#BikeIsBest Advocacy Digest - Edition No.74

#BikeIsBest Digest Edition No. 74 | Wednesday 26th July 2023 | View in browser

Hello and welcome to this week’s newsletter, where we duck and dive around the news that’s flying about, like the proverbial ants.
OVERHEATING PLANET
The big news story is, of course, the wildfires burning now across four continents. This is not a drill, man-made climate change is here and action to drastically cut our carbon emissions has never been more urgent.
BIG STORIES FOR CYCLING ADVOCACY
BIG APPLE, BIG CAR FIGHT
The New York Times has an interesting opinion piece this week about the latest instalment in a long debate on congestion charging. Those in New York, who are less likely to own cars are, unsurprisingly, more keen on cutting traffic than a handful of those outside the city who want to drive in. Tale as old as cars themselves, but this is a thought-provoking discussion of the issue.
BUMPY RIDE?
Uneven surfaces can be inconvenient on foot but they could be very dangerous if you use a wheelchair. They can tip someone out of their wheelchair or hand cycle, and dirt tracks that serve as cycle routes can become impassable for weeks after rainfall. If we want a clean transport transition, everyone needs to be able to access it. Wheels for Wellbeing has come up with guidance on accessible routes, and this one is all about what’s on the surface.
PAVEMENT PARKING BLITZ
Cars parked on pavements, or ‘fly parking’ as some call it, are a blight on communities, putting pedestrians at risk, blocking access for wheelchair users and damaging footways, causing trip hazards. Police in Birmingham are once again cracking down on this offence, and issued 37 fines in a blitz last week.
WHY DUTCH KIDS ARE SO HAPPY
Parenting site, Fatherly, has published a nice intro piece about why Dutch kids are ranked among the happiest in the world. Transport freedom is one of those reasons - thanks to streets safe enough to walk or cycle unaccompanied. This also no doubt makes parents’ lives a little happier, too, since unlike many nations, the UK included, they don’t have to ferry their youngsters everywhere.
‘CYCLING SAVED MY LIFE’
For one man, Josh Quigley, cycling was a saviour - bringing him back from severe depression after a suicide attempt. Josh got on a bike for the first time since childhood and started setting challenges, including cycling around the world. A documentary, Cycling Saved my Life, charts his life-changing journey. It airs on BBC One at 7:30pm this Friday.
OTHER HEADLINES
BIKE LANE ACTION
Two protests from across the pond have caught our attention this week, one in San Francisco where an anonymous cyclist has mocked a bizarre central reservation bike lane bedecked with construction signs, with her own internet-era take. In Montreal, meanwhile, is the latest in a periodic global phenomenon of ‘human-protected bike lanes’. The city has plans for bike lanes, but cyclists feel it’s not moving fast enough.
FAIR PAY?
Cycle instructors are striking over pay and conditions, and this week we have a Streets Ahead podcast dedicated to their plight. Instructors are at the heart of a shift to green transport, and green jobs, so their story matters.
INTERESTING GRAPH(S) OF THE WEEK:
EVEN THE DUTCH DRIVE. This interesting blog post by Lloyd Alter points out that while the Dutch make 28% of all trips by cycle, they actually still drive a fair bit. What the network of routes gives them is the choice not to drive, when they want to. This is replicable, he points out, around the world, even in the car-centric US, where ¾ of all trips are less than 10 miles. Source.

ACTIVE TRAVEL WORD OF THE WEEK:
Cycle Parking Garage. As Lloyd Alter, from our graph of the week, points out, decent cycle parking at stations makes even longer trips commutable without a car. Cycle to the train station, ride into a cycle parking garage, lock up, go. Check out this amazing example built under an Amsterdam canal.
Until next time,

Founder, #BikeIsBest
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