The Liberal Democrats have become the first of the main political parties to adopt the recommendations from Get Britain Cycling report as Party policy at its annual conference over the weekend.
Dr Julian Huppert, MP for Cambridge, put forward the motion which was discussed Sunday 15 September.
The motion acknowledged the support from the coalition, the investment of £107 million in the last year towards cycling, The Times’ Cities Fit for Cycling campaign and the Government’s policy to promote 20mph speed limits on residential roads. The continuation of the Cycle to Work scheme and the positive legacy of the Olympics which has seen more people taking up cycling for pleasure and exercise will also be taken into account.
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"It would be great if the other parties joined us, so that we can get sustained cross-party support for cycling.” |
| Julian Huppert, Liberal Democrat MP and co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group |
Huppert said: “I want to make sure that the recommendations we made in the Get Britain Cycling report are implemented, and I am delighted that we are the first party to debate these recommendations, and hopefully adopt them as our party policy, now and for the next elections. It would be great if the other parties joined us, so that we can get sustained cross-party support for cycling.”
The policy motion proposes that the Liberal Democrats would commit to increasing the number of bike journeys to 10% by 2025, rising to 25% by 2050. There will also be a call for better infrastructure, creating a cycling budget of at least £10 per person, promotion of cycling through Bikeability cycle training courses, a commitment to improving cycling safety on roads and justice for victims of accidents on the roads.
“If we are to make cycling safer and encourage more people to cycle we have to have infrastructure, transport policies and laws that support that aim. We need our planning authorities to think cyclist and plan for them in the design of all highways and traffic schemes and we need the cycle network to be integrated with rail and bus travel. I also want to see a review of existing road traffic laws and their enforcement to ensure that dangerous and careless driving is treated with the seriousness it merits.”
