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Pedal on Parliament

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UK advocacy group

Pedal on Parliament is a volunteer-run group that campaigns for better conditions for active travel in Scotland. Its main aim is to make Scotland a safer place for cyclists and walkers of all ages. Set up in 2012, it organises an annual mass bike-ride through central Edinburgh to the Parliament. Since 2015, simultaneous rides have been organised in other Scottish cities.

Manifesto

The campaign's eight-point manifesto aims to make Scotland a more cycle-friendly nation:

  1. Proper funding for cycling
  2. Design cycling into Scotland’s roads
  3. Safer speeds where people live, work and play
  4. Integrate cycling into local transport strategies
  5. Sensible road traffic law and enforcement
  6. Reduce the risk of HGVs to cyclists and pedestrians
  7. A strategic and joined-up programme of road user training
  8. Solid research on cycling to support policy-making

Pedal on Parliament ride

The group's main activity is an annual mass-participation bike ride through the centre of Edinburgh, ending at the Scottish Parliament, where speeches are given by activists, politicians and others. For the first eight years, the ride started at The Meadows but in 2023 the start point was changed to Chambers Street. The route follows George IV Bridge and the Royal Mile, these roads being closed to general traffic during the event. The ride proceeds at a leisurely pace, with many children, some on balance bikes, taking part as well as pedestrians walking alongside. It is mainly policed by edinburgh-based police officers on bikes.

A minute's silence has been held at these rides, to remember those cyclists who have been killed on the roads. In contrast, ringing of bike bells has also been used to celebrate cycling, and to signal agreement with speakers.

Feeder rides

Feeder rides are organised from various locations around Edinburgh and beyond to allow cyclists to travel to the start of the main ride in a group. There have also been guided ride from the parliament back to the Meadows along quiet streets after the main event.

History

Pedal on Parliament was set up in 2012, partly in response to the death of Andrew McNicoll, and to protest at the lack of investment in cycling. There had previously been no national cycling campaign for Scotland. After the success of its first mass-participation ride, the group decided to continue its work and to organise further rides in subsequent years. The group now takes part in Scottish Parliament's Cross-Party group on cycling. For the first time since 2012, there was no event in 2024.

Inaugural 2012 event

The first ride took place on Saturday 28 April 2012, with between 2,500 and 3,000 people taking part. After gathering at the Meadows, a two-minute silence was held, afer which the ride was led off by the noted long-distance cyclist, Mark Beaumont. At the end of the ride, a petition with 3,000 signatures was delivered to the parliament. This event had followed several meetings between Government and road safety professionals and campaigners.

2013 event

The second event was held on Sunday 19 May 2013. The procession of 4,000 cyclists was led by the families of Audrey Fyfe and Andrew McNicoll who were both killed while cycling in Edinburgh. as well as the athlete Graeme Obree. Paul Wheelhouse, Minister for Environment and Climate Change, received the campaign's eight-point manifesto.

2014 event

The third Pedal on Parliament was held on 26 April 2014, and was the largest so far, with an estimated 4,500 people taking part. The event had started at midday to allow for football match traffic later in the day and the Great Edinburgh Run the following day.

Speeches were introduced by David Brennan, one of the organisers, and began with the views from three children, which were followed by speeches by a number of MSPs and campaign leaders:

Several other MSPs and councillors, primarily from Edinburgh and the surrounding area, attended the event.

2015 event

The fourth event was held on Saturday 25 April 2015. Transport Minister Derek Mackay attended, along with representatives of all the main political parties.

Speeches were again held outside the Parliament, following a minute's silence for those who had been killed on the roads.

Pedal on Marischal, Aberdeen

A simultaneous ride was held in Aberdeen, from Hazlehead Park to Marischal College, to increase the profile of cycling in the city. Around 150 people gathered at the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council and were met by councilors from several political parties.

2016 event

A fifth mass ride was held on 23 April 2016, during the run-up to the Scottish parliamentary elections, with a main ride in Edinburgh and a simultaneous ride in Aberdeen. The Edinburgh ride was attended by the leaders of three political parties: Kezia Dugdale, Willie Rennie and Patrick Harvie. It was the second year that Derek Mackay, Scotland's Minister for Transport, had taken part.

2017 events

In 2017, rides were held over two days, with events in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow being initially announced. A ride in Inverness was announced later.

In Aberdeen around 100 cyclists joined the ride, while around 120 people took part in the Inverness ride.

2018 events

In 2018, the main ride in Edinburgh took place on 28 April, leaving from the Meadows at midday. A ride was held in Inverness on the same day. On the following day, a ride in Aberdeen went from Hazlehead Park to Union Street. A decision was made by the organizers not to hold a ride in Glasgow in 2018.

2019 events

No main ride to the Scottish Parliament was planned for 2019. Instead, some twenty smaller-scale local events were organised for the weekend of 26 to 28 April. For the first time there was an event in Dundee. In Glasgow there was an event calling for a safe pedestrian crossing area at Victoria Park. An event at Bearsden was intended to raise pressure for the completion of the "Bears Way" cycle route.

