I congratulate my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Croydon, North-East (Vice-Admiral Hughes Hallett) on his good fortune in securing the Adjournment this afternoon and raising this interesting topic. He unconsciously paid a tribute to the excellence of cycle tracks whereon, he tells us, he usually composes his speeches. After listening to his very good speech this afternoon, I can only suppose that they are rather better than he suggested. However, be that as it may, I agree with him that we do not in this country have a very liberal provision of cycle tracks.

As my hon. and gallant Friend rightly said, the general attitude of the cycling clubs has been to dislike cycle tracks and to feel that they contain, in themselves, a threat to the cyclist's right to use the road itself. They have, therefore, never been particularly keen on cycle tracks. It is interesting to note that, years ago, the cycling clubs were amongst the pioneers demanding special motor roads from which cyclists were to he excluded altogether. That, of course, has now become a reality. The new motor road is to be opened today week, when we shall have a motor way upon which no cyclists are allowed.

But I think that it is symptomatic of the general outlook of cyclists that they are not particularly keen on cycle tracks, and even if we had a really good system of cycle tracks I doubt whether my hon. and gallant Friend is right that they would be that popular. It may be that there is something in the national character that does not particularly like being segregated at the side of the road. It is inherent that if there is a regular and comprehensive system of cycle tracks inevitably there would be compulsion to use them, as there is indeed in many Continental countries. It may be that that is a reason why they have never been very popular and one of the reasons, at any rate, why they have not been built more.

Cycle tracks are expensive to build. My hon. and gallant Friend is right in saying that we have power to build them, but a good deal extra width is required to do so. It is extremely important that, if they are to be built at all, they should be built in urban areas, where it is difficult to find the extra width. The extra expense would be heavy and the general trend has been against them rather than in favour of them.

I learnt with interest of the developments which have been made in the new towns of Basildon and, in particular, Harlow, where a special cycling track system has been laid out for the cyclists so that they can cycle round the main shopping centres without encountering traffic. I am told that they are not unpopular, despite the comments that I have made. I am bound to say that I do not see any great prospect of increasing cycling tracks considerably, because to do it on a really large scale, which would be necessary to make a real impact, would be a very expensive undertaking and it would seriously reduce the amount of new road work which we could carry out.

My hon. and gallant Friend suggested that we might consider the strict enforcement of the 30-mile an hour limit. I agree with him that often observance is not as good as it ought to be, and we have introduced this year the device of the 40-mile an hour limit in the hope that in urban and semi-urban areas we shall achieve better observance by regulating the speed limit more nearly to the speed of the average vehicle and thereby achieve greater co-operation from the motorists. In this country the practice is to make enforcement not on a 100 per cent. system but rather on a token basis on the assumption that the average driver would observe the law.

It is true that the 30-mile an hour limit is not always observed as well as it should be. It should be observed because it is one of the best safety measures in our whole road code. I agree with my hon. and gallant Friend that, where it is not well observed, it is an additional danger to cyclists. The fact is that on our roads today the weight and speed of traffic does cause discomfort to cyclists, especially if riding alone, and it is undoubtedly one of the features which is having a deterrent effect on the amount of cycling that now goes on.

I can confirm my hon. and gallant Friend's figures about the reduction in the cycle population. We accept that pre-war there were about 12 million cyclists. Today, the total is about 9 million, and I observe that the membership of the Cyclists Touring Club has fallen by some 40 per cent. in the last eight years, which is a serious reduction.

However, the child cyclist picture to which my hon. and gallant Friend referred is reversed. We think that there are probably about double the child cyclists today compared with pre-war. There are about 3 million today. We have, as has been said, introduced the national child cyclist training scheme in the past few months in order to improve the degree of skill of children and to make sure that when they go cycling on the road they are reasonably safe. I congratulate Croydon on being pre-eminent in passing these tests. No doubt the children of Croydon have been observing my hon. and gallant Friend and seen the right way to ride a bicycle.

My own feeling about the general picture of cycling is that it reflects the rising standard of living in the country. Many people who used to ride bicycles to work now go by car, motor bike or moped Some probably go by public transport, but very large numbers who used to cycle now go by car. For example, they make up a car load of four fellows. It happens all over the country, and it is bound to happen more. That is a good thing, and I am sure we would all be delighted to welcome it.

One has only to look at the huge increase in vehicle registration. In the past five years there has been about a 100 per cent. increase in registrations, and I should think that in the next ten years the number is probably likely to double again. So the necessity for the push bike as a means of getting about is fast disappearing.

On the other hand, the children who have cycles today come from families which ten or twenty years ago almost certainly could not have afforded them. Once again, more purchasing power has made it possible for the youngsters to have bikes. That, again, is a good thing, because it gives them an early chance to learn how to go about on the roads, what the rules of the road are and how to conduct themselves in safety.