It’s fair to say that 2016 has been an interesting year, in all senses of the word. In a scary and uncertain world, it can be hard to look forward and consider what might change it for the better, even in small ways. But hope springs eternal – and sometimes it’s the apparently small things that can make a real difference to people’s lives, even if they don’t always make the headlines. The thirty-plus groups behind We Walk, We Cycle, We Vote believe that making changes to enable people to walk or cycle are exactly the kind of thing that, while small in themselves, add up to a big change, and one that is ultimately for the better.
That’s why we want to hear your wishes for 2017. Large or small, we want to know what you’d like to see change next year, that would make it easier for you or your family or friends to walk or cycle. It could be a new footbridge, or a cycle path, or a road closed to rat-running traffic. It could be a route to your children’s school or your place of work or your nearest shops. It could be as small as a dropped kerb or as large as a cycle superhighway – or a whole network of them.
Together, large and small, these wishes could add up – maybe not to world peace, or global harmony, but at least to a healthier, happier country.
Let us know – either by email, twitter, or on our Facebook page – what you would wish for in 2017. But don’t just stop there. With local elections coming up in May, it’s your chance to influence the people who can make this happen. Let your existing local councillors know where your priorities lie, and tell your candidates as well when the time comes.
And be ambitious. Some of your wishes may seem unlikely to come true, especially if your current council seems to be more interested in easing the flow of motorised traffic than in walking or cycling. But you never know. If we have learned anything at all from 2016 it is that when it comes to elections, anything can happen. Perhaps it’s time to harness that for the good in 2017…
I’d like Route 1 to be upgraded between Berwick upon tweed and Edinburgh to be a segregated cycle path.
I’d also like the Lothian councils to repair the roads, the potholes, especially in the Haymarket area of Edinburgh are atrocious.
Wish for 2017
Lower speed limits for motor vehicles on rural roads and where this may be deemed impractical, provision of a parallel segregated route equally direct and with no worse gradients than the road.
Merry Cyclemass to all
Drop Bars, Not Bombs
Albert Einstein said….
Life is Like Riding a Bicycle. To keep your Balance, You must Keep Moving..
Here’s to a new year of positive movement for the bike world!
Here’s to the movement!!