Archive for the ‘Politics’ tag
Cycling Politics and Planning
Lynne Jones talks about a visit to Cambridge by the all party parliamentary cycling group in this video by Carlton Reid.
For those not in the know, Section 106 agreements are referred to, these agreements are often known as ‘planning gain’ where a Local Authority can reach agreement with a developer for community facilities in return for planning permission. As a way of funding cycling facilities they are problematic because honey pot locations such as Cambridge can extract more in return for planning permission than areas desperate for employment. Net result, the environment is developed more in the places which are already attractive, making them even more attractive comparatively.
There is also the wider question of whether paying to improve cyclist specific facilities rather than creating better general cycling conditions by enforcement of a generally safer environment for road users is the the way to go. Having said that, I like the idea of guided bus tracks far more than tram tracks.