2021 events

In 2021 the theme was Light up Scotland, with cyclists being encouraged to undertake actions in the evening and light their bikes up, in particular highlighting the message, 'This machine fights Climate Change'. For the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), a mass ride was organised as part of the COP Global Day of Action March in Glasgow on 6 November with the theme being Pedal on COP.

2022 event

The 2022 ride took place Saturday 23 April. On this occasion the ride began at Chambers Street.

2023 event

The 2023 ride took place on Saturday 22 April, again beginning from Chambers Street. A group of cyclists came from Glasgow, including friends of 22-year-old Emma Burke Newman, who was killed while cycling in Glasgow earlier that year. The benefits of the Blackford Safe Routes school bike bus was also highlighted by some of the children who cycle to school in it.

References

  1. "The Manifesto Making Scotland a cycle-friendly nation". Pedal on Parliament. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  2. ^ Miller, David (25 April 2015). "Thousands take part in Pedal on Parliament in Edinburgh". BBC News.
  3. Clarke, Stuart (27 April 2015). "Thousands take part in Pedal on Parliament in Edinburgh". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  4. Moyes, Vonny (25 April 2016). "Let's face it - cycling has an image problem". The National. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  5. Hinchcliffe, Sally (24 May 2013). "Why we pedalled on the Scottish parliament". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  6. Hinchcliffe, Sally (16 April 2014). "Pedal on Parliament: the stakes are high ahead of Scottish referendum". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  7. Hinchcliffe, Sally (23 April 2015). "The other political campaign in Scotland – for better cycling". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  8. "MSPs: Cross-Party Groups: Cycling". Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  9. "Pedal on Parliament: Introducing the campaign for safer cycling". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  10. Swarbrick, Susan (28 April 2012). "Hoy and Obree back bid for safer cycling". The Herald. Newsquest. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  11. Scott, Kirsty (21 March 2012). "Safe cycling campaign pedals to Scottish parliament". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  12. Swarbrick, Susan (20 May 2013). "Pedal power lobby team calls for safer roads for cyclists". The Herald. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  13. ^ "Graeme Obree leads 4000-strong Holyrood cycle campaign". Sunday Herald. Newsquest. 19 May 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  14. BBC Scotland News report about Pedal on Parliament 2014. www.youtube.com. 26 April 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  15. "Thousands take part in Pedal on Parliament event in Edinburgh". BBC News. 26 April 2014.
  16. "Meet the MSPs". Pedal on Parliament. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  17. "Pedal on Parliament, 2014 Popliticians". SPOKES. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  18. "Minister pledges record spending at fourth Pedal on Parliament". Pedal on Parliament. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  19. "Pedal on Parliament – PoP Aberdeen". Aberdeen Cycle Forum. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  20. Ewen, David (27 April 2015). "Aberdeen ride highlights safety for cyclists". Evening Express. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  21. "Cyclists' join 'pedal on parliament' demo in Edinburgh". BBC News. 23 April 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  22. "VIDEO: Thousands of cyclists demonstrate outside Scottish Parliament". The Herald. 23 April 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  23. Dalton, Alastair (21 April 2016). "Record turnout expected for Pedal on Parliament". The Scotsman. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  24. "POP Goes Large – save the dates: 22nd and 23rd April" (Press release). Pedal on Parliament. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  25. Munro, Alistair (23 March 2017). "Campaign launched to make Inverness a cycle-friendly city". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  26. Aird, Helen (20 April 2017). "Pedal power call for cycle support". Inverness Courier. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  27. "Cyclists across Scotland turn to pedal power to demand a better deal". Evening Express. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  28. Ramage, Iain (24 April 2017). "Inverness cyclists call for more pedestrian routes". Press and Journal. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  29. "Thousands of cyclists descend on Parliament to call for safer roads". The Herald. 28 April 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  30. Munro, Alastair (30 April 2018). "Highland Green MSP gets on his bike to campaign for lower speed limits". The Press and Journal. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  31. Paton, Craig (30 April 2018). "Cyclists in push for better infrastructure in Aberdeen". Evening Express. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  32. "Why Glasgow won't be going to PoP" (Press release). Pedal on Parliament. 12 February 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  33. Dalton, Alastair (25 April 2019). "Pedal on Parliament protests planned across Scotland this weekend to boost cycle safety". The Scotsman. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  34. Asquith, Mark (28 April 2019). "IN PICTURES: Cyclists transform Slessor Gardens". The Courier. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  35. "Glasgow campaigners to hold protest for safe crossing at Victoria Park". Evening Times. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  36. "Bid to complete "Bears Way"". Kirkintilloch Herald. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  37. Dalton, Alastair (5 November 2021). "COP26: Up to 100,000 to march in Glasgow on Saturday in massive climate change protest". The Scotsman. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  38. Howarth, Angus (23 April 2022). "Pedal on Parliament: Thousands in cycle through Edinburgh to demand better bike infrastructure". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  39. "Save the date: Saturday 23 April 2022, 1pm". pedalonparliament.org/. Pedal on Parliament. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  40. "Pedal on Parliament 2023 + feeder rides". Cycling UK. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  41. Stephen, Phyllis (22 April 2023). "Pedal on Parliament demands that politicians do not backpedal". The Edinburgh Reporter. Retrieved 1 January 2025.

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