That is the aim of today’s Pedal on Parliament campaign and whilst unfortunately the snow showers in Westhill made me ditch my pedals in favour of the hydrogen bus, I was delighted to meet the campaigners at Marischal College this afternoon and support their manifesto which includes proper funding for cycling, safer speeds where people live, work and play and the integration of cycling in to local transport strategies.

The Aberdeen Cycling Forum organised the bike ride from Hazlehead Park to Marischal College to coincide with the event at Holyrood today. You can find out more about the forum here.

The campaign was aimed at Scottish Parliament candidates. Our candidate for Aberdeenshire West, Mike Rumbles gave his backing and said “Congratulations for helping to publicise the real need to improve facilities for walkers and cyclists. We really do need to encourage both walking and cycling and less reliance on our cars. This is one way of doing that.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie today said that helping more Scots get on their bikes will not happen by accident as he set out a Lib Dem three-point plan to encourage more people to cycle and walk.

Speaking from Pedal on Parliament in Edinburgh after riding in with a group from Fife, Mr Rennie warned that cycle safety needs to be at the heart  of the planning process and set out plans for £20m of new investment in active travel.

The Lib Dem three-point plan would:

• Increase the share of the transport budget that is spent on cycling and active transport by adding £20 million of capital spending;
• Support safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists with more dedicated and segregated cycle lanes;
• Revise the current Cycling by Design guidelines to reflect international best practice and increase their authority to make them core national standards, ensuring safe provision for cyclists and pedestrians is built in to the road system.

Commenting, Mr Rennie said:

“Active travel helps keep us fit and healthy and cuts our carbon emissions but increasing the number of journeys made by bike or on foot will not happen by accident. Improving safety is vital for that and our plans would see bike safety put at the heart of the planning process.

“We need action to increase investment in both cycling and walking, improve dedicated cycling infrastructure and ensure that people are confident that they can ride their bike safely.

“The Liberal Democrat three-point plan would deliver millions of pounds of investment and help reach the target of 10 per cent of journeys being by bike by the end of the next parliament.”