#BikeIsBest Advocacy Digest - Edition No. 136

Cycling levels may be down on 2019 levels but there are still good news stories, as well as some less good ones. Don’t say we’re not balanced.

Hello and welcome to this week’s newsletter, where it’s Wednesday and we are here for it. Cycling levels may be down on 2019 levels but there are still good news stories, as well as some less good ones. Don’t say we’re not balanced.

PART OF THE SOLUTION

Cycle-to-school week figures are in, and it’s a record number despite some decidedly inclement weather, while a seafront cycle path is due for a substantial extension. We also take aim at skewed reporting of helmet camera submissions to police, and the gig economy and ask, what’s an informal zebra and why is it roaming the streets of Westminster?

BIG STORIES FOR CYCLING ADVOCACY

RECORD CYCLE TO SCHOOL WEEK. A whopping 160,000 pupils took part in this year’s Cycle to School Week, cutting an estimated 73,000 car journeys. That’s according to The Bikeability Trust. Despite amber weather warnings, kids and their families cycled to school instead of driving, saving nearly 227,000kg of carbon emissions, and improving air quality and kids’ health. 

ACCURACY IN REPORTING ROAD CRIME. The BBC this week ran a story branding a cyclist who helped catch hundreds of drivers using camera evidence a ‘vigilante’. After complaining about this patently inaccurate characterisation - the man was a witness handing police evidence of criminality, not a lone wolf taking the law into his own hands - the BBC thankfully changed its wording.  

DON’T BLAME RIDERS FOR GIG ECONOMICS. It’s easy to point fingers over illegally modified e-bikes at riders but delivery companies need to take responsibility. As well as being incentivised to deliver faster by a pay-per-drop model, an even darker side of the gig economy is that many delivery riders use bikes that don’t require pedalling because they can't afford the food needed to replace the 3,300 calories an 11-hour shift burns. This Guardian exposé of their desperate living conditions is shocking.

US CAR MAKERS TO CONSIDER PEDESTRIAN SAFETY. While it seems like something that should already exist, new US legislation is only now proposing that carmakers design vehicles to limit pedestrian head injuries in a collision. That means ‘hulking SUVs and pickups - could no longer be sold’, according to this Fast Company piece. Larger vehicles pose a greater threat to those outside the vehicle and if passed, this law could finally start to rein them in.

SEAFRONT CYCLE PATH EXTENSION PLANNED. A new cycle route from Tynemouth to Whitley Bay will be extended, North Tynemouth council has confirmed. The path opened in July, replacing a pandemic-era pop-up, and was visited by Chris Boardman and the local transport minister in the summer. The council says thousands of people have used it so far, and when finished, the 8-mile route, to St Mary’s Lighthouse, will boost accessibility for walking, wheeling and cycling, and attract visitors. 

OTHER HEADLINES

INFORMAL ZEBRAS IN WESTMINSTER? No, it’s not a herd of equines casually grazing on the parks of central London (although that would be more visually interesting than the Marble Arch Mound). Westminster City Council, home of Oxford Street, is consulting on introducing side road zebra crossings on its roads. Common in Europe, these crossings are designed to improve pedestrian safety and convenience, without the cost and infrastructure of a flashing Belisha Beacon (hence the ‘informal’).   

INTERESTING GRAPH OF THE WEEK: 

The latest cycling traffic levels are out, and while cycling levels are up across ten years, they are also down compared with pre-pandemic levels. It’s hard to attribute causes at this stage, and while we know building safe cycle routes helps more people cycle, provision is still incredibly patchy across the UK. Changing working patterns, a sense of safety on the roads, and a myriad of other elements may be at play. Source.

ACTIVE TRAVEL WORD OF THE WEEK: Video evidence. In 2023 more than 100,000 videos were sent to UK police from thousands of dash- and helmet-cam users filming the roads. Around 70% of those led to action. In my old stomping ground, the West Midlands, it’s now around 90%. These aren’t vigilantes, they’re active citizens, and interim figures show their submissions were up by almost a third to summer 2024.

Until next time,

Adam Tranter

Founder, #BikeIsBest