In April there were campaigning bike rides in
London and Edinburgh in an attempt to call on the English and Scottish
Parliaments to take action on cycle safety. Wales, however, seems likely to
become the first Country in the world to make it compulsory for local authorities to provide safe and
integrated routes for walking and cycling.
In May the Welsh Assembly took their first
active step towards this in The Active Travel (Wales) Bill.
The White Paper sets out a number of plans such as making Local
Authorities in Wales identify and map the network of routes within their areas
that are safe and appropriate for walking and cycling and identify the changes
that would be required to create a fully integrated network for walking and
cycling.
The Bill will not become an actual law in
Wales until the end of 2013 however an £11 million annual fund already exists
in Wales to help with the planned changes.
The
Ramblers charity who represent walkers have said that they will probably oppose
most attempts to convert footpaths so that cyclists can use them.
I
understand that the charity are trying to look after what they think are the
best interests of walkers but I couldn’t disagree more with their opposition to
this Bill. They have projects aimed at making people with low levels of
physical activity start exercising and surely this Bill goes hand in hand with
what they are aiming for? It shouldn’t matter whether people get fit on foot or
on a bike because the outcome will be the same. I would imagine there are some areas where it would be unsafe to expect
cyclists and walkers to share facilities and campaigning groups can help to
inform the decision makers about these issues. But I wholeheartedly support any
extension to the current facilities in Wales for cyclists and for walkers.
There
are many benefits to this proposed legislation. Local Government Minister Carl
Sargeant thinks that the policy will
improve public health, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, help address poverty
and reduce congestion and I can only agree and hope that the English and
Scottish Parliaments follow the lead of the brilliant steps being taken in Wales.
If you or a
member of your family has been involved in a cycling accident or any other type of accident which has resulted
in you sustaining injury and would like a free and confidential discussion with
one of our specialised Solicitors, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0800 389 1978 or visit our
website at www.forsterdean.co.uk. You can also
follow us on Twitter (@ForsterDeanLtd) and find Forster Dean
Solicitors on Facebook
Office Manager and Personal
Injury Solicitor
Published 7th June 2012
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