£94m. New money or plugging a hole?

By in BikeShed

cycle-holidayI spent last week basking in the sun in Mallorca. To our taxi driver’s amazement (we had to tell him several times), seven ‘lads’ from England weren’t going to Magaluf – I had thought the bikes we were travelling with would give us away…

Anyway, whilst cycling in Mallorca I noted that many of the newest roads had been built with dedicated cycle paths on either side. The roads appeared to have been built 12ft wider, to accommodate a cycle lane in either direction. Furthermore, new junctions (particularly roundabouts) looked as if they had been designed with both cyclists and motorists in mind. I.e. it looked as if the authorities had planned transport infrastructure with cars and cyclists in mind.

Back in England this week, the government has launched £94m of investment in British cycling infrastructure. Obviously, extra infrastructure (spent well) is good.

Politics demands big gestures, otherwise voters (well, newspapers) might miss what was happening. But my fear is that this move represents more shine than substance. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I haven’t heard enough about a more long term vision: a (significant) annual national cycling budget or the requirement to build dedicated cycle routes when roads undergo major repairs, for example. So for now, I remain sceptical.

It appears that the shadow transport secretary does too. Whilst her scepticism is somewhat predictable, she raises some good points: last few paragraphs http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23657010.

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