I want to keep cycling!

During lockdown my primary school aged children could cycle confidently on the roads in Launceston and the rural lanes beyond. They absolutely loved their experience of the freedom of the roads, which all us adults had as children when there was much less traffic.

The kids' school is 2 miles from our house, easily cycleable for them now. As a family we all want to keep cycling both for recreation and to get to and from school. But as traffic levels have risen again, so their road confidence is evaporating. Also, cycling in traffic-polluted air is not enjoyable.

Please could we have a major rethink of the use of our road network , to prioritise cycling and walking and actively discourage short-journey car use?

Now that electric bicycles are available, age and fitness barriers can be overcome for the majority - if the infrastructure is right.

Most small businesses- in Launceston and I assume elsewhere- developed delivery services during lockdown - if these are maintained there is no need to take the car for dragging home the shopping! Would Cornwall Council consider what it can do to encourage local retail delivery services to continue?

I would like to see a reduction of speed limit to 40mph on single carriageway A roads (eg the roads from Launceston toward Callington, Bude, Holsworthy, Liskeard, etc) and many /most single track country lanes should be closed to vehicle traffic other than residents and farmers access (ie not through routes, and closed to lorries)

The health and wellbeing benefits would be huge! The rural lane network would become in effect a giant linear park network, for active travel and recreation, and also for wildlife habitat if the hedges are encouraged to grow tall and farmers asked to stop flail cutting annually - hedgerow trees would regenerate. It would help you reach Cornwall's carbon neutral pledge, and would encourage a good sort of tourism, not the unsustainable kind we have at the present time.

You may need some new staff in the highways and transport department though - the present lot seem only capable of thinking about cars. I observe that the signs providing additional space for pedestrians in Launceston town centre have been set up in a way that stops cars driving down some roads.... and also stops pedestrians getting past! Clearly not one person putting the signs in place considered the task from a pedestrian's point of view.