Pedal on Parliament

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search
Pedal on Parliament is a grassroots campaign group that wants Scotland to be a
place where active travel is safe and enjoyable. Set up in 2012, it seeks
improvements to make conditions on Scotland's roads suitable for those aged from 8
to 80. Event have been held annually, which have all included people cycling
through Edinburgh to the Parliament. A simultaneous ride in Aberdeen was introduced
in 2015.

In 2018, events took place over two days: 28 April in Edinburgh and Inverness; 29
April in Aberdeen.

Contents
1 Manifesto
2 Pedal on Parliament ride
2.1 Feeder rides
3 History
3.1 Inaugural 2012 event
3.2 2013 event
3.3 2014 event
3.4 2015 event
3.4.1 Pedal on Marischal, Aberdeen
3.5 2016 event
3.6 2017 events
3.7 2018 events
4 References
5 External links
Manifesto
The campaign has an eight-point manifesto of areas for improvement towards making
Scotland a cycle-friendly nation:[1]

Proper funding for cycling

Design cycling into Scotland�s roads
Safer speeds where people live, work and play
Integrate cycling into local transport strategies
Sensible road traffic law and enforcement
Reduce the risk of HGVs to cyclists and pedestrians
A strategic and joined-up programme of road user training
Solid research on cycling to support policy-making
Pedal on Parliament ride
Each year, a ride has followed a route from The Meadows to the Scottish Parliament.
The main ride gathers at Middle Meadow Walk, and then goes via George IV Bridge and
the Royal Mile. The ride down to the parliament is carried out at a leisurely pace
as there are many children, some on balance bikes, and also people walking
alongside that are not able to cycle for whatever reason. It is policed mainly by
Edinburgh-based Police on bikes, who also ride in with some of the local feeder
rides, which can exceed 200 cyclists, and takes around 30 minutes for the end of
the ride to leave The Meadows. During the ride, road in the area are closed to
traffic.[2]

Participants in the main riders assemble at the parliament where speeches are then
given by activists, politicians and others.

A minute's silence has been held at these rides, to remember those unfortunate
cyclists who have been killed on the roads.[3] In contrast, ringing of bike bells
has also been used to celebrate cycling, and to signal agreement with speakers.[4]
Feeder rides
A series of "feeder rides" are organised from various locations around Edinburgh
and Scotland. These allow people to cycle to the event in a group, with the benefit
of safety in numbers as well as being a sociable occasion. The feeder rides are
often joined by people en route to the Meadows, either at pre-defined points, or
ad-hoc. There was also a guided ride back to The Meadows along quiet streets after
the event was over.

History
Pedal on Parliament is a grassroots campaign which first organised a protest ride
in 2012 in response to a lack of investment in cycling.[5] Before the group was
formed, there was no national cycling campaign for Scotland.[6] After the large
turnout in 2012, the group realised that their work would need to continue.[7] The
group are now one of the organisations that take part in Scottish Parliament's
Cross-Party group on cycling.[8]

Inaugural 2012 event

The first event took place on Saturday 28 April 2012, with between 2500-3000 people
in attendance.[9] After gathering at The Meadows, people cycled down to the
parliament where they delivered a petition that had been signed by over 3000
people.[10] This rally had followed several meetings between Government and road
safety professionals and safety campaigners.[11]

2013 event
The second event was held on Sunday 19 May 2013. The procession of 4000 cyclists
were led by the families of Audrey Fyfe and Andrew McNicoll who were both killed
while cycling in Edinburgh,[12] as well as the athlete Graeme Obree.[13] Paul
Wheelhouse, Minister for Environment and Climate Change, received the campaign's
eight-point manifesto.[13]

2014 event
The third Pedal on Parliament was held on 26 April 2014 and was the largest yet,
with estimates of over 4500 people attending.[14] The event had started at midday
due to allow for the football match traffic later that day and the Great Edinburgh
Run being held the following day.

Speeches were introduced by David Brennan, one of the organisers,[15] and began
with the views from three children, who were followed by a number of MSPs and
campaign leaders:

Daniel, Kyle, and Katharine: children who explained they wanted to cycle, but
couldn't because of the lack of safe infrastructure and the dangerous roads between
their house and school
Keith Brown MSP, Minister for Transport (SNP), who remarked that "this was the
largest demonstration we have seen outside parliament"
Alison Johnstone MSP, Lothian (Green)
Willie Rennie MSP, Mid Scotland and Fife (Lib Dem)
Claudia Beamish MSP, South Scotland (Labour)
Councillor Cameron Rose, Edinburgh (Conservative)
Lynne McNicoll from the charity Andrew Cyclist
Chris Oliver from Road Share spoke about the campaign for presumed liability
Several other MSPs and councillors were at the event, primarily from Edinburgh and
the surrounding areas.[16][17]

2015 event
The fourth event was held on Saturday 25 April 2015. Transport Minister Derek
Mackay attended the event along with representatives of all the main political
parties.[2]
Speeches were again held outside the Parliament, following a minute's silence for
those who have been killed on the roads.[18]

