New West Mids mayor hopefuls asked how far they commit to cycling

...All five of the hopefuls agreed that they would support a “West Midlands Cycling Charter”...

At least some of them were lying, then. Wannabe politicians do that to get elected.

Those that weren't deliberately lying, will, once elected, reveal that their idea of what "supporting" a charter means is saying good things then doing nothing.

The rare possibility that any of them would actually do anything at all for cycling have a pretty shit aim - to get cycle journeys up to 5%? That's a rubbish aim, and signifies not giving a damn.

Quote:

Aim to have 5% of all trips in the West Midlands made by cycle by 2023.

Only in the UK do we have such appallingly meagre aims.

…and a fine example of how much mayoral pre-election promises matter when we look at the progress made by Sadik Khan in his first year as London mayor…more a state of regress (well you can’t be seen to be agreeing with policies created by the last administration can you…no no no…it doesn’t matter how advanced they were by the end of it).

A year of treading water...sorry "preparing over a transitionary period", sorting out the NIMBY groups by getting the stuff built that has already been consulted on and won overwhelmingly....errr perhaps that should be "avoid confrontation and listen to stakeolders".

Well what about CS11? - surely there's nothing more to be added there? The opposition's talking their usual sh*t about gridlock and mayhem being caused as far as Birmingham if NW3 car users aren't able to take their convenient short cut through the park...y'know ..."roads for all"! and..."no to pollution"...?

What needed to be done exactly..?  

Well..when the gates are locked each night....come the morning, you leave  some of them....locked! And even then only for a few hours!! Simple eh!! Consulted on...and... what’s that y'say Val Shawcross? You think it might be better to build a cycle lane through the park instead!? 

More planning. Drawings. Design. Consultation (!) More time eh! Can't rush these things.

Listen to the 'stakeholders'. 

Ah yes. The new mantra. End confrontation at any cost (unless it's the ongoing and escalating confrontation and conflict between motorist and vulnerable road user eh? 

Like the recent one between cyclist Mick Mason and car driver Gail Purcell (not a mile south of Regent's Park as it happens). We don't want to go getting into any confrontation that might possibly mean the poor motorist having to face the real crime that is enacted by the  car-users ongoing presence do we! 

"Engage with stakeholders". Stakeholders!! The sort that spend their lives campaigning for the continued deprivation of children to be able to cycle to school, free from the possibiliity, that a motor car user can snuff out their life - send them ‘flying through the air’ - and simply mutter the words “I didn’t see them”.

Yes. London mayor Sadiq Khan has failed to get cycling - unlike namesake Janette Sadik Khan. Whose inspirational work in gaining 400 miles of cycle lanes demonstrated exactly what was needed in NY. And it was’t by having a nice tea party with the NIMBYs and the relatives of those KSIs caused by motorists.

In the age of cholera, people didn’t p*ss around with f***ing consultations that asked groups of 'stakeholders' if they 'wouldn’t mind awfully, if we just put in some pipes to channel the fresh water separately from the waste’? ‘so awfully good of you to complete the form if you wouldn’t so awfully mind…thanks so very much...’.

The Dutch don’t do consultations. They put in the kind of measures that civilised people provide to ensure their nation has a civilised means for people to get around. Not by giving free reign to those operating grossly oversized, carcinogenic machines to infest and foul up the place.

They get on with it. And continue to do so. 

Janette Sadik Khan has said: "put trials in at first and quick - people than can experience the very real benefits for themselves" (400 miles of cycle lanes)

Andrew Gilligan warned (mayor) Sadiq - ''time is you enemy".

Time passed. The opposition mobilised. Sqawked and stomped their feet.

The mayor passed up the chance to hire one of many progressive voices from 10 or 20 yers of cycle campaigning, or an enlightened local authority  office.

We got.....the man from Nike. 

When voting for a new mayor. Be sure the candidates do more than say  …”yeah…cycling’s good yeah”. Be sure they are not going to have to be dragged kicking and screaming for the next four years (or three if they’ve frittered away the first), advancing to the same place on the page as the last administration ended up on.

In London, we had the unfortunate, but realistic prospect of Sadik or Zac. There were not such obvious discernible differences between the two of them before the election. That required some hasty election promises by one. 

But the lack of difference between them is, now becoming increasingly all too obvious. 

Yes - they're just a bunch of flapping heads at the moment, saying whatever they think it takes. It's telling, for me, that the most likely party to follow through on any commitment to cycling, is the one whose candidate seemed to inject any realism into their quotes.

It's just unfettered optimism (ie. BS) from the others.

All this means is that they've realised that there are votes in telling people that you support cycling. Doesn't mean they won't immediately change their minds once elected...