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Eric Pickles: Cambridge motorists (and shops) suffer due to council's focus on cycling "elite"

Council says Communities Secretary wrong and its policies are supported by retailers; evidence from elsewhere suggests cycling positive for shops

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles says that parking charges in Cambridge are too high and disadvantage motorists, and has suggested that prioritising cyclists over motorists favours an “elite” rather than ordinary people who want to use cars to visit shops.

Mr Pickles' comments come towards the end of a week in which he urged local authorities to do away with “Draconian” parking charges and infrastructure such as speed humps to make it easier for people to drive to high street shops.

But Cambridge City Council says that local retailers support its transport policies, which are focused on improving cycling infrastructure as well as buses to make it easier for people to get around.

The city has the highest proportion of cyclists in the UK – half the people who live there cycle at least once a week, and one in five commuter trips are made by bicycle.

Commenting on new planning guidance issued earlier this week, which is not obligatory for local authorities to follow, Mr Pickles warned that “anti-car dogma” meant that shoppers were increasingly deserting town centres for out-of-town superstores, or were shopping online.

He told Cambridge News that the East Anglian city was one of those to which his comments applied, and that while councils were free to set their own parking charges, he believed those set by the council – up to £26 for a day in a multi-storey car park was cited by the website – was too high.

“I accept there is a historic part of Cambridge that makes it not particularly friendly to cars and that’s the nature of having a very ancient city but, if we don’t put our plans together on how people live and how some of the elite think we should live, we are just asking for trouble,” he said.

“While this is not the sole cause of the high street’s problems, it is certainly a contributory factor.”

He conceded that it was impossible to destroy historic buildings to provide space for motor vehicles – little prospect of King’s College Chapel making way for a multi-storey car park, then – but maintained that cyclists should not be put first in the way that motorists have been in the past.

“What I’m seeking is not to replace one binding ideology with another, I’m asking for basic common sense and pragmatism,” he said.

Mr Pickles flagged up research from the Association of Town and City Management that claims to have found a strong correlation between the availability of parking spaces and footfall in town centres.

The body says that in viewing parking charges and fines as a means of raising revenue, they have lost sight of what the prime focus of parking management should be.

However, studies from elsewhere strongly suggest that policies that favour cycling do have a beneficial effect on the local economy.

Research commissioned by the City of Copenhagen presented at the Velo City Conference in Vienna in June found that while cyclists may spend less per visit than drivers when they go to local shops, over the course of a year, they spend more in aggregate.

Moreover, bicycles, not cars, are the most frequent mode of transport used to access local shops – but the lack of adequate cycle parking provision was a barrier to getting more people to use their bikes to go shopping.

Meanwhile, a recent article on the Seattle Transit Blog showed the startling impact of the custom of cyclists on the takings of retailers on one road where bike lanes had been installed and parking spaces removed, with revenues up as much as fourfold during the subsequent six months.

Responding to Mr Pickles’ comments, Councillor Tim Ward, Cambridge City Council’s executive councillor for sustainable transport, told Cambridge News that the secretary for state’s views were incorrect and that the council was doing the right thing in investing in cycle parking and other infrastructure.

He also pointed out that the issue of car parking in Cambridge were not typical, due to tourism and commuting; lying an hour by train from London, many residents commute to London for work, and the city is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the UK.

“If Mr Pickles is interested in the wellbeing of retailers, he should listen to them,” said Councillor Ward.

“Retailers want people coming in spending two to three hours shopping, they don’t want the car parks silting up with commuters and tourists and them not being available to shoppers, which would happen if we took the prices down.

“We are busy providing a lot more parking spaces in the city centre in the next few months, for something like 800 bicycles, and figures show it doesn’t take many cyclists to equal one car driver in terms of retail spend,” he added.

Cambridge was also visited this week by minister for cycling Norman Baker, who was there to see first-hand the city’s cycling infrastructure on the day he unveiled the government’s response to the Get Britain Cycling report. The response has met with a lukewarm reception from cyclists.

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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49 comments

Avatar
farrell replied to Simmo72 | 10 years ago
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Simmo72 wrote:

Of course when on the bike I enjoy flying past everyone crawling along.

