Department for Transport

People attending a public meeting in Buxton last week were told that a £2.5 million cycle trail project in the Peak District National Park would provide a boost to the local economy.

The project, which will provide cycle trail links from Buxton and Matlock stations which will connect to the existing High Peak, Monsal and Tissington rails, is being funded by the Department for Transport as part of plans by the Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA) to attract tourists while reducing the number of cars accessing local beauty spots.

The number of 20mph zones on Britain’s roads is set to increase after the government announced plans to make it easier for councils to implement lower speed limits in a move designed to reduce casualties among cyclists and pedestrians.

Bike riders tearing through red lights, wearing dark clothing or riding at night without lights are to blame for less than 7% of accidents that result in a cyclist being seriously injured, according to research commissioned by the Department for Transport.

The Driver Standards Agency is planning a new TV advertisement “specifically featuring a cyclist as someone who needs to refer to the Highway Code” it was announced yesterday in Parliament. A statement which was then contradicted by spokesman for the Driver Standards Agency who told road.cc today that the advertisement does not focus on cyclists that it is targeted at all road users under the slogan “The Highway Code-for life, not just for learners”.

Transport Minister Sadiq Khan has announced the recipients of the final tranche of the government’s £60 million cycling budget for the current year. England’s Cycling Demonstration Towns, the Peak District National Park, and Sustrans, the sustainable transport charity, are each set to get a share of the £10 million available. The cash will finance new routes, as well as other features such as parking facilities.

The Department of Justice has revealed that the number of cyclists who have been prosecuted at magistrates’ court for failing to stop at red traffic lights more than halved from 55 in 2006 to 22 in 2007. The figures have been eagerly seized upon by the Daily Mail as fuel for its ongoing campaign against so-called ‘lycra louts.’

Preliminary data released by the Department for Transport yesterday suggest that the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads is on the rise, growing by 19% to reach 820 in the quarter ended June 2009 against the comparable period in 2008.

Transport MInister, Lord Adonis today announced that £14 million would be spent to create 10 new cycling hubs at mainline stations and 10,000 extra cycle parking spaces across the country too… although those with good memories will remember that he made a similar announcement in June when he promised £5m to create 10 new bike hubs at mainline stations.

Cycle safety was discussed yesterday in Parliament where Transport Minister Geoff Hoon took questions on the subject during which Andrew Robathan, Conservative MP for Blaby priased the CTC's Safety in Numbers campaign and urged the Government to take on board its cenral premise: that more cyclists equalled safer cycling as a whole and asked what the Government was doing to to ensure the safety of cyclists?

Research released today by Sustrans shows that car use fell and cycling, walking and bus travel all increased in three English towns that took part in a Government funded programme to boost sustainable forms of transport.

Darlington, Peterborough and Worcester took part in the five year Sustainable Travel Demonstration Town scheme funded by the Department for Transport between 2004 and 2008