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Introduction
This draft Cycling Action Plan for Scotland has been written after consultation with members of the public, Local Authorities through the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities ( COSLA), and key stakeholders from the cycling, active travel and environmental sectors. The purpose of the document is to ask the people of Scotland what they think about the actions we've proposed here and to contribute their ideas in relation to those actions.
Scotland's Vision for Cycling
- By 2020, we will have created communities where people of all ages and abilities can cycle safely and comfortably.
- Everyone will have access to information, materials and incentives to make day to day cycling a realistic choice.
- Our legal powers and investment will assist in achieving a target of 10% modal share for cycling and will reduce carbon emissions.
- We will live longer, healthier lives
The "Vision" for cycling in Scotland is shared by Scottish Government Ministers, stakeholders and members of the public. By working together we can achieve our common goals.
Background
In November 2007, delegates at the Cycling Scotland Conference voted overwhelmingly for the production of a Cycling Action Plan for Scotland. In early 2008, a Board was established to take the project forward ( Annex D) with the overarching aim of "to get more people cycling more often". During the summer of 2008, an extensive consultation exercise was carried out to find out what actions should be included in such a plan. Through telephone surveys, focus groups, public events and a key stakeholder conference, we received over 4,000 responses and the majority of the actions in this document are based upon those responses.
Findings from the Consultation Exercises - What did YOU tell us?
The most significant reason why people did not cycle, or did not cycle more often, was a perception of safety. Simply, people did not feel safe, both in terms of traffic volume and traffic speed. In response to the following questions, the public said:
1. What factors deter you from cycling / cycling more often?
- Danger from traffic - 29%
- Not enough road space - 7%
- Lack of good routes - 6%
2. Which factors deter you from cycling at all / more often
- Danger from traffic - 13%
- Vehicle driver behaviour - 11%
- Not enough road space for cyclists - 10%
- Too much traffic - 9%
3. What are the most important factors in influencing your decision to travel by bicycle
- Personal health and fitness - 30%
- Enjoyment - 23%
- Concern for the environment - 14%
- Travel time and cost - both 9%
4. What, if anything, would lead you to take up cycling / cycle more often?
- Better routes (traffic free routes, cycle lanes on-road) - 33%
- More considerate driver behaviours - 15%
- Improved integration between bikes and public transport - 10%
- Improvements to road surfaces - 9%
When asked to gauge the desire to cycle, 88% of respondents said they would like to cycle more often. When asked about potential improvements:
- 82% said that more off-road cycle routes could encourage them to cycle more
- 78% said that more on road cycle lanes would encourage them to cycle more
- 76% said that less traffic would encourage them to cycle more
- 66% said that slower traffic would encourage them to cycle more
What did the stakeholders say at their conference?
At the Stakeholder conference in Perth in October 2008, 147 delegates, from a range of sectors and professions including transport, education, health, environment, sport and leisure, were asked to prioritise the policy areas which should be the focus of the Action Plan and would deliver an increase in cycling. The results were
1. Cycling and the built environment: 83%
2. Methods to promote behaviour change: 76%
3. Culture and the individual - 68%
Workshops at the conference
The Targeting/Segmentation workshops discussed whether journey types, location or people types should be the focus of CAPS. Six of the eight workshop groups chose journey types as the segment that would return the quickest impact, two of the groups chose people types foucssing on 18-25 year olds as potential for growth and older people for prolonged active lives.
The Prioritisation of Effort workshop identified priorities in this order:
- On-road facilitites
- Off-road facilities
- Promotion
- Regulation (The Law)
- Training for both cyclists and car drivers
- Information (accessible maps, on-line journey planners)
A full set of results from the consultation exercise can be found at www.cyclingactionplanforscotland.org including a Summary report; Background Research report; Focus Group report; Telephone Survey report; Stakeholder Conference report and Public Events Survey report.
Statutory Duties
As part of this consultation process, an Equality Impact Assessment and a Strategic Environmental Assessment will be carried out to ensure actions in the plan will not disproportionately affect any single group or have a detrimental impact on the environment.
The Scottish Government will meet with representatives from equality groups during the consultation period. We also welcome responses from environmental organisations and where possible will accommodate meeting requests from other groups.
A consultation response form is at Annex A. The consultation period will begin on 28 May and end on 20 August 2009
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