Councillor Daniel Fitzhenry accuses Southampton City Council of making a political project out of the creation of cycle lanes when all of the politicising comes from himself.

He then as a member of the Conservative party completely rejects his own national Government's cycling policy and instead tries to garner some cheap political support by telling readers that the new cycling strategy is completely of the councils making.

Just in case you have not enlightened yourself of your Conservative government's policy Councillor Fitzhenry I will remind you of the facts.

The government is calling for all levels of Government to implement their “Walking and Cycling Investment Strategy” and is giving two billion pounds to local authorities to carry out this strategy with immediate effect.

The strategy calls for the immediate fast tracked creation of physically separated cycle tracks on main roads and junctions with pop up lanes being in place as swiftly as possible and within at worst the next 18 months.

The transport secretary Grant Shapps has also vowed that “cyclists should be given priority over cars from now on” and that “the government will fund and work with local authorities to make this happen”.

If Councillor Fitzhenry or any other local Conservative politician want to criticise and reject their own government's national policy then so be it, but they need to take it up with the national transport secretary or even the Prime Minister who has called it “the biggest and boldest plan ever to get people active”.

An honest debate about the merits of cycle lanes is certainly welcome but accusations are certainly not, and as Councillor Fitzhenry points out there are elections in May that will give local residents chance to vote for honest politicians.

T.K.Tew

Southampton