlining what campaigners believe needs to change to make cyclists safer, get more people riding, and help achieve that target.

The eight point manifesto calls for:

1. Proper funding for cycling (5% of the transport budget & 10% for active travel overall).
2. Design cycling into Scotland’s roads.
3. Slower speeds where people live, work and play
4. Integrate cycling into local transport strategies
5. Improved road traffic law and enforcement
6. Reduce the risk of HGVs to cyclists and pedestrians
7. A strategic and joined-up programme of road user training
8. Improved statistics supporting decision-making and policy.

As in previous years, next week’s ride will start at the Meadows at noon and head towards the Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood.

The inaugural event in 2012 attracted 3,000 people and numbers had swelled to 4,500 for last year’s edition.

Pedal on Parliament co-founder Kim Harding told Herald Scotland: “When we started out we thought it would be a one-off event and we had no idea how much it was going to change our lives.

“When Pedal on Parliament started, spending on cycling as a means transport was in decline. It has since stabilised and, perhaps, started to increase. We have been told by those in a position to know that this as a direct result of POP. When so many people turn out those in power take notice.

“It's also becoming more politically possible to reallocate road space to bikes and pedestrians, something that local politicians have long shied away from.

“In East Dunbartonshire, for example, they are converting a four lane road to three lanes to create a two-way cycle track. This would have been unthinkable four years ago.”

Harding added: “Among the things that makes POP so special is that it attracts people of all ages from toddlers on balance bike to pensioners, and from all walks of life, including many people who don't cycle regularly, but wish they could - there's a lot of bikes that look as if they have been very recently dug out of a shed.

“Emphasising the fact that cycling can be for everyone if the conditions are right, we should have a good showing from Free Wheel North, the Glasgow charity that provides adapted bikes for people who need them.

“And once again, we'll have families to the front. There's really nothing better than seeing a mass of kids on bikes taking over the Royal Mile. We say that 'we are everyone' and we really mean that. There's no distinct group called 'cyclists'. We are just people.”

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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Kim | 9 years ago
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There is still much to do to make Scotland a cycle friendly Nation and PoP will keep protesting until it happens...

Scarily enough there is already talk of next years PoP protest ride.

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djfleming22 | 9 years ago
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Sunday 05 May 2013

IT GIVES new meaning to the term “going Dutch”. A delegation of Scottish transport officials will travel to the Netherlands next month to study an innovative style of roundabout designed to reduce the number of cyclists killed and injured on the roads.

The so-called Dutch roundabouts have separate slip lanes for cyclists to ensure that they do not have to compete for space with cars, buses and lorries.

Cycling campaigners report that more than two-thirds of accidents occur at junctions, as bikes are forced into conflict with vehicles.

Yesterday Keith Brown, Scotland’s transport minister who is among those travelling to Amsterdam, said he welcomed the opportunity to learn from countries that have more evolved cycling strategies.

This is what was said back in 2013 not seen any of it in Scotland ... let alone any tarmac on the roads..only potholes scheduled to be fix at some point by a 5 year old with a bucket and spade

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