Mayoral Candidate David Skaith Wants Better Cycle Infrastructure

Labour’s candidate for York & North Yorkshire Mayor wants better cycle infrastructure in the region.

Mayoral candidate David Skaith is quoted in York Mix as follows:

‘A region-wide plan that incorporates public transport, active travel as well as private vehicles is key. We have a bus system that isn’t meeting our needs, roads in an appalling state, and nowhere near the cycle infrastructure we need to enable more people to use a bike’.

david skaith quoted in york mix

The article says that Mr Skaith was born in Harrogate, started a business in York, and now lives in Wheldrake.

He says that the Conservatives have taken North Yorkshire for granted for years. They have overseen cuts to services, transport becoming inadquate, community spaces closing, lack of quality jobs created, agriculture suffering, and insufficient emphasis on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

He feels that ‘it is imperative that the Mayor is someone who can bring individuals together, get the right people around the table, and can drive change through collective working’.

David Skaith’s website goes big on Union Jack flag branding.

His headline vision is for ‘a safe and sustainable region that works for all’. He wants to ‘create a better future for our region’ and ‘build our communities and put people first’.

On transport, his goal is to ‘connect communities, making it possible for people to move around the region more sustainably’.

This is all positive, if rather anodyne.

The commitment to sustainable transport is very welcome.

Conservative Candidate Duncan

The Conservative candidate is Keane Duncan, who has been Transport Executive on North Yorkshire Council since May 2022.

Councillor Duncan’s record on cycling is:

• cancelled Otley Road cycleway
• ripped out Beech Grove modal filters
• stripped the cycling elements out of Harrogate Station Gateway
• no significant improvements to Harrogate & Knaresborough’s cycle network, nor any significant cycling improvements in the whole of North Yorkshire

His tenure has been a disaster for local cycling projects.