“Much more commitment is required to boost cycling and walking”

Four Scottish organisations with an interest in ’sustainable transport’ (Ramblers Scotland, Sustrans Scotland, Transform Scotland and Living Streets Scotland) have had a letter published in today’s Herald newspaper in response to a recent Herald editorial.

Under the heading “Unsustainable policy” the paper argued that “Scotland boasts one of the most ambitious targets in the world for tackling climate change. The Climate Change (Scotland) Bill, which enters its next parliamentary phase today, may include a framework for change but offers little insight as to how this brave policy is to be achieved. Set beside recent trends, it stretches credulity, especially in the area of transport policy.”

Today’s letter backs this view and adds “When two-thirds of Scotland’s car journeys are less than five miles long, it is obvious that, given the right infrastructure and encouragement, the car can be replaced by feet and bike for a huge number of journeys. We know that lots of people want to make the change but we need to make it easier to do so.”

The editorial and letter in the Herald will add to the pressure on the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, John Swinney to find more money (or in reality reallocate it) – perhaps along the lines suggested by Spokes yesterday.