AQW 25652/11-15
Mr Peter Weir
Democratic Unionist Party
North Down
Tabled Date: 12/09/2013
Answered On Date: 27/09/2013
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister for Regional Development why there are no measurable targets on the percentage of cycling journeys in its publication, Building an Active Travel Future for Northern Ireland.
Answer:
The Active Travel Strategy ‘Building an Active Travel Future for Northern Ireland’ is the result of the work undertaken by the inter-departmental Active Travel Forum informed by the results of the public consultation exercise and agreed by the Executive in 2012. It aims to provide a high level framework for a more integrated approach across government and in partnership with key stakeholders to deliver our vision for walking and cycling. The Strategy should provide the foundations, over the longer term, to build a travel culture in which walking and cycling are seen as the natural choice for most of the journeys most of us make. Currently the proportion of trips made by bicycle in Great Britain is at least twice the level recorded in Northern Ireland. The proportion of trips by bicycle in Great Britain is set to increase to an as yet unspecified level. I wanted the Strategy to capture the aspiration for NI to rise faster to a comparable level over the next ten years, rather than limiting our ambition to achieving parity with current levels of cycling in Great Britain. For that reason, the Strategy sets a number of relative targets as follows: Increase the average distance cycled to be in line with our UK counterparts by 2020, and Increase the percentage of trips taken by cycling to be in line with our UK counterparts by 2020. Our targets are not static and therefore will increase further over the lifetime of the Strategy, taking account of any future growth in cycling rates in Great Britain. While challenging, I believe this is the correct approach if cycling is to become the natural choice for most of the short journeys we make and if we are to avoid constraining our ambitions. In addition, the Strategy also sets specific targets to increase the rates of cycling among school pupils as follows: by 2015, 36% of primary school pupils and 22% of secondary school pupils should be walking or cycling to school as their main mode of travel; by 2019, 40% of primary school pupils and 25% of secondary school pupils should be walking or cycling to school as their main mode of travel. A great deal has already been achieved under the Active Travel Strategy. In support of the Strategy, the Active Travel Action Plan sets out measures that will be taken forward by government departments, local authorities and voluntary bodies over the next few years to encourage more cycling and walking and less dependency on private cars. I remain determined to build on this and ensure a renewed focus on cycling within my Department. For that reason I recently announced the establishment of a new cycling unit in my Department. The unit will answer to me directly and will co-ordinate the wide range of initiatives within my department and engage cycling bodies and groups to ensure a clear focus on delivering my ambitions for cycling.
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