#BikeIsBest Advocacy Digest - Edition No.63
#BikeIsBest Digest Edition No. 63 | Friday 12th May 2023 | View in browser
Hello and welcome to your #BikeIsBest newsletter - and it’s VeloCity week, the time of year when people gather from around the world - this time in Leipzig - to talk about the future of cycling.
EBIKES, CARGO BIKES, KIDS BIKE AND WOMEN WANT TO
Bikes are on the up, in the news and on the streets, but our public spaces are still unequal places, not least for kids, and for women, who are less tolerant of traffic danger. We’re getting there, some places faster than others, but there’s still a long way to go.
BIG STORIES FOR CYCLING ADVOCACY
BBC’S NEW BIKE BUREAU.
The BBC has launched a new mobile broadcasting unit… on a cargo bike. An innovation by BBC journalists Kate Vandy and Anna Holligan (famous for her on-bike video news reports), it has all the equipment they need to interview and broadcast around the world. Based in the Netherlands, the Bike Bureau will focus on green solutions, and if successful, could be rolled out elsewhere.
AMISH EMBRACE EBIKES.
Amish communities aren’t necessarily anti-technology, they just choose what tech they use, based on whether it enhances their lives, according to this article. They have talked it over and given a big thumbs up for ebikes - they’re easier than hitching up the horse and buggy each time you want to pop into town, for one thing.
KIDS ARE ALRIGHT.
With Kidical Mass just passed, this piece in the Conversation discusses the exclusion of kids from our towns and cities, and the movements trying to reclaim the streets for our youngest citizens.
DESIGNING FOR WOMEN.
Noting that for every two men cycling in Melbourne there is just one woman, research from Australia found 77% of women wanted to cycle more. To do so, however, they need safe routes, protected from motor traffic. "It's about planning for the trips that aren't taken as well as those that are," report author Dr Lauren Pearson said. In other words, if you build it, they will come.
MOTORISED REVOLUTION?
The Times’ latest piece on cycling asks whether the future is motorised, i.e. ebikes. From e-bike hire to the money-saving, distance-munching benefits of private ebikes, we’d say the answer is an emphatic yes.
OTHER HEADLINES
OXFORD LTNS NOT A VOTE LOSER.
They’ve had countless media coverage, conspiracy theories and some physical protests, but the move towards people-friendly streets doesn’t seem to have harmed local politicians’ popularity. Don’t believe the hype, is the takeaway here - from local councillor, Emily Kerr.
INTERESTING GRAPH(IC) OF THE WEEK:
BEFORE/AFTER. In honour of Leipzig, hosting this year’s Velo-City, here’s a before/after view of the riverfront. The city has undergone a transformation, celebrated here by the European Cyclists’ Federation. People-friendly spaces bring cities to life.
ACTIVE TRAVEL WORD OF THE WEEK:
Bike Bus. One way of helping kids cycle to school - take them in a group. Bike buses can be run by parents or schools; like a bus they pick up kids along a route to school, but each kid of course pedals, in a group. Safe, fun and positive - what's not to like?
Until next time,
Founder, #BikeIsBest
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