#BikeIsBest Advocacy Digest - Edition No. 111

🎶 You’re the one that we want, you are the one for #BikeIsBest 🎶

WHO’S NUMBER ONE?

Cycles, that’s who. Whether one wheel or four, side-by-side or tandem, mechanical or e-assist, the humble bicycle is a top intervention when it comes to health and wellbeing, congestion and climate, cities, towns and the countryside. You only get a one-hundred-and-eleventh birthday rarely - if you’re Bilbo Baggins, say, or BikeIsBest - so we’re celebrating with bicycles.

BIG STORIES FOR CYCLING ADVOCACY

E-BIKES HELP PEOPLE DRIVE LESS. Half of e-bike riders drive less once they have a pedal-assist bicycle, a Swiss study has found. However, as report authors note, people need safe routes to do so, as well as secure, convenient storage. Cycling Electric’s Mark Sutton points out this is not the first study to conclude ebikes replace car trips - but it does add weight to the evidence. 

EUROPE TO BECOME MORE CYCLE-FRIENDLY. Cycling advocates have welcomed commitments to boost cycle infrastructure across the Continent. The EU Cycling Declaration, is hailed as a ‘historic’ moment for Europe, recognising cycling’s role in cutting greenhouse gas emissions, boosting health and cutting congestion. However, the declaration doesn’t set concrete targets or legal obligations.  

IN PARIS, CYCLISTS OUTNUMBER MOTORISTS  The French capital has hit a tipping point, Forbes’ Carlton Reid reports, as a survey using GPS trackers reveals cycles now outnumber motor traffic on journeys from the suburbs to the city centre. A raft of new cycleways built in recent years has ushered pedal-powered commuters across Paris en masse, the trackers found, making cycling the main form of mobility for those commutes into the city.  

AND WITHOUT THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES. Urbanist Carlos Moreno talks about why Paris has escaped the uproar accompanying UK cities’ streetspace changes. Moreno, who came up with the ‘15-minute cities’ term, has worked with the Parisian mayor, Anne Hidalgo, on what he describes as an end to ‘masculine’ city planning. For Moreno, Paris’ plan has been focused on social justice and openness about the challenges and opportunities of radical street changes. 

LANGUAGE MATTERS. National Highways is considering ditching the word ‘accident’ on its signage, following pressure from families, road safety bodies and politicians. One of the last bastions of the word, the trunk roads body says it has listened and is running different wording past its customers, to assess their acceptance of alternatives. 

OTHER HEADLINES

SPACE FOR KIDS TO BE KIDS. A survey by the National Trust recently revealed that kids want to spend more time outdoors. The Guardian’s Gaby Hinsliff sets out what needs to happen for that to become a reality. Spoiler alert: they need safe spaces to play, including on urban streets. 

INTERESTING GRAPH OF THE WEEK: 

Some of Paris’ vital transport stats, from that study on mobility reported this week. Source:

INTERESTING GRAPH OF THE WEEK: 

People want investment in transport choices - including walking, cycling and wheeling. Source: IPPR

ACTIVE TRAVEL WORD OF THE WEEK:

Social justice: This, according to Oxford Reference, is the goal of ‘creating a fair and equal society in which each individual matters, their rights are recognised and protected, and decisions are made in ways that are fair and honest’.

Until next time,

Miles

Miles Baker-Clarke

#BikeIsBest