Aspirations are a wunnerful thing

Last month the local authority signed up to the Charter of Brussels, pledging the city to aim for 15 per cent of all journeys being made by bike by 2020. Cyclists rejoiced, but it wasn't long before the council seemed to backpedal, arguing the target was "aspirational" rather than a firm commitment. Edinburgh was the only UK city to sign up to the charter.

So far the council has been extremely vague about how it plans to reach the 15 per cent target from its current base of 4 per cent.

Spin, PR, gimmicks and froth are the curse of cycling and walking initiatives in Britain. As Gareth Rees cleverly spots, in an entirely different context:

Most of the recommendations are completely non-actionable — “considering”, “engaging”, “educating” and “influencing” are the key verbs