Which of the political parties has the most cycle-friendly policies for Ealing?

Four of the parties' transport spokespeople outlined their visions at April's Ealing Cycling Campaign meeting.
Andy Hillier reports

At our April meeting: from left to right: David Millican (Conservative), Sarah Edwards (Green), Gary Malcolm (Liberal Democrat), Bassam Mahfouz (Labour)

Sarah Edwards, Green Party

"The Green Party supports cycling 100 per cent; not only as a green form of transport but crucially as an affordable form of transport in terms of people going about their daily lives and also as a healthy form of activity.

We are particularly concerned about air quality in London and cycling has a vital role to play in improving that. There are around 3,000 deaths as a result of air pollution in the city.

In 2006, our London Assembly members Jenny Jones and Darren Johnson secured a number of green initiatives for London, which included £5m for cycling.  They have been pushing the cycling agenda and continue to do that. They have also helped to set the target to increase cycling by 400 per cent. Green Party members have also been pushing for improvements in Ealing. In fact, all of our Parliamentary candidates in Ealing are also members of the Ealing Cycling Campaign.

We support every aspect of the London Cycling Campaign's 2010 manifesto (http://www.lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=1788). I'm particularly supportive of the number one priority on the list, which is to provide more cycle training for children. It's so crucial to induct children at an early stage and help get them off to a safe start. But the same applies to adults. Too many people say they lack the confidence to cycle.

More cycle parking is the second item on the London Cycling Campaign's manifesto. We know Ealing Council has taken some measures to improve cycle parking in the borough but a lot more could be done.

In terms of access issues and better cycle routes, this is really frustrating. We know some efforts have been made but it's not enough. We strongly supported the London Cycle Network Plus and we condemned the mayor's cuts to the programme.

Then there are safer streets. We support 20mph-speed limits on the streets - it's something we have been pushing nationally.  We think it's something that's very important.

We'd also like to see improvements made to Ealing Broadway. We need the council to support improvements to the station and we will continue to press for those."

Bassam Mahfouz, Labour

"The promotion of cycling is important in terms of the environment and health issues.

What I really want to address is the issue of congestion around schools. Every morning and evening they are dangerous places. We have a situation where parents just drop their kids off on zig-zig lines or in the middle of the road. If we're going to turn them into the cyclists of the future, we need to start by changing the culture of cycling in the minds of our youngsters.

We need to not only support them through proving training but that must go hand in hand with turning that training into real experience. When I did my cycling proficiency at school I found the training was relatively easy, but turning that training into reality was difficult because the roads were too dangerous and neither of my parents cycled. 

At primary-school age, parents aren't going to let their children cycle to school on their own, and when they get to secondary school it's not seen as cool to cycle to school with your parents. Therefore we have to do more to break down that culture.

We need to get more adults cycling, so at the weekends they can join their children cycling around the borough on a more regular basis.

We can do this by continuing down the routes we've already done as a Labour government and under the previous London Mayor Ken Livingstone. He was supportive of creating the extra cycle routes that we have so many of now. For the first time we actually had networks of cycle lanes and these weren't just bits of a jigsaw that didn't fit together. For the first time, we could give you a map that showed you all the cycle networks in your borough.

The Ealing Labour Party is also supportive of 20mph zones, which make it safer to cycle along the roads. The government has also made it an obligation for new business premises to have showers and changing facilities to help staff who cycle. We have also asked all government buildings and agencies to account for their carbon emissions, which means that now local authorities like Ealing have to account for their carbon emissions and bring them down. We're putting an emphasis on councils like Ealing and other government organisations to tackle this by encouraging staff out of cars and on to public transport or on to bicycles. This also means providing extra security, which means providing extra cycle sheds or storage space.

Nationally, the government's Cycle to Work scheme is a way that we can encourage people to cycle. Buying a bike and all the gear is expensive so offering an interest-free loan is vital. While we're seeing Sky Rides now across London, we used to celebrate car-free days in Ealing under the previous Labour administration. We would look to reintroduce these.

And finally we need to introduce a proper cycle superhighway along the Uxbridge Road and not the A40. We have so many more pedestrians on the Uxbridge Road pavements than on the A40. The easy route is putting in a cycle superhighway on the A40 but it is needed most on the Uxbridge Road."

Gary Malcolm, Liberal Democrats

≥We want as many people as possible to do cycle training. No matter whether you are a regular cyclist or not, everyone could do with training - it all helps raise your levels of skills ability.

The Liberal Democrats has a good track record of promoting environmentally sustainable forms of transport - be that cycling or car clubs to reduce car usage, or Home Zones to reduce the speeds of traffic near to your house.

I believe that Ealing Council could spend more on cycling initiatives. Whether that be on training or on cycle lanes so they actually join up. A lot of money comes from central government and from local government that actually doesn't seem to benefit cyclists. For example, you end up with some cycle lanes where it's actually more dangerous to go into them than to avoid them.

There's a real skill in how to spend money on cycling. When local authorities get money for cycling they have to properly consult with cyclists so the right schemes come out.

In my ward, we've introduced more cycle racks because people were locking their bikes to railings. Also we need more cycle racks outside businesses to help people park their bikes outside local shops.  There needs to be more enforcement to stop drivers from parking and entering cycle lanes.

The council should be more proactive in getting more facilities for cyclists who live and work in the borough. People shouldn't have to rely on public transport or their cars – they should be able to cycle pretty much anywhere.

More small and medium-sized companies in the borough need to be encouraged to get employees cycling, whether that be by giving them more hints and advice or enforcing the rules that are already there. They need to be providing more shower facilities and cycle racks to make it easier for people who cycle.≤

David Millican, Conservative

"Cycle training is hugely important. The council puts a lot of money into it and the Ealing Cycling Campaign delivers a lot of it. Hundreds and hundreds of children and hundreds and hundreds of adults get trained every year.

We've also allowed motorbikes in bus lanes, which isn't popular among cyclists. One of the key things that residents in the borough don't like is congestion on our roads. We all know that cycling reduces congestion but the flip side is that motorbikes reduce congestion as well so we have to balance that.

On the introduction of 20mph speed zones, we would welcome further discussion. The 20mph zones clearly help cyclists and we accept that but they're not universally popular. Large numbers of residents have very mixed feelings about them and the police won't enforce them. It's very easy to say 20mph speed zones borough-wide but it would have to be self-policing. Therefore the policy we have is if the community wants them in their ward, we'd certainly allow consultation on their introduction.

Parking enforcement is hugely important as well. We all know that parking in the wrong places is a hindrance to cyclists. Again, a lot of residents don't like parking enforcement. A lot of people think that parking attendants are too officious. But I'm quite keen that they are. A car parked in the wrong place should get a ticket.

Potholes are a big issue. That's why we've put quite a lot of money into fixing potholes in recent years.

We also recently successfully applied to be a biking borough. This was my initiative – I asked the officers to apply. I know it's a thing around the edge and it's just a few pounds here, but it makes a statement that we support the London Mayor in being a biking borough.

I also asked the cycling officers to bid for a Skyride in Ealing. I saw what the Skyride did in Hounslow last year and I told the officer to bid for one in Ealing. It was a great bid and we're going to host a Skyride this summer. It's a fantastic way to get huge amount of publicity and close off the streets. I'm sure all cyclists will support us in hosting the event."

Councillor Millican later promised to appoint a Cycling Champion in the borough, whose role it would be to encourage cycling and improve cycle networks and facilities. If reelected, the Conservative council would also look at how to improve the range of cycling training on offer. This will be backed up with an initial investment of £200,000, which will be allocated following consultation with borough cycling groups.