Yep, one of lifes little pleasures is hearing the underbelly of a BMW that has been driven by some plum who thinks that he doesn't have to slow down as he's in a rush having its guts ripped out on a speedbump.

Mind you, my arse twitched like a rabbits nose a few weeks back when a car went into a speed bump with such speed that his tyre loudly exploded behind me.

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sidesaddle replied to cat1commuter | 10 years ago
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cat1commuter wrote:
sidesaddle wrote:

OK whiners. You have all got cars. Would you take the Cervelo to Tesco? The moral high ground here is perhaps a little crumbly?

I live in Cambridge and do all my shopping by bike. The nearest Tesco is just across the river, over a nice new cycle bridge. I use a large courier bag, and have a flat bar singlespeed town bike. I use my car to shop at supermarkets about half a dozen times a year.

I have no car, and my town centre is 5 miles away. Shopping is accomplished via a front basket, a rack, panniers, bags and a trailer. And I still think car access to towns should be better. Almost everywhere on the continent ped. zones are rare, cars are parked virtually everywhere but the place is vibrant, even in France where the lunch-hour just never knows when to stop.

Also I think more thought should be given to that 'elite' label. In this world of zero-hour contracts and belt-tightening a site which reviews wheels upwards of £1500 a pair might justifiably be given that tag.

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PJ McNally | 10 years ago
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Is Pickles anything to do with the DfT? Or is he a jumped up back-bencher in some meaningless role who's eaten too many pies?

If he is the latter, then surely those in the DfT who actually know a thing or two about evidence based transport policy should censure him?

Or does the DfT and central government just not give a sh1t about cycling and active travel, instead "leaving it to the discretion of local authorities"?

Every time he goes after councils for being anti-car, he makes it all the harder for them to do the right thing.

The crunch comes when councils have to consider reallocating space from cars to bikes. E.g. taking away on street car parking and replacing it with proper bike infrastructure. Pickles and those like him make this impossible.

May he choke on a pie. Or, even better, see the light and take up cycling.

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zanf replied to mr-andrew | 10 years ago
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mr-andrew wrote:

Can't we launch him at Syria and kill 2 birds with one stone?

I think you'll kill much more than 2 birds.

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WolfieSmith | 10 years ago
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Last time I was in cambridge I used the park and ride. It was heaving with cars and bikes in the town centre. No wonder it seems to generate the most car versus bike stories outside London. If only every other city was similar.

In Liverpool there are so few that venture onto the dangerous commuter routes it's easy for the council to suggest that cycling isn't a priority in the city.

If you cycle to work in Liverpool you have my admiration. Tell your local MP you don't want the mayor 'Big Joe' Anderson's Boris bike scheme - but some decent routes and a central cycle hub.

Big Joe is twinned with Pickles in this week's Private Eye. Oh how apt is that... Apparently bets are on at the Echo that come the photo opportunity to launch the stupid Boris Bike scheme Big Joe might actually break the bike...  36

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Chuck replied to sidesaddle | 10 years ago
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sidesaddle wrote:

Also I think more thought should be given to that 'elite' label. In this world of zero-hour contracts and belt-tightening a site which reviews wheels upwards of £1500 a pair might justifiably be given that tag.

We shouldn't forget though that this site isn't representative of all cyclists, not by a very long way. The 'elite' Pickles is talking about are much more likely to be knocking about on Raleigh Pioneers than they are to be buying £1500 carbon wheels.

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paulfg42 | 10 years ago
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Not everyone will want to ride a bike but, instead of focusing on cars, why doesn't Pickles look to make public transport cheaper and more accessible?

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Ghostie | 10 years ago
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I thought that's why Cambridge introduced a park and ride scheme at Trumpington to make it more accessible. It also has a train station, a guided busway, small shuttle buses and taxis that can take pedestrians into the city centre (and it's only a 20-25 minute walk from Station Rd up to the Grand Arcade in the centre of the city or slightly longer, probably about 40 mins, to the Grafton Centre). No need for using a car, other than food shopping - all the major supermarkets are located out of the city centre anyway. Cycling doesn't even enter into the debate as they are fitting into an existing structure/system (public transport and a pedestrianised city).

