Each day I read of motorists' misery on motorways' around our city due to the £36m road widening schemes to make more space for yet more motorists.
Call me naïve but shouldn't these motorists be thinking about their part in the congestion and taking responsible action?
Thirty years ago, a city similar in size and population to Southampton suffered serious traffic congestion, but rather than widen the roads they dug them up.
In their place, town planners of Gronigen in northern
Holland built top quality, low maintenance cycle paths. Today, the city has a population of 180,000, including 41,000 students, making an average 1.4 bike journeys each per day.
If we are serious about tackling road congestion, we must reconsider our views on cycling and cyclists.
Treat them as first class citizens and you'll attract more folk out of cars on to bikes, thus reducing the need for wider roads. Then some of that £36m could be spent on quality cycle lanes, which would make cycling a viable choice of transport for even more people.
advertisement
The Dutch are no different to us; they are not fanatical cyclists but simply people who want to go about their business safely and efficiently. Dutch cyclists even have their own signposts and, guess what - the distances are shorter than those for motorists."
n CycleWise was set up by Dilys Gartside in 2005 following the introduction by the Government of the National Standard for Cycle Training, whch replaced the outdated cycling proficiency test aimed at children only. For more information contact CycleWise@aol.com
By Dilys Gartside, accredited instructor of CycleWise and spokesman for the Southampton Cycling Campaign.
Now correct me if I'm wrong, but the difference between Holland and the UK is that, whilst they have a very good cycle network, they have still invested in an efficient and well-built motorway network. Here, we may occasionally widen a road or build a cycle lane, but this doesn't make the government pro- or anti- car, it just proves one thing: they don't want us to travel at all.
Now correct me if I'm wrong, but the difference between Holland and the UK is that, whilst they have a very good cycle network, they have still invested in an efficient and well-built motorway network. Here, we may occasionally widen a road or build a cycle lane, but this doesn't make the government pro- or anti- car, it just proves one thing: they don't want us to travel at all.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
