Tory transport tradition wars risked making roads much less protected, says minister

[ad_1] Conservative insurance policies that pitted drivers in opposition to cyclists risked making the roads much less protected by inflaming tensions, a minister has mentioned, promising that the period of transport tradition wars is over.

Lilian Greenwood, whose Division for Transport (DfT) position contains highway security and energetic journey, mentioned searching for to divide highway customers into classes was pointless given most individuals used completely different transport strategies at completely different occasions.

Talking to the Guardian after the announcement of greater than £600m for brand spanking new biking and strolling schemes throughout England, Greenwood condemned the way in which Conservative governments had moved from boosting biking underneath Boris Johnson to clamping down on energetic journey measures when Rishi Sunak was prime minister.

Sunak’s authorities explicitly sought to current its transport coverage as prioritising drivers over the wants of cyclists and others, a shift in tone accompanied by an occasional embrace of conspiracy theories about supposed efforts to restrict driving.

Such an method was “infuriating”, Greenwood mentioned, and had potential repercussions for security.

She mentioned: “There are points on our roads. I clearly spend loads of time interested by this in relation to the work that we’re doing in creating the highway security technique, and a few of it's about making an attempt to create that tradition of mutual respect between everybody utilizing our roads.

“And I believe it’s actually damaging to that. We wish to create a system that works for everyone. It’s actually irritating to see and it speaks to the combined messages from the earlier authorities.”

Requested if Labour believed there was a struggle in opposition to the motorist, Greenwood replied: “I believe the opposition wish to create some sense of that. However persons are not one factor or one other. Lots of people who cycle, additionally drive; lots of people who drive, additionally stroll or typically take public transport.

“In order that’s not how we would like our roads to be considered in any respect. We wish to construct a system that makes journeys safer, simpler and reasonably priced for everybody, and that ought to be our place to begin.”

Whereas the Labour authorities has promised “unprecedented” ranges of funding for strolling, wheeling and biking, there was some criticism a couple of perceived lack of ambition on the difficulty.

Earlier this week, greater than 50 teams related to move and public well being urged the DfT to set particular targets for ranges of strolling and biking within the upcoming third biking and strolling funding technique, saying the present plans have been too imprecise.

Greenwood, whereas not saying whether or not the eventual plan would come with targets, mentioned the session happening on the technique was a real likelihood to hear, and that she welcomed the teams’ enter. “What campaigners need is for us to take energetic journey actually significantly. It’s about long-term funding certainty so you possibly can correctly plan,” she mentioned.

Greenwood, who chaired the transport choose committee from 2017 to 2020, mentioned putting in a correct technique for improved security on the roads was “most likely high of my record” when it comes to priorities.

“Final yr, roughly 1,600 folks have been killed on our roads, and 29,500 significantly injured, and that has been flatlining just about for the final decade,” she mentioned. “That's unacceptable.

“We within the division don’t speak about highway site visitors accidents. We speak about collisions or crashes as a result of 90% of these characteristic somebody making a nasty determination or a mistaken selection. They’re preventable, and it requires willpower, management and motion to make an enormous distinction to that.