Goodwill: making room on the roads for cyclists will make more room for cars

Transport minister Robert Goodwill opened the Cycle City Leeds event by declaring that providing more dedicated facilities for cyclists on the roads would reduce traffic congestion.

"One common complaint is that there simply isn't enogh space avalable on our roads for cycling infrastructure. My response is that there simply isn't enough room not to put it in place. If we do not make more efficient use of the available space, then traffic will simply come to a standstill."

The Conservative minister cited the experience of Seville, in Spain, which has by providing more facilities increased the proportion of journeys made by bike from 0.5% to 7% and cut congestion "dramatically".

Goodwill also told the Landor Links event that whilst people were in some urban areas such as Leeds increasingly choosing to go by bike, particularly to work, "if we dig just a little deeper [into the figures] the picture isn't quite so rosy. The total proportion of people who travel regularly by bike has remained static over the last decade".

And he launched a consultation on a revised Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions that paves the way for low-level signals for cyclists, new types of crossings for cyclists and pedestrians, and new dedicated 'cyclist streets' where overtaking of cyclists is banned.