#BikeIsBest Advocacy Digest - Edition No. 118
Hello and welcome to the first of five pre-election #BikeIsBest newsletters
We’ll bring you some of pedal power’s hot issues each week, as a kind of cycling-based countdown. Like an advent calendar but without the small funny chocolates.
FIVE NEW THINGS? AND A VERY WARM WELCOME.
A warm welcome indeed to our new subscribers, who join a 2000-strong community of readers in the cycle industry and beyond. We hope you enjoy the ride. It may be a wet and turbulent week, but in almost all weathers, bike is best.
BIG STORIES FOR CYCLING ADVOCACY
DANGEROUS CYCLING LAW LIKELY. Both Labour and Conservative have now said they will support a dangerous cycling law. It’s just a shame there isn’t the focus on far deadlier issues on our roads. My hope is the legislative process will help to highlight just how few cases this law will tackle, and help inspire wider safety improvements. Launching England’s quietly-shelved road safety strategy would be a start.
HOW THE DUTCH DO CYCLING. It’s a tale some of us will have heard, but it’s worth revisiting: high Dutch cycling levels are no accident. They are a result of decades of good transport planning, and crucial supporting work to empower people to use cycling as transport. Some inspiration for the UK, right here.
CYCLE SUNDAYS IN LONDON. This side of Dogger Bank, London is doing pretty well at growing cycling. Its latest effort, Cycle Sundays, will see promotions of routes, along with discounts training and tips. While the infrastructure is key, helping people use safe routes, new and old, and making cycling enjoyable and welcoming, are crucial too.
BATH RESIDENTS ENJOY THEIR LTN. Residents of Sydney Road in Bath have declared the closure of a motor traffic shortcut through their neighbourhood a success. The Liveable Neighbourhood, one resident points out, ‘creates a small safe space to move around without fear of being run down by a rat runner’. It’s the little things.
OTHER HEADLINES
CLIMATE CHANGE SOLUTIONS? Extreme weather, rain included, can and is wreaking havoc in the UK and around the world, as our climate changes. Cities need to adapt, and cycle routes can indeed be a small but locally-crucial part of the solution, with things like rain gardens, which absorb water during a deluge, and can provide shade in a heatwave.
CONGRATS ON A CENTURY. A lot of folks in the cycling world took part in this year’s Ride London event, including the inimitable Miss Omar, who did the 100 mile route on her Brompton. And, remarkably, kept smiling. Chapeau to everyone who took on this challenge.
INTERESTING GRAPH(IC) OF THE WEEK: This cartoon, from Andy Singer, in a way sums up how some of our ‘legacy’ cycle routes appear to have been designed. We can definitely do better.
ACTIVE TRAVEL WORD OF THE WEEK:
Car bloat. The steady expansion of vehicle size, which can use more resources and road space, as well as posing a greater risk to those outside those vehicles.
Until next time,
Adam
Adam Tranter
#BikeIsBest