More evidence that cycling schemes are good for business has been provided today in the form of an open letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer from the leaders of companies employing over 250.000 people.
According to anti-Cycle Enfield campaigners, putting in cycle lanes along Green Lanes will "kill" businesses. Even before today's open letter there has already been plenty of evidence that this is at the very least a gross exaggeration and may in fact be the reverse of the truth - cycle lanes can boost local businesses.
Clearly, the particular circumstances of each cycling scheme differ, making it difficult, if not impossible, to predict whether cycle lanes in Green Lanes would reduce or increase the prosperity of local businesses. But based on the evidence from earlier schemes we can be certain that they would not be the complete disaster being predicted by the naysayers.
In today's open letter the business leaders make it clear that they believe that cycling schemes would be to the benefit of the country as a whole, not just to the "one per cent" as claimed by our local anti-cycle lanes campaigners.
The business leaders urge George Osborne to maintain funding for a "cycling revolution" at a rate of at least £10 - £20 per person per year. They are writing because they "think that cycling can help deliver what businesses need. More cycling will make our towns and cities more pleasant, more liveable, less congested, less polluted, healthier, happier and more prosperous. This is only possible if more people are able to travel more easily by bicycle." They say that "most people want to cycle more, but they don’t feel our roads and junctions are safe enough" and call for changes to road junctions and provision of segregated cycle lanes.
Open Letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Dear Chancellor,
We are a group of businesses employing over 250,000 people and serving 46 million customers in Britain. We contribute to this country. We care a lot about it. And we know there is a problem.
Physical inactivity is hurting us all. It costs the country as much as £47 billion a year, while businesses face falling productivity as absences rise. We think it matters that one in five schoolchildren are obese while one in four think playing computers games counts as exercise.
We have come together with British Cycling to form the #ChooseCycling Network. We have done this because we think that cycling can help deliver what businesses need. More cycling will make our towns and cities more pleasant, more liveable, less congested, less polluted, healthier, happier and more prosperous. This is only possible if more people are able to travel more easily by bicycle. We want to ask everyone to work together – businesses, the public and the government – to make this happen.
More people are cycling than ever, and we have been trying to do our bit. By encouraging our collective workforce to get cycling and be more active, we have learned something – that most people want to cycle more, but they don’t feel our roads and junctions are safe enough.
The Prime Minister promised us a cycling revolution. We believe this is within the government’s power to deliver. Today we are writing to the Chancellor to ask for the following:
1 Ensure cycling and walking funding continues after Local Sustainable Transport Fund is withdrawn at the end of April 2016
2 Leave room in the current Spending Review to invest at least £10-20 per person per year – the target set by the Prime Minister in April – to increase take up of cycling.
3 Together with the Transport Secretary and before the 2016 Budget publish a comprehensive, fully-funded plan – a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy – with national guidelines to make our roads and junctions safer for cycling, with more segregated lanes and places to park securely.
We are asking for this because we believe that a modest investment from government now will create jobs in the short term and deliver huge long-term benefits for society.
We believe that the right cycling choices could help make Britain the most active nation in the world. We believe this will steer us clear of a costly health crisis and help to create a healthier, happier, more focused, more skilled future generation.
We believe the Chancellor knows this too.
We just need him to deliver it and – just as we’ve done for Sir Bradley Wiggins, Sir Chris Hoy, Dame Sarah Storey, Lizzie Armistead and Laura Trott over the years – we’ll be cheering when he does.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Boardman, policy adviser, British Cycling
Steve Tennant, director, Virgin Trains
Matt Wilson, head of environmental sustainability, GlaxoSmithKline
Fiona Morgan, head of brand, Sky
Lucinda Bell, chief financial officer, British Land
Edmund King, president, the AA
Neil Pullen, director, National Grid
Christine Walser-Sacau, head of UK group functions, Orange
Steve Enright, director, Abellio
David Morley, worldwide senior partner, Allen & Overy
Lisa Riva, senior director, Bilfinger GVA
Richard Rogers, head of health & safety and wellbeing, Severn Trent Water
Heinz Richardson, director, Jestico & Whiles
Clive West, cycling director, Halfords
Peter Dash, Price and Myers
Steven Whyman, chief executive, Broadgate Estates
Peter Murray, chairman, New London Architecture
Sally More, partner, Leigh Day
Simon Darby, policy adviser, Cycle to Work Alliance
Daniel Gillborn, director, Cyclescheme
Joe Irwin, chief executive, Living Streets
Ashok Sinha, chief executive, London Cycling Campaign
Malcolm Shepherd, chief executive, Sustrans
Paul Tuohy, chief executive, CTC - the national cycling charity
Phillip Darnton, executive director, Bicycle Association
John Forbes, director, John Forbes Consulting
Nick Hanmer, chief executive, Club Peleton
Brendan Fox, head of commercial, Sports Tours International
For a more detailed account of why more cycling benefits everyone, see this article on the Times website.
