We have a rule here at Pedal on Parliament that whenever new money is announced for cycling and walking, we don’t celebrate it until we’re sure that it really *is* new money (we’ve been caught that way before…)

So we were a little slow to celebrate the announcement yesterday by the Minister for Transport of an extra £3.3 million to be spent on walking and cycling infrastructure. Fortunately the oracle has spoken and the news is good:

The new money brings overall investment to £39.2 million, matching last year’s sum, and means that Derek Mackay has kept his promise made at Pedal on Parliament to invest at least as much in this current year as last year – the high water mark so far for funding for active travel. Given that spending was set to fall before PoP started, we think it shows that our campaign is working, but we can’t rest on our laurels quite yet.

For of course – yes, there’s always a caveat – this still means that spending is just under 2% of the transport budget, nowhere near the 10% needed to achieve the government’s own target of 10% of journeys by bike by 2020.

However, we’re delighted to record that here is an example of a politician keeping his promises!

If you’d like to tell Derek Mackay and his party that 2% is not enough, then please join We Walk, We Cycle, We Vote in Aberdeen this Saturday at the SNP conference on their next #walkcyclevote conference ride. There may be a chance to talk to ministers in person about how much investment is needed to make Scotland a cycle friendly country.

A Promise Kept