Matt Barber, the head of partnerships in the East of England for Sustrans – the charity which supports the national cycle network - came to Leighton Buzzard last week at the request of Andrew Selous MP to visit the section of Leighton Road which urgently needs segregated cycling and walking lanes. This issue has already been raised by over 200 petitioners at a recent Central Bedfordshire Council meeting.
Speaking after the visit South West Bedfordshire Andrew Selous said:
"As a keen cyclist myself, I am very keen to see the safe extension of the national cycle network, all the way from the Leighton Buzzard bypass into the town itself. It is encouraging that Active Travel England are supporting this work along with Sustrans and I will work with Central Bedfordshire Council to try to make this cycle network extension a reality, so everyone can use the car less. Having cycled along this route myself, I have seen that it is very far from ideal. As one of my colleagues in Parliament said: 'Cycling should be for the many not the brave.' "
Commenting on the meeting, Matt Barber (Sustrans Head of Partnerships, Midlands and East) said:
“It was great to meet Andrew Selous MP on Friday for a cycle ride around Leighton Buzzard, even in the pouring rain. Andrew’s commitment to active travel, and his understanding of why we desperately need to enable more people to walk, wheel, and cycle was evident.
We spent some time looking at issues on Stanbridge Road, particularly near the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, where there is no safe infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists.
We, at Sustrans, are continuing to successfully work in partnership with Central Bedfordshire Council, by supporting their Officers with designing high-quality walking and cycling infrastructure. We can also confirm that we are currently supporting delivery of improved active travel infrastructure along Stanbridge Road.
In the longer-term, we are interested in the potential for a high-quality and safe route all the way into Stanbridge, which would create a connection with the Sewell Greenway, and Route 6 of the National Cycle Network, which we act as custodians for.”