‘Very clear’ that whoever wrote National Cycling Strategy does not cycle – Bicycle Advocacy Group President

It is “very clear” that whoever wrote the National Cycling Strategy does not because he has no idea whatsoever of the kind of proposals that should have been made within this strategy, the President of the Bicycle Advocacy Group Michelle Attard Tonna said in an interview with The Malta Independent.

The National Cycling Strategy was launched by Transport Malta last November, with the consultation period on the strategy closing at the end of last January. However despite being the only NGO dedicated to advocating for cycling, BAG were not consulted in the writing of this strategy, Attard Tonna said.

She described the strategy as something of a “piecemeal approach”, and said that it lacks any sort of vision in terms of improving the safety of cyclists, encouraging people to shift from cars to cycling, and in terms of simply promoting the mode of transport.

Attard Tonna questioned the strategy’s vision of doubling cycling by 2050, saying that the last time a national study was taken on this subject was in 2010. Even then, Attard Tonna said that the current amount of cyclists was 0.1%, before observing that the target of 0.2% by 2050 was “very poor”, especially when cities like Seville in Spain which, she said, is similar to Malta in climate and culture managed to increase their number of cyclists from 0.5% to 7% in the space of just four years.