CfSC Policy: Road Closures for Earth Day

CfSC has reviewed the impact of the proposed Earth Day road closures on cyclists and other road users. It is the opinion of CfSC that such closures are counter-productive because they act to reinforce the mistaken opinion that cycles can only be used on the roads when other vehicles are restricted from using the roads.

It is a cornerstone of CfSC policy, and the opinion of informed cyclists worldwide, that cyclists can safely and efficiently share the road system with all other road users. CfSC is not prepared to endorse road closures of this type because of the risk of negative publicity against CfSC's long term objective of making the road system safe for all road users to share. If Earth Day wishes to make a real change in the present balance between modes of transportation then it should avoid alienating those very road users whose attitudes it is seeking to change. Earth Day could, for example, lobby for:

• Better parking facilities at places of employment, or
• Removal of subsidies that encourage the use of motor vehicles, or
• Mileage payments for employees who use cycles for business transportation.

CfSC would be pleased to provide further information on promoting cycling as a safe and efficient mode of transportation.

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Approved by the CfSC Board, April 1991