Improving cycling safety is an important priority for Theresa Villiers, the Conservative candidate for Chipping Barnet. She has written the following article setting out Conservative ideas on how to promote cycling and make it safer.
I have been actively campaigning for measures make our roads safer for cyclists.
I am a cyclist myself and I believe that benefits of cycling are significant: better health, less pollution, and less congestion. I want to see cycling become the natural choice for many more shorter journeys than it is at present. The Conservatives aim to double cycling by 2025. We want to make the UK a cycling nation in the same way Denmark and the Netherlands are. But that requires investment which is something we can only afford if we keep a strong economy. One of the reasons why we have been working through our long-term economic plan, is to repair the economy and the public finances to enable us to invest in important priorities such as cycling.
Investment in cycling has increased significantly under the current Conservative-led Government. When we came to office in 2010, spending on cycling was £2 per person, it is now around £6 per person. We would like to see that rise to £10 per person by 2020/21 and that goal is included in the Government’s cycling delivery plan.
£438 million was spent on cycling between 2010/11 to 2014/15, compared to £105 million from 2005/06 to 2009/10. This includes £63 million for Cycling England, £94 million for the Cycling Cities and National Parks fund and £35 million for the cycle safety fund. The total amount spent on cycling is likely to be higher because not all programmes by the Mayor of London and other local authorities are covered by these figures.
Our cycling delivery plan includes action to improve local leadership, funding, infrastructure, planning and safety so that we can take effective action to mitigate the concerns and problems that stop more people from cycling.
Increasing access to Bikeability cycle training (previously known as the Cycling Proficiency Scheme) is important. This year more children will enjoy Bikeability training than ever before. Almost three-quarters of a million more will receive training over the next two years. We have cut red-tape to give local authorities more flexibility to make signs and road markings safer for cyclists. We are providing £15 million for cycling facilities at train stations so that more people can park at stations securely.
The Conservative Mayor of London places a high priority on cycling. Cycling has more than trebled in London in the last decade. By 2020 TfL expect there to be a million cycling journeys every day in London. The Mayor's Vision for Cycling sets out plans for a £913m investment in cycling by 2021. The London Cycle Hire scheme now covers 100 km2 with over 10,000 bikes and over 32m journeys since 2010. Boris is also providing boroughs with funding to introduce 20mph limits in residential streets where these have local support. I have called for 20 mph limits in Pollard Road and Victoria Road in Barnet.
The Mayor has recently introduced a scheme requiring HGVs in the capital to install mandatory safety equipment to reduce the risks they pose for cyclists. I called for these changes to be made. I want to see further safety measures introduced.
Tipper trucks used by the construction industry are involved in a disproportionately high level of cycling fatalities. Outside London, these trucks are exempt from the requirement to have side bars. I believe this exemption should be removed because side bars can improve safety for cyclists by preventing them from being dragged under rear wheels. I will also continue to press for rigorous enforcement of the rules on HGV safety to be a given priority by the relevant authorities.
If I am re-elected as MP for Chipping Barnet, I will continue to push for measures to make our roads safer for all users, including cyclists.