#BikeIsBest Advocacy Digest - Edition No. 141

Hello and welcome to this week, where a cycling craze goes stratospheric, and getting active and enjoying green space might just save us all.

VISION ZERO, VIRAL VIDEOS, BEST BIKE SHARE AND MORE

We’ve another reason to love your cycle commute, some walking love from the Big Apple, important road safety comments, a giant bike ride, theft and controversy. That’s right, it’s all here; all you need to do is sit back and enjoy.

BIG STORIES FOR CYCLING ADVOCACY

ROAD DEATHS ARE NOT INEVITABLE, SAYS TRANSPORT SECRETARY. Accidents are “just one of those things”, where as road crashes are preventable. The Transport Secretary made an important comment during today’s Transport Select Committee meeting: "We treat road safety in a way as if it is somehow a natural accident. If the number of people being killed or seriously injured on our roads, were being killed in any other way, we'd be treating it as a pandemic." The Department for Transport has promised a new road safety strategy, the first in over a decade. It will look at international best practice on Vision Zero.

SAVED BY THE CYCLE COMMUTE? New research shows early morning and evening exercise could reduce bowel cancer by 11%. A study of, wait for it, 86,252 people, aged 42-79, found those whose activity took place at 8am and 6pm had lower risk of colorectal cancer beyond the benefits expected of regular physical activity. Sounds like a cycle commute to me.   

NEW YORK LEGALISES JAYWALKING. Brits may take for granted the ability to cross the road not on a crossing. In America it’s illegal, under the derogatory term ‘jaywalking’ - a Jay being a country bumpkin. The auto industry helped push the law, which has been disproportionately meted out to black and Latino New Yorkers (who received 90% of tickets, in fact). Now, New York says good riddance to the outdated and prejudicial practice.

ONLY IN CHINA? Viral doesn’t quite sum it up. A social media quest for breakfast dumplings captured the youthful enthusiasm of Chinese students, in a big way. Starting with a few university students, soon 100,000 young people hopped aboard hire bikes, riding 60km to Kaifeng. However, the movement, an expression of cost-of-living pressures and a stressed job market, was quickly a victim of its own success, drawing the ire of the authorities. Cycling Weekly had a fun take.

BIKE HIRE BONANZA. Cycling Electric’s Mark Sutton has tried out some major cycle hire schemes, and produced this incredibly thorough review, for our enjoyment. From sturdiness vs usability of the bikes themselves, and the quality of phone mounts, to ride cost and app quality, he’s thought of, and documented, everything. 

OTHER HEADLINES

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME? A few stories have circulated lately in which cyclists have tracked down their own stolen bikes. With the likelihood of retrieving your bike very low indeed, (3% according to one source) and theft rife, some victims have resorted to extreme measures. While it’s inadvisable to confront criminals, some people have weighed up the pros and cons, set up meetings and, long story short, cycled off with their machines. 

INTERESTING GRAPH OF THE WEEK: Pembury Circus is considered one of Hackney’s most dangerous junctions. Its five-arms are notoriously difficult and intimidating to navigate by bike and on foot, and Hackney Council’s design to improve it, campaigners say, isn’t good enough. 

Ranty Highwayman described plans as ‘20 years out of date’. Below that, campaigners’ proposed designs. Source: https://x.com/hackney_cycling/status/1856062044279320697?s=46 

ACTIVE TRAVEL WORD OF THE WEEK:

LTN 1/20: The national standard for cycling infrastructure setting out the principles of good design, and practical elements, such as bike lane widths and which measures are needed, where. Stands for Local Transport Note, not Low Traffic Neighbourhood. 

Until next time,

Adam

Adam Tranter

Founder, #BikeIsBest