Sponsored by
Are Aylesbury's cycling figures being spun?
AYLESBURY prides itself on being a cycling demonstration town - an example to all other communities by getting people on their bikes, staying fit and helping to protect the local environment.
So after a 2 million investment into achieving such recognition, it should have produced some healthy results...not according to one Aylesbury man who claims to have found otherwise.
Eric Foster believes the Aylesbury Cycling Initiative has not increased the cycling in Aylesbury at all
The 75 per cent increase in cycling in Aylesbury, as claimed by Bucks County Council is a farce, said Mr Foster.
According to him, loop surveys and tally charts taken from nine sites in Aylesbury between July 2006 and 2008 show that the number of cyclists actually decreases by 1.5 per cent.
"As if this were not enough, they issued a series of press releases claiming a significant growth in cycling. This culminated in the front page feature of the Bucks County Council magazine Cycling Aylesbury which claimed a 75 per cent increase in cycling. Call me a traditionalist but when the results of your very own local, supervised surveys show zero change, I would not have used an alternative, less empirical and subjective study, to claim such a massive success.
In a response from Bucks County Council, a spokesperson said:
"Mr Foster was given the ACC figures (the number of cycles that have gone past a particular point) for the town. He was also given manual counts, whereby the numbers of cyclists are counted at various points in the town, on given days during the year. These counts only measure discreet points in the town, providing a 'snapshot' of activity and so don't give a town wide picture of how cycling levels have changed.
She said in April 2006, six per cent of people travelled in Aylesbury by bike. In June 2007, 10.7 per cent people travelled in Aylesbury by bike. This accounted for the 75 per cent increase.
Val Letheren, cabinet member for transportation said: "Since becoming a cycling demonstration town in 2005 the number of cyclists has tripled."
Has cycling in Aylesbury increased?
To comment on this or any other Bucks Herald story, click here.
To post comments directly on this website, click on the Comment on this Story link below
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Aylesbury
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
