End Government’s War On The U.K. Motorist, Argues Government

“We really need to discourage councils from their war against the motorist,” Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg told parliament, September 17.

“We should be backing the motorist,” he continued. “Driving is a great sign of one’s independence, liberty and exercise of historic freedoms.”

However, the supposed “war against the motorist”—with pop-up cycleways, widened sidewalks and other measures aimed at encouraging active travel during the pandemic—is government policy.

In May, the Department for Transport (DfT) told English local authorities that millions of pounds will be “released as soon as possible so that work can begin at pace on closing roads to through traffic, installing segregated cycle lanes and widening pavements.”

£250 million of “Emergency Active Travel Funding” had been announced earlier in the month.

“To receive any money under this or future tranches, you will need to show us that you have a swift and meaningful plan to reallocate road space to cyclists and pedestrians, including strategic corridors,” said the letter to local authorities, signed by Rupert Furness, a deputy director of the Department for Transport in London.

The letter told local authorities that walking and cycling were now “essential” forms of transport that can “help us avoid overcrowding on public transport systems as we begin to open up parts of our economy.”

Furness, who works for the Active and Accessible Travel unit within the DfT, stressed: “We have a window of opportunity to act now to embed walking and cycling as part of new long-term commuting habits and reap the associated health, air quality and congestion benefits.”

“The first tranche of £45 million will be released as soon as possible so that work can begin at pace on closing roads to through traffic, installing segregated cycle lanes and widening [sidewalks],” added Furness at the time.

While welcoming the spread of pop-up cycleways, Furness says they could be “more difficult to implement quickly” so local authorities should prioritize “point closures.” That is, “closing certain main roads or parallel side streets” to motor traffic.

Furness’s letter urged speed and boldness.

“Anything that does not meaningfully alter the status quo on the road will not be funded,” stated Furness.

Local authorities were expected to “install further, more permanent measures to cement cycling and walking habits.”

New normal

The new and startling emphasis on cycling and walking from the government came from the very top.

Before he became Prime Minister Boris Johnson was an everyday bicycle commuter and when he swept into power he appointed journalist Andrew Gilligan as his transport advisor. Gilligan was cycling commissioner when Johnson was Mayor of London, and it was Gilligan, not Johnson, that was most responsible for pushing through London’s protected cycleway program.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has taken his lead from Johnson and has become a vocal champion of active transport.

In a May 23 statement given in the government’s daily coronavirus briefing—reporting of which was obscured by the growing scandal over the lockdown breaches by Johnson’s chief advisor Dominic Cummings—Shapps said that walking and cycling ought to become the norm for urban travel, with motor cars pushed to the periphery.

“We will repurpose parking in places just outside town centers” for those who “must drive to major conurbations,” said Shapps.

“So,” he continued, “people can park on the outskirts and finish their journeys on foot or bike or even e-scooter.” 

He predicted that we would not “return to how things were” but “come out of this recovery stronger, by permanently changing the way we use transport.” 

Shapps stressed that the government would be “speeding up the cycling revolution, helping individuals become fitter and healthier. And reducing air pollution, which remains a hidden killer.” 

In March, the DfT released a plan to “decarbonize” transport and in the foreword to this document, Shapps wrote that, in the future, “we will use our cars less.”