#BikeIsBest Advocacy Digest - Edition No.59

#BikeIsBest Digest Edition No. 59 | Wednesday 5th April 2023 | View in browser

Hello and welcome to April. There’s tree blossom, bulbs are flowering and the bright orb in the sky has emerged, in places, from behind the cloud. Nice to have you here. Thoughts and prayers to hayfever sufferers.

WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST

Transport in all its forms has, historically, been designed by men, often unconsciously for other men. Long has it been thus. It’s crucial to remember if we want everyone to be able to cycle we need to include everyone, particularly those who are less likely to put up with dangerous roads, sharing with traffic, or long detours.
 

BIG STORIES FOR CYCLING ADVOCACY

KIDICAL MASS.

A couple of weeks ago hundreds of kids and their adults took to London’s streets to demonstrate that children need safe space to cycle too. There’s a delightful video of their journey. Life-affirming stuff. 

100 WOMEN IN CYCLING.

Cycling UK’s annual celebration of women in the world of cycling is back for a seventh year. Their landing page for this year’s 100 Women has stories and articles showcasing some great women in the world of cycling, and why gender equality matters.
 

FRIDE-DAYS BIKE BUS BONANZA.

Every day should be bike to school day but, baby steps. Sustrans’ FRideDays Bike Bus just launched to inspire Friday rides to school - and last week there was a special guest. Drum and Bass cargo bike-riding superstar DJ, Dom Whiting, led Leicester’s first Friday bike bus.

POLITICS OF PATENTS.

This research project explores what patents tell us about who we are, including who gets to cycle, and how. Politics of Patents is led by the author of Bikes and Bloomers, a fantastic book about Victorian women’s cycling innovations. This video is a joyful celebration of historical active wear, for women by women, remade, worn and tested to the limit by some brilliant modern women. The slo-mo bridge power walk is an instant classic.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE.

Paris’ fire service response time has dropped to seven minutes for the first time in ten years. The reason: Paris’ network of protected cycle lanes can also be used by emergency services. 
 

OTHER HEADLINES

PARIS E-SCOOTER BAN.

While cities around the world are embracing rental e-scooters as part of a sustainable transport mix, Paris has just voted to ban them. Although the machines are not without problems, it’s certainly not on the scale of cars, as Tom Peck writes in the Independent. Private e-scooters are still legal in France. We’ll have to see if other cities follow suit. 

INTERESTING GRAPH OF THE WEEK:
Giant bicycle symbol, because why not. Is this the biggest cycle symbol in the UK?
Source: Active Travel England’s director of inspections, Brian Deegan

ACTIVE TRAVEL WORD OF THE WEEK:

Data-led. Being data-led means letting data be the guide for decision making. Active Travel England's new partnership with the Turing institute may be the start of better, evidence-based decisions on cycling investment. Read more on the governments website
 

Until next time,

Founder, #BikeIsBest

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