Pedal on Parliament (Scotland)

[HJ]

Pedal on Parliament, or PoP for short, was launched recently by (among others) some former and current members of Cyclechat! ... Magnatom & HJ. It is a grass roots campaign for safer roads for all, with a mass ride on 28 April, from The Meadows in central Edinburgh to Holyrood, to hand over their petition to Members of the Scottish Parliament.

The full manifesto can be accessed on the PoP website, here is a summary of the eight points:

1) Proper funding for cycling
2) Design cycling into Scotland’s roads
3) Safer speeds where people live, work and play
4) Integrate cycling into local transport strategies
5) Sensible road traffic law and enforcement
6) Reduce the risk of HGVs to cyclists and pedestrians
7) A strategic and joined-up programme of road user training
8) Solid research on cycling to support policy-making

PoP has the support of CTC (Scotland) and Mark Beaumont, who says he is hoping to join the ride (see this news article), and are currently recruiting other well-known faces.

Come along, bring your family, and spread the word.

If you can’t join in the ride, you can still support PoP via Twitter @popscotland, Facebook and sign the petition, so everybody can contribute! And you can contact the team via hello@pedalonparliament.org

While the event is based in Scotland, there are some fresh and excellent ideas in the manifesto that could equally take off a wee bit further south!

Proper investment in cycling will bring so much more than the expenditure put in, benefits will gradually be reflected in a changing, healthier population. We all know our natural resources are not infinite and we would be irresponsible not to think of ways of making them last, but cycling is hardly a hair-shirt option. Rather it is a joyous way to get about - but one that has become confined to a hardy few because of the conditions on our roads. From Kirkpatrick MacMillan onwards, Scotland has a long history of popular cycling which has been all but forgotten. We believe these times can come again and Scotland can once more be a beacon for the world.

“Work as if you are in the early days of a better nation” – Alistair Gray

“The great city is not the one that has highways, but one where a child on a tricycle or
bicycle can go safely everywhere.” – Enrique Peñalosa

 

[goo_mason]

I'll be there!

 

[Miquel In De Rain]

Good luck with this.

 

[Col5632]

I'll be there (or atleast planning to be)

 

[HonestMan1910]

Same day as Sportive Kinross, wil be there in spirit, good luck with it

 

[Rasmus]

I am unfortunately out of the country on that day. Petition is signed.

 

[Telemark]

It's now been picked up by the Guardian, and has been mentioned on the BBC Scotland evening news (with one of Magnatom's videos being shown - about 20 minutes in - it's not available yet, but will be here "soon") ...
Any volunteers for getting the PoP/Magnatom clip on here, I don't know how .

T

 

[goo_mason]

What a day it was - the sun shone, and attendance was 10 times the police expectation - 3000 people turned up. The sight of a mile and a half long line of cyclists, cheered on by bystanders, snaking from the Meadows down to Holyrood was something I'll probably never see again in my lifetime. It was one of those 'wow!' moments. It was apparently the biggest ever demo at the Holyrood Parliament - but not only that, it was also down on record as the friendliest! A fantastic day was had by all, and the change has now begun!

Setting off from the Meadows:


IMAG0194 by Leith Podcaster, on Flickr

At Holyrood:


IMAG0222 by Leith Podcaster, on Flickr


IMAG0207 by Leith Podcaster, on Flickr

 

[snorri]

Well done to the organisers!
I would like to have been there, but the round trip was just too far.

 

[DresdenDoom]

Must be only me who thinks the roads are pretty safe as they are, and has never had any trouble with HGV's. They have a job to do after all, and we are slow and in their way. If I'm holding one up I pull over to let it go by. They don't expect that!

 

[BentMikey]

Well done guys, most impressed!

 

[goo_mason]

Must be only me who thinks the roads are pretty safe as they are, and has never had any trouble with HGV's. They have a job to do after all, and we are slow and in their way. If I'm holding one up I pull over to let it go by. They don't expect that!

I guess so! But I'm guessing you're not cycling up in Scotland, are you?

If we felt the roads were safe, we wouldn't have had so many people out to demonstrate, would we? Or perhaps we all imagine the danger where none exists. Maybe the parents of Andrew MacNicoll, an experienced road cyclist killed in Edinburgh in January only imagine the dangers that resulted in his death: http://www.andrewcyclist.com/ I was fortunate enough to meet and speak to his stepmum yesterday, who - despite being terrified of cycling on Edinburgh's unsafe roads - got on a bike for the first time in three years to ride in his memory.

I'm happy if you personally feel safe - but for those of us who don't, we've made a stand and the politicians at Holyrood have been made to listen.

 

[DresdenDoom]

A stubbornly high number of people die on the roads every year, and I'd be surprised if less than 95% of them don't involve stupidity on at least one parties account. Since stupidity can't be legislated against, better to learn to deal with the shoot that just keeps on happening. There's a lot of middle-class angst mixed in with all these protests lately. Bet you were all students once...

 

[BentMikey]

Yes, because sticking your head in the sand and doing nothing is going to achieve more?

 

[goo_mason]

A stubbornly high number of people die on the roads every year, and I'd be surprised if less than 95% of them don't involve stupidity on at least one parties account. Since stupidity can't be legislated against, better to learn to deal with the shoot that just keeps on happening. There's a lot of middle-class angst mixed in with all these protests lately. Bet you were all students once...

Yes, just have a go at ordinary Scottish folks of all ages, from all walks of life, trying to make a difference. You're not painting yourself in a good light & offensively trolling a thread & trying to detract from its positive nature. Well done.