Isle of Wight cycling group calls for every council to have cycling and walking route plans
The cycling group wants to see councils deliver on their cycling and walking route plans
An Isle of Wight cycling group is calling on every council to have cycling and walking route plans.
Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIP) are strategic, long-term plans developed by local authorities to improve cycling and walking infrastructure.
The CycleWight group work to improve cycle provision on the island.
Tim Thorne, Chair of CycleWight, said: "Every council should have a local cycling or walking infrastructure plan which is called an LCWIP.
"The Isle of Wight has been very good at doing this so most of the towns on the Isle of Wight already have the LCWIPs which is unusual because a lot of places haven't got them.
"But what's happened is the LCWIPs on the island have now become part of supplementary planning which means that when developers build anything, they should be taking and acknowledging the existence of various paths for walking and cycling.
"So what's slightly frustrating CycleWight is the fact that these LCWIPs exist but unfortunately there's no link up in the sense that they (the walking and cycle paths) are still not being created."
The LCWIP for Newport outlines the need for an improved walking and cycling route along the stretch of Parkhurst Road (A3020) leading from the housing estate opposite the prison to the front of St. Mary's Hospital and across to Newport.
In a statement, CycleWight said: "The current infrastructure for cyclists is non-existent and for pedestrians is very substandard, with a rough, narrow and poorly lit patch running on the east side of the road past the houses on Hewitt Crescent towards St Mary's and the only crossing point to the west side being located north of the housing estate.
"Whilst it's understood there will be some sort of cycling connection between the new housing development on Horsebridge Hill and Dodnor Lane, that will not be of use to people living on the existing estate on Partridge Rd, Hewitt Cresent, etc. who wish to easily access St. Mary's and onwards to Newport by bike or on foot."
CycleWight recently held a commuter transport challenge from outside County Hall, Newport, to draw attention to the present traffic issues in the area.
Members of the group rode on bikes from Newport to Cowes and raced a car which took the diversion route through Forest Road.
The cyclists won the race by 10 minutes.
They say the aim was to show the importance of cycle paths and to highlight the importance of enhanced provision.
The group say they've seen the cycle lanes to have positively impacted other places.
Mr Thorne added: "There's plenty of proof that if you provide people with high-quality provision, they'll use it and very interestingly, cycling in London has increased immensely because, of course, they built dedicated cycle lanes all around the city.
"Every year, cycling is increasing in London.
"So we feel that if there was high-quality provision, people would want to cycle much more than they do."
Mr Thorne added that if people were to walk and cycle to places, there would be less pressure on the transport system, and people would become more healthy and appreciate their surroundings.