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daddyELVIS | 10 years ago
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Pickles - you are a fat c**t and a member of THE elite-serving party. BTW, the elite tend to drive Ranger Rovers, not ride bikes!

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daddyELVIS replied to paulfg42 | 10 years ago
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paulfg42 wrote:

Not everyone will want to ride a bike but, instead of focusing on cars, why doesn't Pickles look to make public transport cheaper and more accessible?

Because making public transport expensive, whilst ironically making riding on a bus (except in London) seen as a pastime for only the poor and wierdos, serves the agenda of big business, oil & finance (the politician's pay-masters) - i.e. promotes the buying & running of more & more cars. Maybe the advance of cycling is the new threat!

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sidesaddle replied to Chuck | 10 years ago
0 likes
Chuck wrote:
sidesaddle wrote:

Also I think more thought should be given to that 'elite' label. In this world of zero-hour contracts and belt-tightening a site which reviews wheels upwards of £1500 a pair might justifiably be given that tag.

We shouldn't forget though that this site isn't representative of all cyclists, not by a very long way. The 'elite' Pickles is talking about are much more likely to be knocking about on Raleigh Pioneers than they are to be buying £1500 carbon wheels.

Actually I think they are more likely to be swanning around on Pashleys and my point still applies.

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sean1 | 10 years ago
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Eric Pickles constant stream of idiot statements is a political move. The conservative party is extremely worried about UKIP grabbing voters at the next election so Pickles is drip-feeding nonsense ideas and directives aimed at holding onto the potential UKIP defectors....

Expect a lot more of this rubbish as the next election approaches.

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Leviathan replied to karlowen | 10 years ago
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karlowen wrote:

Who elects these idiots?

28,792 people in Brentwood and Ongar, Essex
and by proxy
10,703,654 people in Great Britain made him a minister.

You know what to do next time.

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LondonCalling replied to sidesaddle | 10 years ago
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sidesaddle wrote:

OK whiners. You have all got cars. Would you take the Cervelo to Tesco? The moral high ground here is perhaps a little crumbly?

I don't have one.

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sporran | 10 years ago
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Surprised he managed to stop going on about wheely bins for long enough to come out with this latest bit of sticking his nose in to other places' business.

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Ghedebrav replied to LondonCalling | 10 years ago
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LondonCalling wrote:
sidesaddle wrote:

OK whiners. You have all got cars. Would you take the Cervelo to Tesco? The moral high ground here is perhaps a little crumbly?

I don't have one.

Me neither. But I do do my Tesco shop on my bike (not round the aisles, mind). My wife and I share a small car, on which we pay no 'road tax' as it's exempt. She needs it to get to work and we ferry our baby boy around in it. Otherwise cycling is my main way of getting around (that and walking). I wouldn't regard our set-up as 'elite'.

Re. 'elite' - that might apply to this website at a push (which, to be fair, is a site dedicated to the sport & pasttime of road cycling) but not to the broad group of 'people who ride bikes sometimes' to whom Eric Pillocks refers.

Let's be honest, the guy is an old-fashioned hang-'em-flog-'em right-wing Thatcherite who sees in cyclists a group who he can easily demonize as effete liberal-lefty Guardian readers.

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Matt eaton | 10 years ago
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He might just have a point about speed bumps. I've recently started to use a child trailer and negotiating speed bumps is a real pain. You have to slow down to a near standstill to avoid giving the occupant a massive jolt.

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hairyairey | 10 years ago
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I can't fathom why the park and ride car parks aren't all full in Cambridge (it has five - although that might be more now) - maybe it's because people don't want to mix with strangers on the bus - weird really because there's loads of them in the shops.

Cambridge has a huge traffic problem and has been considering a congestion charge - despite the large number of bicycle usage. It does not need any more cars!

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farrell replied to sidesaddle | 10 years ago
0 likes
sidesaddle wrote:

OK whiners. You have all got cars. Would you take the Cervelo to Tesco? The moral high ground here is perhaps a little crumbly?

Of course not.

I'd take the GT with the pannier rack.

(Actually, this is a bit of a lie - I'd usually just walk)

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