#BikeIsBest Advocacy Digest - Edition No.55

#BikeIsBest Digest Edition No. 55 | Friday 10th March 2023 | View in browser

Hello and welcome, one and all, to #BikeIsBest, your congestion-busting, air cleaning, health-giving positive dose of pedal power.

CYCLING BIG AND GETTING BIGGER

Momentum is gathering, change is happening, lanes are being built, and people are ready for change. So it's definitely the wrong time to cut spending on active travel.

BIG STORIES FOR CYCLING ADVOCACY

ACTIVE TRAVEL BUDGET CUT.

It's not good news for active travel funding as the All Party Parliamentary Group on Cycling and Walking show a £380m budget cut against the Government's planned spending on active travel.

I went on BBC Radio 4's World at One in my role as West Midlands Cycling & Walking Commissioner to explain the effect this will have at a time where we need to urgently decarbonise and provide people with cheap transport choices.

CYCLE-FRIENDLY CITIES POPULARITY KLAXON.

The Telegraph reports the attraction of cycle-friendly and 15-minute cities as an unsurprising result of them simply being nicer places to be. No conspiracy theories, no nonsense, just sensible reporting. 2.5 million Brits visit the Netherlands each year. Being bike-friendly at home is within our grasp too and it could well boost British tourism.

CYCLING BIG IN CITY OF LONDON.

Forbes’ Carlton Reid reports on figures from the City of London showing cyclists are now the biggest road user, 40% of traffic at peak times, and 27% throughout the day. The 24-hour traffic count, Reid points out, was carried out on a wet, windy November day last year, and while motor traffic has fallen 64% in the City since 1999, cycling has rocketed by 386%, thanks to improved public realm and the fact cycling is the quickest, most convenient way of getting about. 

WOMEN’S RIDE FOR GENDER-EQUAL STREETS.

A huge peloton of riders descended on central London at the weekend, calling for safer streets. While women are 51% of Londoners, they make up just a third of cycling traffic, a pattern seen nationwide as women are less willing to tolerate roads that feel unsafe. Routes protected from motor traffic make streets more equal, and it’s something we need more of nationwide. 

SCHOOL STREETS WORK.

Analysis of school streets in Lewisham, using intelligent CCTV technology, found the simple measure, outside a single school alone, cut 96,000 car trips a year, 862,500 vehicle movements, removed an expected 6.8 tonnes of nitrous oxide & 0.5 tonnes of PM2.5, with a 3,552-tonne reduction in CO2. This measure not only cuts air pollution but reduces the potential for child injuries at the school gates.

PEOPLE WANT 15-MINUTE CITIES.

YouGov research has found 62% of the public want amenities like pharmacies, schools and supermarkets a 15 minute walk or cycle from their home. Despite the hype and misinformation, these measures are popular, with 73% of Labour supporters and 57% of Conservatives in favour. Bus stops, post offices and medical facilities are the most-wanted accessible services.

OTHER HEADLINES

SAFE AND FRIENDLY.

This celebration of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole’s new cycle lanes, making cycling an option for more local journeys, is great.

STACK ‘EM HIGH.

A public message from the Swedish public transport agency Västtrafik. A very effective way to show: if 50 people travel in an electric bus, the emissions will be 11x less than if they go by electric car – and 36x less than if they travel by a fossil-fueled car. It'll save space too.

INTERESTING GRAPH OF THE WEEK:
 

Cyclists using Cycleway 9 in Hammersmith have outnumbered cars in the past couple of weeks, during daylight hours. That’s according to Possible’s citizen traffic counter data, cameras installed in residents’ windows to measure vehicles passing on the road outside. Leo Murray does acknowledge they can’t distinguish between powered two-wheelers and cyclists but it certainly looks promising. Source 

ACTIVE TRAVEL WORD OF THE WEEK:

Indicator Species. In ecology the phrase refers to species that thrive when an ecosystem is healthy. But in cycling, sometimes women are referred to as an indicator species, because if women are cycling, it means your streets are safe. We know women are less willing to tolerate dangerous roads and circuitous routes, and if we want equitable streets, it’s key to address their needs.

Until next time,

Founder, #BikeIsBest

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