Briana Pegado, President of the Edinburgh University Students' Association

Emilia Hanna, Friends of the Earth
Derek Mackay MSP, Minister for Transport and Islands, announced "record breaking"
funding for cycling in 2015/16
Cameron Buchanan MSP, Conservative
Sarah Boyack MSP, Labour
Alison Johnstone MSP, Green
Bruce Whitehead, Left Unity candidate
Pedal on Marischal, Aberdeen
A simultaneous ride was also held in Aberdeen, from Hazlehead Park to Marischal
College, to increase the profile of cycling in the city.[19] Around 150 people
gathered at the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council and were met by councillors
from a range of parties.[20]

2016 event
A fifth mass ride event was held on 23 April 2016, during the run up to the
Scottish elections, with a main ride in Edinburgh and a simultaneous ride in
Aberdeen.[21] The Edinburgh ride was attended by the leaders of three political
parties- Kezia Dugdale, Willie Rennie and Patrick Harvie.[22] It was the second
year that Derek Mackay, Scotland's Minister for Transport, took part.[23]

2017 events
In 2017, local elections were being held and organisers planned to have rides over
two days, initially announcing rides in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow.[24] A ride
in Inverness was announced later.[25][26]

In Aberdeen there were around 100 people on the ride,[27] while there were around
120 people on the Inverness ride.[28]

2018 events
In 2018, the main ride in Edinburgh took place leaving from the Meadows at midday
on 28 April.[29] A ride was held in Inverness the same day.[30] On the following
day, a ride in Aberdeen went from Hazlehead Park to Union Street.[31] A decision
was made by organisers not to hold a ride in Glasgow in 2018.[32]

References
"The Manifesto Making Scotland a cycle-friendly nation". Pedal on Parliament.
Retrieved 26 April 2014.
Miller, David (25 April 2015). "Thousands take part in Pedal on Parliament in
Edinburgh". BBC News.
Clarke, Stuart (27 April 2015). "Thousands take part in Pedal on Parliament in
Edinburgh". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
Moyes, Vonny (25 April 2016). "Let's face it - cycling has an image problem". The
National. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
Hinchcliffe, Sally (24 May 2013). "Why we pedalled on the Scottish parliament".
The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
Hinchcliffe, Sally (16 April 2014). "Pedal on Parliament: the stakes are high
ahead of Scottish referendum". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
Hinchcliffe, Sally (23 April 2015). "The other political campaign in Scotland �
for better cycling". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
"MSPs: Cross-Party Groups: Cycling". Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
"Pedal on Parliament: Introducing the campaign for safer cycling". The Scotsman.
Johnston Press. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
Swarbrick, Susan (28 April 2012). "Hoy and Obree back bid for safer cycling". The
Herald. Newsquest. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
 Scott, Kirsty (21 March 2012). "Safe cycling campaign pedals to Scottish
parliament". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
Swarbrick, Susan (20 May 2013). "Pedal power lobby team calls for safer roads for
cyclists". The Herald. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
"Graeme Obree leads 4000-strong Holyrood cycle campaign". Sunday Herald.
Newsquest. 19 May 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
BBC Scotland News report about Pedal on Parliament 2014. www.youtube.com. 26 April
2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
"Thousands take part in Pedal on Parliament event in Edinburgh". BBC News. 26
April 2014.
"Meet the MSPs". Pedal on Parliament. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
"Pedal on Parliament, 2014 Popliticians". SPOKES. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
"Minister pledges record spending at fourth Pedal on Parliament". Pedal on
Parliament. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
"Pedal on Parliament � PoP Aberdeen". Aberdeen Cycle Forum. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
Ewen, David (27 April 2015). "Aberdeen ride highlights safety for cyclists".
Evening Express. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
"Cyclists' join 'pedal on parliament' demo in Edinburgh". BBC News. 23 April 2016.
Retrieved 12 March 2017.
"VIDEO: Thousands of cyclists demonstrate outside Scottish Parliament". The
Herald. 23 April 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
Dalton, Alastair (21 April 2016). "Record turnout expected for Pedal on
Parliament". The Scotsman. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
"POP Goes Large � save the dates: 22nd and 23rd April" (Press release). Pedal on
Parliament. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
Munro, Alistair (23 March 2017). "Campaign launched to make Inverness a cycle-
friendly city". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
Aird, Helen (20 April 2017). "Pedal power call for cycle support". Inverness
Courier. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
"Cyclists across Scotland turn to pedal power to demand a better deal". Evening
Express. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
Ramage, Iain (24 April 2017). "Inverness cyclists call for more pedestrian
routes". Press and Journal. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
"Thousands of cyclists descend on Parliament to call for safer roads". The Herald.
28 April 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
Munro, Alastair (30 April 2018). "Highland Green MSP gets on his bike to campaign
for lower speed limits". The Press and Journal. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
Paton, Craig (30 April 2018). "Cyclists in push for better infrastructure in
Aberdeen". Evening Express. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
"Why Glasgow won't be going to PoP" (Press release). Pedal on Parliament. 12
February 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
External links
Official website Edit this at Wikidata
Categories: Cycling safetyCycling in Scotland
Navigation menu
Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView
historySearch

Search Wikipedia
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Add links
This page was last edited on 21 June 2018, at 08:37 (UTC).
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy. Wikipedia� is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie
statementMobile viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki