DfT Cycle City Ambition Grant

Cambridge Cycling Campaign welcomes the announcement of £6m investment in schemes in the area to enable more people to cycle. The schemes being funded are all welcome in opening-up transport choice and reducing congestion, benefiting all road users.

We are looking forward to working with the hard-working officer team at the County to ensure that schemes genuinely reach continental standards, avoiding shared-use pavements for instance.

However, we are concerned that investment to make cycling safer in the surrounding area remains low. Excellent schemes such as a cycleway in the A10 corridor, and various initiatives in the Ely area, for instance, need to be progressed, and we call upon the government to provide funding for the Greater Cambridge area also.

We and other organisations around country remain disappointed that the system of funding for cycling remains ‘stop-start’ — basically treated by the DfT as spare change found down the back of the sofa. Cycling has an extremely high benefit-cost ratio, bringing benefits for health, children’s safety and freedom, and congestion reduction. We want to see all prospective MP candidates pledge to provide consistent and proper funding for cycling of £20/head nationally.