9 May 2009
Much more commitment is required to boost cycling and walking
Letter as published:
Your editorial is absolutely spot-on in asking where are the Scottish Government's plans for a network of walking and cycling paths to help reduce our dependency on the motor vehicle ("Unsustainable policy - transport decisions damage the environment", The Herald, May 6). A massive encouragement of active travel must become an essential feature of future government's transport policy. As you emphasise, this requires the building of a new infrastructure of walking and cycling paths, not only as a key element of a low-carbon future, but also for our health and enjoyment.
When two-thirds of Scotland's car journeys are less than five miles long, it is obvious that, given the right infrastructure and encouragement, the car can be replaced by feet and bike for a huge number of journeys. We know that lots of people want to make the change but we need to make it easier to do so.
Other European countries made the shift in transport policy decades ago and commit substantial funding to walking and cycling routes and associated active travel facilities. The Scottish Government continues to follow the mediocre standards of its predecessors. The Transport Minister, Stewart Stevenson, commits a disappointing 1% to active travel, allowing the motor vehicle to reign supreme. This will change only when the public puts relentless pressure on our politicians to drag Scotland up to the standards in neighbouring European countries.
In future, each MSP and council candidate should support a minimum of 10% of Scottish and local authority transport budgets being spent on cycling and walking. All communities should have adequate path networks both within the communities and joining them to their neighbours, and 20mph should be the default speed limit in streets. Travelling by non-motorised means between communities should be recognised as a basic human right. A 10%-plus commitment should be in every political party's manifesto if sustainable transport is to go from a dream to a reality.
Dave Morris, director, Ramblers Scotland; John Lauder, national director for Scotland, Sustrans; Colin Howden, director, Transform Scotland; Keith Irving, manager, Living Streets Scotland; Kingfisher House, Auld Mart Business Park, Milnathort, Kinross.