Sustrans: 5 steps we want from the next UK government

Sustrans has released a manifesto in the lead-up to the UK General Election that lays out steps the future government needs to make to remove barriers to cycling and other forms of active travel.

The new manifesto comes after the UK-based charity released its 2023 Walking and Cycling Index earlier this year, in which it found that 43% of UK residents would like to cycle more, while 50% want to walk more.

However, Sustrans says, “inaccessible pavements, unsafe streets, poor links with public transport, and the costs of bike ownership” are currently preventing people from taking up active modes of travel, and its manifesto lays out five solutions to combat these barriers. They are:

1. Make our streets safe for children
2. Give everyone access to a bike
3. Build developments where all the essentials are close
4. Make the National Cycling Network work for everyone
5. Create a transport strategy that works for everyone

Each step has a set of sub-steps. To make our streets safe for children, Sustrans calls for an end to pavement parking, safe cycling routes to every school and double the length of traffic-free and quiet road cycle routes.

To ensure that everyone has access to a bike, they ask the future government to help people who are excluded from the Cycle to Work Scheme, remove VAT from children’s bikes, and provide greater access to cycle parking at home.

Perhaps the most ambitious request is their third step: for new developments to be built with essentials close by. Sustrans ask for new homes to be built near jobs, shops and amenities, for active travel to be incorporated into new developments, and for everyone to have access to nature.

Sustrans have called for greater investment towards the National Cycling Network by improving maintenance, making it more accessible, and committing to a five-year investment plan.

Finally, their fifth step, to create a transport strategy that works for everyone, calls for an integrated transport strategy across England, to shift resources towards active travel and public transport, and to focus road budgets on maintaining existing streets.

“People want to walk, wheel and cycle more of their everyday journeys,” Sustrans said in a press release. “But inaccessible pavements, unsafe streets, poor links with public transport, and the costs of bike ownership are holding them back. That’s bad news for people’s health, the places they live and for our economy. The next UK Government, in partnership with local leaders, could change that with five steps.”

Read more: ‘Shocking lack of progress’: Charity criticises UK government for latest active travel figures

According to Sutrans, 9.6 billion short trips are made by car in urban areas across the UK each year, and it says translating some of these into active journeys would have a big positive impact. In 2023 alone, the Walking and Cycling Index found that 420,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions were saved across 18 urban areas through active modes of transport, which it says would translate to 2.2 million tonnes across the UK.

The study also found that, if it continues for the next five years, the current level of active travel uptake would help to prevent up to 595,000 long-term health issues, saving the NHS £13.5 billion in the process.

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