SUSTRANS

 
Representations made, or encouraged, by the tiny engineering charity Sustrans should be disregarded. Sustrans has apparently less than ten actual members, and their constitution does not allow them to undertake to represent bicycle users, or pedestrians, horseriders, the disabled, or anyone at all. Additionally, as Sustrans have delegated the management and millennium funding of the National Cycle Network in Cornwall to Cornwall County Council under the project title Cornish Way (and probably also to WSCC for Sussex projects), it is particularly inappropriate and incorrect for Sustrans to attempt to interfere in local affairs here.

Sustrans have promised the Millennium Commissison that they will, by midsummer's day 2000, produce thousands of miles of routes "suitable for an unsupervised twelve year old", half of which will be "traffic free". Although pedestrians, horses, wheelchairs and cycles are of course traffic, Sustrans mean this latter designation to refer to routes being free of motor vehicles. It is manifestly impossible for Sustrans to meet the declared goals, so to avoid earned embarrassment to themselves and the Millenium Commission, enormous and irresponsible pressure is created for hasty implementation of token "traffic free" sections to avoid falling so far short of the grand PR promise.

This means unsafe and unwanted "traffic-free" sections are implemented against the wishes, advice and objections of user groups, and others, simply to fill the Sustrans scoresheet and produce x miles of "result". To build up the pressure for this unwanted implementation, Sustrans conduct misleading publicity campaigns at public expense, prominently featurlng forms of provision, which are poor practice, and last resorts, particularly shared use. These campaigns have a really insidious role in misdirecting public funds and frightening people off the roads. They also incorrectly imply that Sustrans is a campaign/membership organisation or user group, rather than a publicity driven quango with a questionable safety record, and an approach to transport matters which is ideological, evangelical, and unresponsive to valid public concern.