CYCLING AND THE VOTE BIKE MANIFESTO CAMPAIGN

That this House notes the benefits of cycling to health and to communities, streets and the environment; welcomes the substantial recent increases in cycle use in London and other parts of Britain including several of the Cycle Towns; and supports the aims of the Vote Bike manifesto to make cycling mainstream by strengthening the political and resource commitments made to cycling by Government departments, local authorities, health and other relevant bodies, improving the training and skills of planners and engineers required to deliver quality cycle-friendly planning and design, tackling the risks faced by cyclists through training and awareness campaigns for both drivers and cyclists through lower speed limits and through strengthened road traffic law and enforcement, enhancing provision for combining cycling with public transport by ensuring good access to stations and interchanges, providing secure parking including cycle hubs at major stations and sensibly managed provision for carrying cycles on public transport, providing encouragement, incentives and opportunities to try out cycling in schools and workplaces and for key target groups such as health patients and disadvantaged groups, plus tax incentives to support the use, purchase and repair of cycles and related accessories, and creating new and improved opportunities for recreational and off-road cycling including the appropriate opening up of green spaces, forest land, rights of way, waterways and sections of Britain's coast in order to deliver substantial increases in cycle use while halving the risks of cycling within 10 years.