“We need a better local transport network in this borough which includes cyclists, pedestrians and public transport”
– Penny Remfry, Green Party candidate for Elected Mayor
The Green Party wants to encourage more people to leave their cars at home and enjoy the fresh air and natural environment we have around us. Reducing the amount of car-based traffic will also improve air quality – a very important consideration when we know that about 300 early deaths* a year are caused by air pollution in the North of Tyne area as well as respiratory and other illnesses.
Penny says:
“Our car use is responsible for a high proportion of carbon emissions and consequent climate change. The Green Party wants to see more people walking and travelling by bicycle, and not just to reduce our carbon footprint but also because of its health and wellbeing benefits.”
A 2019 report by BikeLife on people’s views on cycling in Tyneside showed that only a small minority of people cycle on a regular basis at present (around 15%). The main barrier for many people is lack of safety – potholes in roads, lack of safe routes, too much and too speedy traffic are examples.
Penny says:
“As Green Party Elected Mayor I will set about making cycling safer in this borough. In North Tyneside we already have a good network of cycleways based on the waggonways and existing public rights of way through built up areas. We can build on these but we also need to develop protocols on how to use them, so that where cyclists and pedestrians share a path, there is an agreed understanding between them about who has precedence and which side of the footpath to be on.”
The Green Party recognises that cycling and walking are only a part answer to reducing the use of private cars
Penny says:
“We need better, cheaper and more frequent public transport so that people can travel to work and leisure activities easily. More, and more flexible buses – hydrogen fuelled ideally – are needed to complement our metro system. In order to take car parking pressure off our town centres I would like to see a number of walk-on, walk-off circular bus routes to link metro stations, local centres and residential areas. If elected Mayor I would work with the North East authorities to develop a much improved public transport system across the region.”
Notes
[1] https://www.sustrans.org.uk/media/5955/bikelife19_tyneside_web.pdf