Anti-Cycling Lib Dems at it Again, This Time in Leeds
The anti-cycling Lib Dems are at it again.
Leader of the Leeds Liberal Democrats, Councillor Stewart Golton, tried to stop a cycle scheme on the A660 Otley Road/Headingley Lane.
This follows the actions of Harrogate & Knaresborough Lib Dems earlier this year, who appear to have helped scupper Harrogate Station Gateway.
The Leeds Cycle Infrastructure Project
In March 2023, Leeds City Council won £10 million from Active Travel Fund 4 to continue the development of cycle infrastructure on the A660 between the Outer Ring Road and the city centre. Work has already started on the lastest phase funded by ATF4.
Councillor Golton called the project in for scrutiny at a meeting on Wednesday 27th September 2023, and that is when Lib Dem objections emerged.
What are the Lib Dem Objections?
The Lib Dem objections to the scheme were:
- it is not value for money and
- it could end up accidentally causing rat-running on nearby roads
Value for Money
The ATF4 funding has been allocated by Active Travel England (ATE) to this specific project.
ATE go through rigorous DfT processes to ensure that funding is only given to projects which have a sufficiently high Benefit-Cost Ratio, and are therefore value for money.
The £10 million is not general Leeds City Council funding that can be used for other purposes.
Rat-Running
If more rat-running occurs as a result of the cycle tracks, appropriate measures should be taken to prevent it – such as modal filters on side streets.
I guess that Cllr Golton would be against those measures too.
In Favour of Cycle Infrastructure in Theory but not in Practice
Councillor Golton is quoted as follows:
‘Nobody wants to see the A660 left the way it is.
Everyone wants to encourage people to use their bikes and everyone wants to see pedestrians using their streets. I’m not saying no action should be taken to achieve any of that.
But there can be unintended consequences of well-intended schemes. To reduce casualties on a route you may unintentionally deliver a more dangerous environment in others’.
councillor stewart golton
Opponents of cycle infrastructure very rarely admit that they are opponents of cycle infrastructure. They almost always want a cycle network in theory but not in practice.
Such people support cycling in principle, but whenever a specific scheme is put forward they are against it. It’s not the right location, or not the right time, or not the right design.
In reality, no scheme will ever be right as far as they are concerned, except perhaps tinkering around the edges that doesn’t make a meaningful difference to the status quo.
In this case, ATE have approved and funded the scheme. They are the experts; they know what works, and any potential pitfalls. I would trust their judgment on this issue over that of Cllr Golton.
Vote to Continue with the Scheme
Cllr Golton forced a vote of the council’s Infrastructure Scrutiny Board. The result was an 8-1 majority in favour of continuing with the scheme.
63% of respondents in an earlier public consultation supported the scheme.
Executive Member for Infrastructure Helen Hayden said:
‘This is a well-used corridor, it’s very busy and it’s narrow.
This is about keeping people safe, not just from collisions but from air quality problems as well. There are young children going to school along the route. When more people walk and cycle their health improves.
I won’t apologise for this administration being ambitious and wanting the best. We’d love to do this all over the city if we had the money’.
executive member for infrastructure helen hayden