#BikeIsBest Advocacy Digest - Edition No.80

#BikeIsBest Digest Edition No. 80 | Tuesday 5th September 2023 |

Hello and welcome to September, where it’s fairly hot, apparently.

SCHOOL’S BACK

Here in the UK we somehow managed to escape Europe’s terrifying summer heat dome, but a taste of it is now upon us, just as schools go back - most of them, at least. So here’s your keep-it-cool, back-to-school roundup of all things active travel.

BIG STORIES FOR CYCLING ADVOCACY

NATIONAL TRAVEL SURVEY DROPS

The National Travel Survey, covering 2022, is here, for your perusal. Carlton Reid covered the news, highlighting the fact most car trips are for shopping purposes - a long-standing, though often under-reported, trend. Most people rely on cars for commuting, Reid notes, particularly in rural areas, where 84% of people drive to work - often for lack of other options. 

LATEST E-CARGO BIKE CONVERT

Ed Wiseman, writing for the i Paper, has had the loan of an e-cargo bike, and is now convinced of their brilliance. Wiseman outlines the history of cargo cycles and their current role in decarbonising transport in cities, as well as their practicality for tradespeople navigating congested streets. As he put it “for me and a growing number of adoptees, they’re a near-perfect solution to a wide range of problems”. 

SECURE CYCLE PARKING ROLLS TO OXFORD

One problem the i Paper piece identified with cargo cycles was a lack of secure parking. This is a problem for regular bikes too, but now in Oxford Bikehangars have arrived to start to resolve this. Long in London, and now in Glasgow, Cyclehoop’s famous semi-circular hangars are slowly spreading. As with London, though, there is reportedly already a long waiting list. 

AN LTN IS BORN

A new Low Traffic Neighbourhood in Brixton Hill, in South London, started life this week, following a public consultation. The measures, which will include planters to ‘filter’ which vehicles can get through, and cameras to enforce, are there on a trial basis of six months. Lambeth council says “the LTN is designed to make the neighborhood safer, healthier, and more climate resilient”. Welcome to the world, little fella - looking forward to seeing how you fare.

CAR-FREE UTOPIA?

A planned ‘utopia’ is being cooked up by Silicon Valley’s wealthy elite, who’ve been busy buying up land near San Francisco for years, apparently. The suddenly-revealed plan is for a people-friendly city, with cycling and walking at its heart - though there are widespread concerns about the secretive methods thus far employed by the new landowners.

OTHER HEADLINES

FILTER ‘ON’

Memes on social media lately ask why, if cyclists require 1.5m overtaking distance, they filter through stationary traffic. I liken it to the difference between walking along the platform beside a parked train and standing past the yellow line while an express service whooshes through. Highway Code rule 178 is clear that filtering is permitted but caution should be exercised around larger vehicles such as HGVs. 

INTERESTING GRAPH(IC) OF THE WEEK: CONTINUITY FOR THE WIN…

ACTIVE TRAVEL WORD OF THE WEEK:

Accident: RoadPeace says: “Using 'accident' to describe a crash presumes no fault, and implies that it was unexpected and unavoidable. In reality, road deaths are preventable, often caused by the actions of drivers, and the failure of our transport and legal system. It's time to end the language of denial.” This means saying something more neutral like ‘collision’, or ‘crash’, instead. See rc-rg.com for more info. 

Until next time,

Founder, #BikeIsBest

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