Calls for cash to be carved off road-building to boost bikes
By Rob Edwards, Environment Editor

Scottish ministers are coming under increased pressure to slice £20 million off the budget for new roads and to spend it on boosting biking instead.

Cycling campaigners have won the support of opposition parties in a bid to persuade the Scottish government to double public spending on cycling projects next year. As a result, MSPs are expecting ministers to alter their budget proposals.

Spokes, the cycling campaign group, has submitted a formal proposal to increase the annual level of spending on bikes from 1% to 2% of the transport budget. This could easily be done, it argued, by making a small cut in the massive road-building budget.

Ministers are planning to spend £1064m on trunk roads and motorways in 2009-10, an increase of £134m on 2008-09. Spokes is suggesting shifting just £20m of this into cycling.

Dave du Feu, of Spokes, accused ministers of talking up the value of cycling at the same time as planning to freeze spending on it.

Although some worthy initiatives had been taken, he argued, there was nowhere near enough investment in real improvements.

"You can train any number of children or adults to cycle, which is an excellent idea, and you can show them endless Chris Hoy films, which is great fun," he said. "But, until the roads feel welcoming and safe, most will shun the bike for everyday journeys."

He pointed out that Scotland was falling far behind other European countries in its provision for cyclists. Bikes are used for just 1% of journeys in Scotland, compared to 10% in Germany, 18% in Denmark and 27% in the Netherlands.

What Spokes was asking for was very modest, argued du Feu. "Even if accepted, the total investment in cycle infrastructure would rise to under 2% of total transport spending and would be well under one third of next year's planned increase in spending on trunk roads."

He added: "Cycle investment ticks every government box on health, energy security, climate change, and inequalities - encouraging local and active travel, local purchasing and local communities. In contrast, trunk road growth leads to longer journeys, more traffic, dispersed communities, and greater oil dependence."

The kind of cycling projects that could be funded were resurfacing urban towpaths along canals, creating safe routes to railway stations and upgrading cycle routes between Edinburgh and the Forth Bridge.

Investment was also needed to enable trains between Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness to carry more bikes.

On Tuesday, finance minister John Swinney is due to appear before the Scottish Parliament's Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee. According to the committee's convener, the Green MSP Patrick Harvie, he is likely to end up agreeing to increase spending on cycling.

"Ministers need to shift resources from the roads budget towards cycling and other active transport, if the government is to be taken seriously on climate change," Harvie told the Sunday Herald. "My colleagues and I will be putting this to John Swinney this week, and I would expect that we will see proposals to amend the budget as a result."

Boosting the cycling budget was also backed by other leading members of the committee. "I am very supportive of the broad thrust of Spokes's submission," said Labour's transport spokesman, Des McNulty MSP.

"I want to see much increased support for dedicated cycling paths, safer streets initiatives and other measures which give people the confidence and sense of security needed to go by bike instead of by car."

Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Alison McInnes MSP added: "Cycling needs to have much higher priority if Scotland is serious about improving national public health levels and tackling obesity."

The Scottish government pointed out that it was investing £33m in sustainable and active travel over the next three years, including cycling. "Officials met with representatives of Spokes to discuss the full details of their funding proposals," said a government spokesman.

"The proposals are being considered and no decision has been taken."