If you haven’t written to your MSP yet – please do it now!

The following motion is to be debated at 9:20 am on the 29th March, lodged by Alison Johnstone of the Scottish Green Party:

Cycle Safety

That the Parliament notes with sadness that, since 2000, 16 cyclists have died and many others injured in accidents in Lothian; understands that almost all of these accidents involved a motorised vehicle; believes that cycling is generally a safe activity and that the best way to improve safety is to get more people on their bikes to form a “critical mass” on the roads; considers that, in order to make them safer for cyclists and pedestrians, there is need for a radical rethink of how streets are designed; believes that training for all key road users must be improved and funding for cycle proficiency training for school pupils must be increased, and considers that, to see what changes can be made to make Scotland a leader in cycle safety and to help minimise the chances of another tragedy on the country’s roads, a cycle safety summit with key partners is urgently required.

Supported by: Malcolm Chisholm, John Lamont, Patrick Harvie, Jean Urquhart, Richard Lyle, Jamie Hepburn, Mike MacKenzie, Drew Smith, Jim Eadie

(from the Parliament website)

We’re particularly pleased to see that the motions recognise the need for ‘a radical rethink of how streets are designed’

Please write to your MSP, and let them know that you want more than warm words and ‘support for cycling’ – you want to see proper funding (5% of the transport budget), a real redesign of our roads, safer speeds, integrated cycling plans, improved laws and enforcement, reduced risk from HGVs, training for all road users and real research into what makes cycling available for everyone. In short: our manifesto.

Cycle Safety to be Debated in Parliament – 29th March