Prime Minister Boris Johnson says councils should “crack on” with building cycle lanes and low-traffic neighbourhoods, and that the majority of local residents support such initiatives in areas where they have been put in place.
In May, Mr Johnson promised “a new golden age for cycling” and transport secretary Grant Shapps subsequently announced £225 million in emergency active travel funding for local authorities in England to make it easier and safer for people to get around on foot or bike during the pandemic.
> Prime Minister heralds “new Golden Age for cycling”
Some schemes have been removed by councils following small but vocal opposition, however the Prime Minister – who was said to have gone “ballistic” when the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea removed pop-up cycle lanes on either side of Kensington High Street in early December – says that research carried out on behalf of the government demonstrates widespread support, reports The Times.
> PM Boris Johnson ‘ballistic’ over scrapping of Kensington High Street cycle lane
Polling carried out by the Department for Transport among residents of areas in Birmingham, Bournemouth, Ipswich and Salford where LTNs have been introduced as well as on nearby roads, twice as many people favoured such schemes as those who opposed them.
The highest level of support was found in Salford at 65 per cent and the lowest in Bournemouth with 56 per cent, according to the research, which was conducted by Kantar Media.
Johnson, who on leaving office as Mayor of London in 2016 said that overcoming opposition to the Cycle Superhighways programme was his biggest achievement at City Hall, added: “There is always opposition to these schemes but as the polls show and as I found in London the majority support them and we should crack on.”
His call to action comes as his successor as Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and Transport for London prepare to appeal a recent judicial review decision which found that emergency active travel measures undertaken in the capital were unlawful, largely because they failed to take the taxi industry into account.
> Blow for active travel in London as High Court judge rules Sadiq Khan’s Streetspace initiative unlawful
Yesterday’s edition of The Times also carried an opinion piece by British Cycling policy advisor and Greater Manchester cycling and walking commissioner Chris Boardman in which he reinforced the case for LTNs.
The Olympic and world champion cyclist turned active travel campaigner pointed out that LTNs “have been around for decades,” and highlighted that initiatives aimed at reducing motor traffic are backed by eight in ten people, according to the government’s own research.
“Despite the huge support it is often the negative minority – arguing that these changes benefit affluent areas, that they are making congestion worse or they will stop emergency services from accessing houses – that makes the headlines. In the vast majority of cases.”
Boardman cited research from the London Borough of Waltham Forest – one of the capital’s ‘Mini Holland’ areas – which found that less than 2 per cent of residents “would rip out the filters that make it possible for older people to cross the street safely or for kids to sit on the kerb and chat with friends.”
He added: “It is true that our main roads are often too full of cars but arguing that the space outside our homes must be allowed to soak up that glut will not solve our health, climate, local pollution or congestion problems. It certainly does not make for happy places to live. Worries about putting traffic back on main roads show exactly why low traffic neighbourhoods are vital if we are to entice people out of their cars.”
I can smell beef and it's a toasted beef.
Cav - you need one more stage win, and you'll still have it in you in 2023 2024 or 2025. Keep the faith brother.
That Roasting was on the bogus advantage of ceramic bearings over metal bearings, which is only apparent at thousands of rpm, not the actual...
I'd like to see riders have their own helmet designs, like we see in motorsport, as well as a personal squad number.....
I fancy Thomas may stumble upon quite a few fantasy pts just by virtue of how he rides now. He's always at the head of the peloton over those final...
Magistrates? A quick dip into "the secret barrister" (plus notes from an acquaintance) suggests the truth is somewhere between "tireless and canny...
Some false equivalences here. A mile stretch of road you can do at 20mph takes three minutes. Slowed to an average around 10mph at best on a...
Apt since he's describing Llareggub being done by lidl.
Last time I went past there it was the Branch pub and the Unit 4 cinema was still there but what is clear from early observation is that the rider...
They could have focused on the £17.8 million boost to the economy instead.