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Ahead of tomorrow’s (Thursday Feb 23rd) Parliamentary debate on cycle safety, Sustrans has published the results of a survey revealing the level of trepidation of potential cyclists over riding on urban roads.
More than half (56 per cent) of the respondents said they fear urban roads are unsafe to cycle on and 70 per cent wanted residential speed limits to be dropped to 20 miles per hour to make them safer.
The survey also said that sixty five per cent of those that don’t cycle regularly would be more likely to cycle on the roads if they were made safer through changes like lower speed limits, more marked cycle lanes and more care taken by drivers and other cyclists.
Cyclist safety has been thrust into the headlines by The Times newspaper (search for #cyclesafe on Twitter). As mentioned above, a Parliamentary debate on cycling safety is taking place tomorrow.
“People shouldn’t have to feel they’re taking a risk when they travel on two wheels in our towns and cities," said Sustrans chief executive Malcolm Shepherd. "This is yet another wake-up call for politicians who must act now to save lives and take the fear out of everyday journeys.
“People want to cycle more for every day journeys and they want a twenty miles per hour speed limit in their neighbourhood. Ministers must invest in making our streets safer for cyclists, pedestrians and drivers.”
The Times has a link enabling voters to encourage their MPs to take part in tomorrow’s debate. That link is here.
