#BikeIsBest Advocacy Digest - Edition No. 108
Hello and welcome to an unnecessarily contentious week in active travel, in which there’s a storm in a teacup over something that is, effectively, good for us and popular.
Hello and welcome to an unnecessarily contentious week in active travel, in which there’s a storm in a teacup over something that is, effectively, good for us and popular. Adam’s off, so it’s Miles in charge.
BIG STORIES FOR CYCLING ADVOCACY
PLAN FOR DRIVERS. Released this week was strengthened guidance around 20mph, and the encouragement to councils to ‘put local consent first’ in LTN rollout, as part of the ‘Plan for Drivers’. A real plan for drivers would give people genuine transport choices like walking, cycling and public transport. Only then can we reduce car dependency, freeing up road space for those who really need to drive. It could be like driving during school holidays, all year round. You can listen to more on the Streets Ahead podcast.
MEANWHILE, WALKING AND CYCLING STILL WINNERS. A report by an advisor for the Levelling Up Department’s Office for Place urges ministers to make urban areas more friendly for cycling and walking, to boost health, prosperity and personal freedom. It could, as the Guardian’s Peter Walker reports, even solve the housing crisis. The Create Streets report, by the OfP’s Nicholas Boys Smith, urges we look at place, rather than just cars, for society and the environment.
OXFORD BUCKS THE TREND FOR SHOPPING SPEND. Oxford city centre 'dramatically outperformed the rest of the UK in terms of footfall’ Nov 23-Feb 24, according to the Oxford Clarion. The paper analysed data from the British Retail Consortium and found the city consistently outperformed national footfall data over those four months. It attributed this to recent transport changes, like the removal of parking, and restrictions to private vehicle movement, in the city centre.
HOW THE DUTCH SOLVED STREET DESIGN. A neat explainer, from a US perspective, on the error of designing only for car transport, and the fact it doesn’t solve the problems of congestion, or any other problems really. In countries like the Netherlands, meanwhile, investment in better public transport, cycling and walking, roads are safer, and journeys are healthier.
A WEEK AS A HUMAN BOLLARD. Campaigners in Exeter took it upon themselves to protect kids and adults using what should have been a filtered road in the city. The filters, they say, weren’t being enforced, putting road users at risk, including children. This blog describes their experience, including the support from local residents that grew as word of their peaceful protest spread.
OTHER HEADLINES
AUTISM AND CYCLING - A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE. It’s Neurodiversity Celebration Week and Cycle Sisters founder, Sarah Javaid, has written a personal essay on her experience finding out she’s autistic at 40. She talks about her experience with neurodiversity, what the stats say, and adds: “cycling has given me a space where my needs are met and I can feel comfortable as an autistic woman.”
INTERESTING GRAPH OF THE WEEK: Support for LTNs, from the government’s latest report. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/low-traffic-neighbourhood-review
ACTIVE TRAVEL WORD OF THE WEEK:
Consultation. This term can mean different things in terms of who is consulted, and to what extent but effectively it’s about public engagement. Contrary to some of the narrative around active travel at the moment, councils do consult on plans to improve options for walking and cycling. Time and again, representative polls show the measures are popular.
Until next time,
Miles Baker-Clarke
Fusion Media