More Cyclists needed!

Article in today's Times!
President of the Automobile Association endorses cycling use.

Quote:
"Boris Johnson has challenged Downing Street to match his commitment to
cycling, calling on the government to replicate his investment in
London’s cycle network across the country.
As Mayor of London, Mr Johnson has created a £913 million budget for
cycling in the capital over the next decade. The government has spent a
total of about £370 million on cycling provision for the rest of the
country since 2010.
Britain faces a long-term future of traffic jams and obesity crises
unless the government creates a £600 million annual budget for cycling,
according to MPs and Olympic champions.
Asked if the government should create this budget, Mr Johnson said:
“These changes can only be achieved [in London] because we are making
cycling an integral part of our transport network, with the capital
spending befitting that role.
“Anything that can be done nationally to replicate that would be of
great benefit to cycling and transport infrastructure across the wider UK.”
This week, plans were unveiled for a segregated cycle route from Oval to
Pimlico in London and for a network of “cycle corridors” in Bristol.
Mr Johnson said: “As the fevered excitement that greeted the Tour de
France this week demonstrated, this country is having something of a
cycling renaissance. This is good news for everyone, because as people
hop on their bikes we can take the pressure off public transport, reduce
traffic and help people to be physically and mentally fitter and happier.”
Chris Boardman, the former Olympic champion and British Cycling adviser,
said that an annual cycling fund should be in all of the parties’
manifestos.
“The price for not prioritising sustainable transport modes will be
long-term and hefty,” he added. “This includes increasing NHS costs of
treating obesity, further congestion and a rise in deaths from
pollution. The prime minister’s cycling revolution [promised last
August] just will not happen without sustained commitment. We’ve asked
for £10 a head — around £600 million per year. It’s the absolute minimum.”
This fund, worth 4 per cent of the transport budget, would benefit
motorists, said Edmund King, president of the AA. “In terms of
congestion, it would be beneficial if more was invested in safe cycle
infrastructure to encourage a greater proportion of commuters to take to
two wheels.
“This has the added advantage of freeing up the roads for those that
must depend on four-wheeled travel, including buses, deliveries, taxis,
disabled drivers and essential car users.” A cross-party Commons inquiry
last year called for an annual budget in its Get Britain Cycling report,
supported by 100 MPs.
Sarah Wollaston, the Conservative chairwoman of the Commons health
committee, said that a yearly cycling budget would be “an important
contribution” to tackling obesity."

On 12/07/2014 17:54, Sig wrote:

Article in today's Times!
President of the Automobile Association endorses cycling use.

Quote:
"Boris Johnson has challenged Downing Street to match his commitment to
cycling, calling on the government to replicate his investment in
London’s cycle network across the country.
As Mayor of London, Mr Johnson has created a £913 million budget for
cycling in the capital over the next decade.

Er... No, he has not.

He has taken that amount (if it's correctly reported) out of other
peoples' pockets.

Boris may have many merits, but being able to create resources out of
thin air is not one of them.

On 12/07/2014 18:19, JNugent wrote:
On 12/07/2014 17:54, Sig wrote:

Article in today's Times!
President of the Automobile Association endorses cycling use.

Quote:
"Boris Johnson has challenged Downing Street to match his commitment to
cycling, calling on the government to replicate his investment in
London’s cycle network across the country.
As Mayor of London, Mr Johnson has created a £913 million budget for
cycling in the capital over the next decade.

Er... No, he has not.

He has taken that amount (if it's correctly reported) out of other
peoples' pockets.

Boris may have many merits, but being able to create resources out of
thin air is not one of them.

All monies are out of others pockets! Even if the Bank of England
prints more.

On 12/07/2014 19:46, Sig wrote:
On 12/07/2014 18:19, JNugent wrote:
On 12/07/2014 17:54, Sig wrote:

Article in today's Times!
President of the Automobile Association endorses cycling use.

Quote:
"Boris Johnson has challenged Downing Street to match his commitment to
cycling, calling on the government to replicate his investment in
London’s cycle network across the country.
As Mayor of London, Mr Johnson has created a £913 million budget for
cycling in the capital over the next decade.

Er... No, he has not.

He has taken that amount (if it's correctly reported) out of other
peoples' pockets.

Boris may have many merits, but being able to create resources out of
thin air is not one of them.

All monies are out of others pockets! Even if the Bank of England
prints more.

But not Boris.

He has *amassed* a "£913 million budget", not created it.

On 12/07/2014 21:55, JNugent wrote:


But not Boris.

He has *amassed* a "£913 million budget", not created it.

A budget is a plan, which is created. I don't believe he has the £913
million yet. He may hope to amass some money to implement this budget
but AIUI he hasn't done so yet so even your tense is wrong.

I'm really not sure what your point was?

On 12/07/2014 23:35, Nick wrote:

On 12/07/2014 21:55, JNugent wrote:

But not Boris.

He has *amassed* a "£913 million budget", not created it.

A budget is a plan, which is created. I don't believe he has the £913
million yet. He may hope to amass some money to implement this budget
but AIUI he hasn't done so yet so even your tense is wrong.

I'm really not sure what your point was?

Really?

Perhaps you don't understand because you have snipped out 95% of the
context.

Nick writes:

But not Boris.

He has *amassed* a "£913 million budget", not created it.

A budget is a plan, which is created. I don't believe he has the £913
million yet.

It can't have been a very good plan: very little of the first year's
budget was spent. As I predicted at the time, overcoming the
obstructionism in TFL and local councils will be _much_ harder than
writing a `vision' document---or putting out grand press releases to the
Thunderer. Mayor Johnson claims that the budget will be carried over
and not clawed back. He might be able to deliver on that promise for a
limited period---but as has been reported here previously, the movers
and shakers in the permanent civil service are openly and overtly
planning for a `re-evaluation' back to business-as-usual once he is
safely out of their way. All of this is before you start to consider
who Commissioner Gilligan's mysterious `forces against cycling' might
be!

Even if anything like the full ten year budget is spent, you can bet
that one third of it will disappear into the pockets of `consultants'
and another third of it will disappear in irrelevant paper exercises at
the office bureaucracy department (e.g. writing `vision' documents and
the thoroughly unconvincing London Cycle Design Standards which are
currently out for consultation, a mere six years into the `revolution').
Most of the remaining third will probably be diverted into the London
equivalent of the Bedford turbo roundabout fiasco, i.e. increasing speed
of motor traffic and bodging cycling around the edges of SCOOT.

He may hope to amass some money to implement this budget but AIUI he
hasn't done so yet so even your tense is wrong.

I'm really not sure what your point was?

Well, this is JNugent you are dealing with here. It would be more
surprising if he made numerous consecutive points which turned out to be
correct. He is bound to get one right occasionally, though. Even a
stopped calendar is right once per year (if you don't mind the day of
the week still being wrong).

--
Mark