Fermanagh & South Tyrone Election Cycle 2017

When you go to vote on Thursday 2nd March 2017 in Fermanagh & South Tyrone cycling might not be your top priority, but where candidates stand might have a bearing on where you place your preferences. We contacted all of the candidates standing for election to the Northern Ireland Assembly – below you can see if they responded and what they think of our ask:

Will you commit to invest at least £10 per head of population on cycling measures and pledge to support and build upon the urban and rural cycling strategies launched since August 2015?

Rosemary Barton (UUP)

“Happy to support the pledge.”

Jemma Dolan (Sinn Féin)

“I can confirm that Sinn Féin supports your 3 key asks as detailed below:

Investment: Sinn Féin supports funding for cycling of at least £10 per head of population, so as to encourage safer cycling conditions and see more people start cycling
Greenways: Sinn Féin supports the Greenways Strategy and the development of traffic-free greenways across the country to boost rural regeneration and tourism.
Legislation: Sinn Féin supports the introduction of an Active Travel Act to incorporate cycling and walking provision into land-use planning and new developments.

“Post-election I look forward to continuing to work with you and your colleagues as we seek to emphasise the health and social benefits of cycling.”

Richard Dunn (Conservatives)

“I’m an occasional cyclist myself and I’m very lucky to have on my doorstep some very beautiful and very quiet country roads to use. I do worry though for the safety of cyclists using some of our busier routes and would certainly like to discuss ways to improve safety with an organisation like yourselves if elected. I’m very supportive of the idea of Greenways and would like to see this pushed forward with a little more enthusiasm from our elected representatives.

“In terms of the financial commitment, I am not in possession of all the information required to make a commitment in the region of £19 million, so I’ll leave that discussion to another time. I’m not in the business of making promises if I don’t know i can keep them.”

Alex Elliott (TUV)

No response so far.

Arlene Foster (DUP)

“I am sure you will also be aware of the sympathetic position that the party has taken in relation to the matters that you raise in recent times.”

Michelle Gildernew (Sinn Féin)

“I’m happy to support the £10 per person minimum spend per annum. Further to my comments last year, I’m also delighted at the number of constituents who have recently discovered the joys of cycling, not just for the health benefits, but also the social benefit of belonging to a club and the camaraderie that follows. Keep up the great work and I look forward to working with you in the new mandate.”

Tanya Jones (Green)

“As a keen cyclist, I am delighted to confirm the Green Party’s commitment to your policy asks including investing at least £10 per head of population (we are committed to the higher figure of £25 per person) on cycling measures. I pledge to support and build upon the urban and rural cycling strategies launched since August 2015, including the expansion of greenways and the rebalancing of the transport budget towards active travel and public transport. We are also in favour of a change in the law to ‘presumed liability to protect the most vulnerable road users.”

Seán Lynch (Sinn Féin)

“As a member of the DRD Committee from 2011 to May 2016, I and my party supported Greenways.”

Richie McPhillips (SDLP)

“I write to support the campaign and the three policy requirements for the future of cycling in NI. As a cyclist myself I know only to well the benefits all round of the promotion of cycling in our society today.”

Maurice Morrow (DUP)