"Cycling is one of the facets of transport which is often ignored. I would like to promote home zones so that children can ride in safety. I would also like to see a network of cycling lanes in London that are actually joined up, and have a physical barrier between the lanes and the rest of the traffic. The Labour government has already set up pilot schemes in two areas of London.

Parking in bus and cycle lanes is unacceptable. This is a danger to cyclists and the Mayor and Assembly should be working with the LCC and the police in order to monitor and improve this situation. The Assembly has been set up so that we can work in partnerships and providing decent facilities for cyclists is a crucial part of addressing London Transport problems."

"The Green Party provides a natural political and philosophical home for the cyclist. Our transport policy is very clear on the issue. There needs to be less reliance on the private car and other environmentally unsustainable forms of mobility. Resources need to be diverted away from expensive and socially divisive road-building programmes with priority given to pedestrians and cyclists.

The Green Party would push for a properly funded network of cycle lanes and are equally firm on the need for a 20 mph speed limit in urban areas. These sound like radical steps but are easily achievable given proper funding structures and political will. The Greens have both the will and the vision to ensure that cycling becomes a properly valued and viable means of mobility in London."

"I have to confess to being a wannabe cyclist. I used to cycle around Wimbledon in my childhood, but now find the traffic conditions too scary. So I completely support the London Cycling Campaign’s manifesto for cycling – and particularly the speed limit reduction.

At the moment cycling is very much the poor relation amongst transport: it’s the greenest, yet the most neglected. And the division of London into separate authorities has made it very difficult for a coordinated approach to be taken. The combination of the vital work done by the LCC and the establishment of the new GLA should mean that real progress can now be made. It would certainly be an issue that I would fight for if elected."

"Cycling is one of the best way to keep fit and healthy, and more people would cycle if it was safer and more convenient. To that end councils should introduce 20 mph speed restrictions in residential areas and allow cyclists to use wide footpaths by separating pedestrians and cyclists. The government could fund elevated cycleways along main roads connecting up with main stations. Cycling tackles congestion, reduces pollution and has potential health benefits; it is also a cheap mode of transport. We need strong wills to put the ideas from the cycling manifesto into practice.

The mayor and London assembly have a golden opportunity to make travelling by bicycle in London a safer, more convenient and enjoyable method of travel."

Each of the four main local GLA candidates has agreed to participate. Chaired jointly by Merton and Wandsworth borough co-ordinators, the debate will only deal with cycling. Candidates will each have five minutes to speak, then the floor will be opened for questions to the panel. Please come armed with questions!

MCC candidates are standing for election to the executive committee of the Friends of Richmond Park (FORP) on an anti-through traffic platform.

This is the culmination of years of vigorous campaigning on the part of MCC and other organisations to remove through motor traffic from the Park. The issue has been prominent in local papers and town halls since a series of Critical Mass rides was organised last summer, and as announced in the last issue, the Royal Parks Agency is now seriously considering some experimental rush-hour closures.

One body that can influence the debate is the Friends of Richmond Park, whose aims and objectives include "resisting any urbanisation of the park caused by the encroachment of through motor traffic" and "keeping the roads of the Park out of the highway system".

Aiming to uphold these aims are MCC members Richard Evans and Philip Box, who are standing for election to the FORP executive committee at its AGM on Friday 28 April. "I feel privileged to live within easy cycling distance of the Park" says Philip Box, "it’s vital to look after it and prevent it from going the way of Hyde Park". These words ring especially true in the light of recent statistics produced by transport consultants Peter Brett Associates: 94-98% of vehicles entering the park during weekdays are through traffic. This falls only to 80% at weekends.

If you are not already a Friend, please join now to support the campaign and come along to the AGM to vote. "We really think that the Park is worth the effort" adds Richard Evans.