Hey, you! Yes, you! – "Get Britain Cycling" e-petition.

done

Done and shared on facebook

done

done and shared.

Done

What are the report’s recommendations?

A Quick bit of Copy/paste/edit from the PDF:

1. Create a cycling budget of at least £10 per person per year, increasing to £20
2. Ensure local and national bodies, such as the Highways Agency, Department for Transport, and local government allocate funds to cycling of at least the local proportion of journeys done by bike.
3. Cycle spending that makes a tangible contribution to other government departments, such as Health, Education, Sport and Business, should be funded from those budgets, not just the DfT.
4. A statutory requirement that cyclists’ and pedestrians’ needs are considered at an early stage of all new development schemes, including housing and business developments as well as traffic and transport schemes, including funding through the planning system
5. Revise existing design guidance, to include more secure cycle parking, continental best practice for cycle-friendly planning and design, and an audit process to help planners, engineers and architects to think bike in all their work.
6. The Highways Agency should draw up a programme to remove the barriers to cycle journeys parallel to or across trunk roads and motorway corridors, starting with the places where the potential for increased cycle use is greatest.
7. Local authorities should seek to deliver cycle-friendly improvements across their existing roads, including small improvements, segregated routes, and road reallocation.
8. The Department for Transport should approve and update necessary new regulations, such as allowing separate traffic lights for cyclists and implementing Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004.
9. Extend 20 mph speed limits in towns, and consider 40mph limits on many rural lanes.
10. Improve HGV safety by vehicle design, driver training, and mutual awareness with cyclists; promote rail freight and limit use of HGVs on the busiest urban streets at the busiest times, and use public sector projects to drive fleet improvements.
11. Strengthen the enforcement of road traffic law, including speed limits, and ensuring that driving offences – especially those resulting in death or injury – are treated sufficiently seriously by police, prosecutors and judges.
12. Provide cycle training at all primary and secondary schools
13. Offer widespread affordable (or free) cycle training and other programmes to encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to give cycling a try, as evidenced by NICE.
14. Promote cycling as a safe and normal activity for people of all ages and backgrounds.
15. The Government should produce a cross-departmental Cycling Action Plan, with annual progress reports.
16. The Government should appoint a national Cycling Champion, an expert from outside the Department for Transport.
17. The government should set national targets to increase cycle use from less than 2% of journeys in 2011, to 10% of all journeys in 2025, and 25% by 2050
18. Central and local government and devolved authorities should each appoint a lead politician responsible for cycling.

Done

Signed

ditto & fb

Done.

Done
Addresses road cycling directly but should influence off-road access positively too. All good.

I’m only signing it if I can have a taxi follow me on my commute with my laptop/change of clothes/etc.

**Devil’s Advocate**

And who is going to pay for all this? Surely if cyclists want a programme of expenditure specifically for cycling infrastructure then some kind of tax should be introduced, similar in practice to road tax for cars.

And who is going to pay for all this? Surely if cyclists want a programme of expenditure specifically for cycling infrastructure then some kind of tax should be introduced, similar in practice to road tax for cars

I thought roads were taxed through council (and other) taxes, and that the taxes drivers pay for their cars were related to emissions (hence electric and other super fuel efficient cars not paying any tax)? That means that all cyclists are paying for the maintenance and development of the road network, whether we own a car or not (I don’t).

But then I might be totally wrong – I often am. 😀

Done and shared!

And who is going to pay for all this? Surely if cyclists want a programme of expenditure specifically for cycling infrastructure then some kind of tax should be introduced, similar in practice to road tax for cars.

Read this.[/url] There’s no such thing as ‘road tax’.

Done.

Read this. There’s no such thing as ‘road tax’.

I meant by way of paying an annual/or 6 monthly fee for a tax disc, not where the money goes.

The fact is the roads are already there and need maintaining. What is being proposed here is a whole new infrastructure, so where is the money for that going to come from?

I will gladly pay “Road Tax” Mikey as VED under the current guidelines based on emissions, when can i expect my rebate?

The reality is a cycling nation is of benefit to everyone, less cars on the roads means less spent on road maintenance and building. Healthier populace takes pressure off the NHS etc.

I pay enough damn petrol tax and car tax already. If I’m riding a bike it means I’m not driving a car for which I’ve already paid rent for going on the road.

And signed.

I’ve amended the thread title to something a bit more meaningful (to catch attention and avoid duplicate threads). Hope that’s ok, OP.

Signed, only 5k signatures at the moment need to build some momentum up on this.

Wonder if the taxi driver that tried to kill me this morning will sign it? 😐

What is being proposed here is a whole new infrastructure, so where is the money for that going to come from?

General taxation, same place it does currently.

Are you suggesting that it’s fair to expect everyone to pay for the motor vehicle infrastructure but make cyclists pay extra for theirs? If so I’d respectfully disagree.

I pay enough damn petrol tax and car tax already. If I’m riding a bike it means I’m not driving a car for which I’ve already paid rent for going on the road.

This. I have a car, so I pay road tax. Suspect most cyclists are the same.

Nice to see 5,625 signatories on the petition already, 1367 in the last hour… hope Armagideon can find the cash for this!

Do you think the roads will need more, or less, maintenance if we reduce the number of cars using them?

Done and shared

I have a car, so I pay road tax.

No, you don’t.

No, you don’t.

Don’t I? Isn’t that what the circular tax thingy is for?

that’s vehicle excise duty, which is calculated based on emissions. there’s no such thing as road tax. see link above…

Don’t I? Isn’t that what the circular tax thingy is for?

No[/url]

Something learned today then. 😉

Done.

Signed, shared on faceache and .. erm.. re-posted here. (Cheers Cougar)

And who is going to pay for all this? Surely if cyclists want a programme of expenditure specifically for cycling infrastructure then some kind of tax should be introduced, similar in practice to road tax for cars.

Erm “road tax” (or more properly CAR tax) isn’t a “a programme of expenditure specifically for car infrastructure”

We all pay for roads. The roads that cyclists use (i.e. not motorways) are mainly looked after by local authorities which we pay for through council tax.

Something learned today then.

Seems pedantic, but it’s worth knowing if you’re riding on the roads. Many motorists believe that they have more right to the road than cyclists as they “pay road tax” (neatly ignoring the fact that even if it were true, most cyclists will also own cars).

Road tax was abolished in 1937, road maintenance is paid for out of general taxation.

Signed and forwarded to my BUG at work. I’ll probably tweet it so that 3 others can see it 😉

Erm “road tax” (or more properly CAR tax) isn’t a “a programme of expenditure specifically for car infrastructure”

We all pay for roads. The roads that cyclists use (i.e. not motorways) are mainly looked after by local authorities which we pay for through council tax.

Read my follow-up post.

Having recently examined a little paper circle purchased from the Post Office whilst changing one, they are called Tax Discs- true fact!

Cheers,
Jamie

Read mine

Done and shared. Will twit it later too.

Done, Faceached and Twatted from every account to which I have access. 😀

ISTR when it was ‘road fund license’ or ‘tax disc’. Originally it was introduced to finance road building, pre-war I think. Then the Treasury got their hands on the money, and less and less went on roads. Taxpayers wouldn’t like this, the way it just vanished into the government’s black hole. So it became just another tax, which stopped people calling for it to be spent on roads again. Or something.