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Cycling UK accuse Fair Fuel UK of running ‘how much do you hate cycling’ survey | road.cc


Fair Fuel UK, the pro-motoring lobby group that consistently opposes measures by central and local governments to curb car use and promote active travel, has been accused by Cycling UK of “rigging” its Annual Road User Opinion Survey, the 2020 edition of which was launched yesterday.

Among the criticisms levelled by the national cyclists’ charity are that the survey is designed around “leading questions” – ie ones that aim to provoke a certain desired response.
A number of those are related to cycle lanes and low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), initiatives that Fair Fuel UK has consistently opposed.
Just last month, the group was co-signatory to a letter from the All Party Parliamentary Group Fair Fuel for UK Motorists and Hauliers which called on Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to withdraw support for emergency cycle lanes and LTNs.

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Cycling UK prepares for legal challenges to bike lanes’ “unreasonable” removal | Cycling UK

By Sam Jones Friday, 11 December 2020
Cycling UK today (Friday,11 December) has announced that through its Cyclists’ Defence Fund it is seeking urgent legal advice about whether councils’ decisions to remove schemes designed to promote walking and cycling are “unreasonable”.  This drastic action follows in the wake of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s removal of a well-used cycle lane on High Street Kensington in London last week citing the lanes caused congestion. According to BetterStreets4KC chair Justin Abbott “Levels of congestion were unaffected by the cycle scheme.” There are now no separated cycle lanes and there has been no discernible benefit in terms of congestion reduction. 

Cycling UK is also alarmed by West Sussex Council’s plans to remove a popular cycle lane introduced during lockdown along Upper Shoreham Road in Shoreham.   

This cycle lane recently featured in a short film produced by the Department for Transport, showing the benefits cycle lanes can bring to local communities. Cycling UK has written to the council requesting a pause in these plans, and a clarification of the process which led to this decision. 
The national charity is concerned this pattern of behaviour of removing cycle lanes and traffic calming measures, is not just increasing but is being done without adequate evaluation of their benefits, and without sufficient time to conduct effective trials.  

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Fend For Yourselves – The Ranty Highwayman


The infrastructure versus culture debate continues to fascinate me. I remain convinced it is the infrastructure which creates the culture, but at the same time, there’s the tricky problem of the culture which drives the infrastructure.

It’s classic chicken and egg because we get who we design for, but where we are used to designing for one group, we continue the cycle. This week, we’ve seen the debacle over the removal of a pretty basic, but incredibly effective cycling scheme on Kensington High Street, not for any data-led reasons, but because of lots of noise and selected attention by local politicians. 

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New UK Sustainable Transport Alliance formed for green and fair transport – Cycle Industry News


Liberty Sheldon10 December, 2020

Nine walking, cycling, public transport and shared mobility groups have come together to call for rapid action to cut greenhouse gas emissions with less than one year to go until COP26 in Glasgow.
The group known as the Sustainable Transport Alliance is a new UK-wide alliance for green and fair transport to tackle the climate emergency and ensure inclusive transport for all.
Ahead of COP26 in Glasgow, the alliance said rapidly reducing private car use is ‘crucial to safeguarding our climate and tackling air pollution’.

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Cycling associations react to EU Commission’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy – Cycle Industry News


Liberty Sheldon10 December, 2020

International cycling associations have reacted to the EU Commission’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy. The strategy is part of the European Green Deal, which aims to achieve a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from transport, in order for the EU to become a climate-neutral economy by 2050.
The Commission’s commitment to improve the current European framework for urban mobility, will include policies and financial support that reflect the importance of urban mobility, including safe infrastructure for cycling and walking, and innovative MaaS concepts including shared bike services.

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Lime teams up with Citymapper to encourage sustainable transport | BikeBiz

Lime has partnered with Citymapper, allowing users to locate Lime e-bikes and scooters in 21 cities around the world.It will create a streamlined user experience to encourage more people out of their cars as they get moving again following recent lockdown measures. Users will quickly be able to find Lime e-bikes and scooters on Citymapper’s app, to help them get where they need to go in a safe, socially distant and sustainable way.

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PM Boris Johnson ‘ballistic’ over scrapping of Kensington High Street cycle lane | road.cc


Meanwhile it turns out Daily Mail owner previously “welcomed” councils installing more cycleways

Boris Johnson is reported to have gone “ballistic” at the removal this week of emergency cycle lanes on Kensington High Street. Meanwhile it has emerged that two years ago the owners of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, both firmly opposed to the infrastructure, which passes by their offices, “welcomed” steps by local authorities to introduce more cycleways to promote active travel.
The Mail on Sunday reports today that Andrew Gilligan, the Prime Minister’s transport adviser, told the Conservative-controlled Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) not to remove the lanes, which had been put in place on either side of Kensington High Street in September – and even told the council that Johnson would ride his bike along them for a photo opportunity.

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Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party to target pro-cycling councils in next year’s local elections | road.cc


Cycleways and low traffic neighbourhoods to become battleground for votes next May, with Tory candidate for London Mayor also pledging to halt active travel initiatives

Nigel Farage says that his Reform UK party will target councils that promote cycling and walking in next year’s local elections in England as the issue of emergency active travel infrastructure, promoted by the government, becomes increasingly politicised – with Shaun Bailey, the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London, also making his opposition to such schemes a key policy as he seeks to oust Labour’s Sadiq Khan.

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Oxfordshire cycling role scrapped after resignation – BBC News


BBC News14 hours ago

An official council role campaigning for cyclists Oxfordshire will be abolished after the position’s previous holder resigned from her post.
Suzanne Bartington said it was “impossible to enact positive change” in the county without a “portfolio or budget” when she quit her role as cycling champion in October.
The post will be replaced by a cross-party advisory group of councillors.
Councillor Arash Fatemian said a “diversity of approach” was needed.
In his motion proposing the change, Mr Fatemian said different areas of Oxfordshire needed different kinds of cycling infrastructure, and a one-size fits all approach was not working, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported.
He said: “What works in cycling and walking for Banbury and its hilly surrounds will not necessarily suit the comparatively flatter and better-established commuter routes between Oxford, Abingdon and the Culham science park.”
The city of Oxford is known for being a popular cycling city, along with other areas of the county.

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