The war between Conservatives and Labour is an act. The ULEZ plan was dreamt up by Boris Johnson and is a Conservative Policy.
On the 21 July 2020, right in the middle of a supposed Pandemic, Boris Johnson published a paper called GEAR CHANGE (A bold vision for cycling and walking.) in which he instructed councils to implement the most ludacris, unconservative, anti-car agenda ever undertaken by any UK government. Johnson even encouraged local councils to use Covid lockdowns cover to implement road closures and LTNs, saying that they would meet less opposition to them that way.
The plans were said to be “A Bold Vision for a New Era” and instructed Local Councils to wage an unprecedented war on the automobile. That may sound like hyperbole, but the document sets out exactly that. The plan is launched in the middle of the first lockdown, when Johnson was supposedly spearheading the country’s response to a great plague and only weeks after his own near-death experience with the virus. The timing is opportunistic at best, and the date of publishing is just two weeks after Klaus Schwab's Great Reset which features many of the same ideas on stripping the public of freedom and personal autonomy.
Johnson starts with a wild assumption stating: “I have always known that millions more people in this country want to cycle, if the conditions are right, and the past four months have proved it.”
He goes on to say: “All of us, cyclists and non-cyclists alike, have suddenly found out what it is like to have streets where you can breathe clean air, hear the birds singing at noon, and walk or ride in safety. We have all noticed the new found safety on our roads with fewer cars hurtling down our streets, near our homes and our gardens and our schools."
"the most radical change to our cities since the arrival of mass motoring."
"That is why this document aims to kick off the most radical change to our cities since the arrival of mass motoring. We announced in May £2 billion of new funding for cycling and walking – representing a sixfold increase in dedicated funding, the biggest increase this country has ever seen.
"That will pay for first hundreds, then thousands of miles of protected bike lanes, so anyone can ride safely; low-traffic neighbourhoods, to stop rat-running and make it easier to walk and cycle; bus and bike corridors on some main roads;
and funding for a massive rise in e-bikes, all of which will open up cycling to more and different people and make places better for everyone. There will be vouchers to pay for bike maintenance, free cycling training for everyone who wants it, "
"and parking changes to discourage the school run. "
“This unprecedented pandemic has also shown many of us, myself very much included, that we need to think harder about our health. We need to think harder about how we can make lifestyle changes that keep us more active and fit –
the way we travel is central to this. This strategy sets out our plans to start prescribing bikes on the NHS
– with the bicycle in effect giant, universal prescription, with our bike lanes becoming huge, 24-hour gyms, free and open to everyone. “
I too am proud of this plan for unleashing our nation of cyclists – improving people’s health, the environment, and wider society along the way. This will mark a step change in how our towns and cities look, feel and operate for people across this country – I hope to see everyone soon on their bikes.
The document then goes on to reference the pandemic and how it is an ‘opportunity’ to reset society
We want – and need – to see a step-change in cycling and walking in the coming years. The challenge is huge, but the ambition is clear. We have a unique opportunity to transform the role cycling and walking can play in our transport system, and get England moving differently.
A once in a generation chance to accelerate active travel. The recent COVID-19 restrictions have profoundly impacted the way people live, work and travel as evidenced by the public’s desire to be more active, and the rise in popularity of cycling and walking (Sport England, 2020)3 . Now, we can embed those changes in people’s travel behaviour, increase active travel, and transform permanently how many people move around, particularly in towns and cities.
England will be a great walking and cycling nation Places will be truly walkable. A travel revolution in our streets, towns and communities will have made cycling a mass form of transit. Cycling and walking will be the natural first choice for many journeys with half of all journeys in towns and cities being cycled or walked by 2030.
We will increase the number of “school streets” to protect children Almost half of all primary school children, and almost a quarter of secondary school children, are driven to school, a figure which has more than trebled in the last 40 years. School active travel could therefore play a greater role in preventing obesity and supporting healthier weight. The school run creates pollution, congestion and danger – around schools and on the wider road network. About a quarter of all morning rush hour car trips in London during school terms is school run traffic.
We will create more “school streets”. Under these schemes, during term time, local authorities close streets to through traffic and have parking restrictions at school pick-up and drop-off times. Access is maintained for residents and other requirements, such as to drop off children who may have mobility difficulties and cannot walk far. The schemes can reduce the number of people driving their children to school by up to a third and reduce the risk of casualties by reducing the chance for vehicle / pedestrian / cycle conflict.
We will enable effective enforcement of school streets outside London, by giving local authorities the powers in part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004.
We will work with Active Travel England and other key stakeholders to ensure that the importance of securing high quality cycling and walking provision is embedded within the planning system. We will also consider the role the emerging National Model Design Code and revisions to the Manual for Streets can play in delivering high quality, accessible, secure and safe cycle storage.
Cargo freight by Bike.
We will promote cycling for the carriage of freight, and work to reduce unnecessary motorised freight and servicing traffic One objection to reallocating road space away from motor traffic is that the roads are needed for freight. That is actually an argument for getting unnecessary traffic off the roads to benefit those with a genuine need, such as many freight users. However, bikes can in fact be an alternative for many – though clearly not all – common forms of freight. Cargo bikes can carry loads of up to 250kg.
New Powers - local authorities get police powers
We will commence the remaining elements of Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, allowing local authorities, rather than the police, to enforce against moving traffic offences such as disregarding one-way systems or entering mandatory cycle lanes. The change has already largely taken effect in London, where it has significantly reduced police workload on traffic offences, allowing officers to prioritise more important matters, while also improving enforcement.'
A new commissioning body and inspectorate, Active Travel England, led by a new national cycling and walking commissioner will be established in the next few months.
The full document can be read here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/904146/gear-change-a-bold-vision-for-cycling-and-walking.pdf
Throughout the document, cars, those things that we all get about in, are mentioned a mere 5 times and always in a negative way. Not even a passing nod to how they are fundamental to society and a necessity for anyone who owns one.
Johnson states that all new road schemes must be designed by cyclists, embedding the socialist ideology into the very design of our streets. The target for all of these schemes is the car, to make life more convenient for a tiny section of the public Johnson advocates the destruction of it for the majority. The entire paper is dedicated to reducing freedom. Freedom, once something at the very core of Conservatism, here not simply discouraged, but in many cases, destroyed outright.
This is not Conservatism, this is Socialism, we are being played, they're all in it together.
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