#BikeIsBest Advocacy Digest - Edition No. 125

Hello and welcome to this week, in which British cyclists are apparently the least satisfied with their routes, compared to some of our European neighbours.

THERE IS GOOD NEWS TOO.

Thankfully, there are good signs from the new government, with Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh, taking an active interest in cycling and how to improve our active travel rates, as well as public transport. 

BIG STORIES FOR CYCLING ADVOCACY

PLACE-FIRST PLANNING? The Landscape Institute’s journal, Landscape, looks this time at ‘place-first’ design. That means not just building houses, or shops and offices, in isolation but at how those elements we need can serve our needs and improve our experiences as part of a coherent whole. It’s a concept in its infancy here in the UK, but one that could reap huge rewards, not least for walking and cycling. 

BRITISH CYCLISTS GET ROUGHEST ROUTES. A survey of 100 cyclists from Britain, and a similar number from Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, reaped perhaps predictable results. British riders were least satisfied with the design and maintenance of routes, as well as being the cyclists who felt least safe. 

CYCLIST DEATHS…HAVE WE BECOME IMMUNE? The Birmingham Mail has long called for action on traffic deaths in the region, and the latest opinion piece, by its journalist Nathan Clarke, is an angry call to action. If 100 people per year were being killed by a new infectious disease, he says, we’d be working around the clock to crack it. Where is the outrage? he asks. 

BUS STOP BYPASSES FOR ALL?The bus stop bypass hit headlines over concerns around disabled bus users’ experiences, and safety concerns therein. Visually impaired people in particular can find the design, which requires users to cross the cycle lane, intimidating. RNIB is working with Transport for Greater Manchester on improving bus users’ experiences using buttons and sensors. 

EVENING OUT THE TRANSPORT ODDS. Most US states don’t count the numbers of residents who don’t own a car, but the ones who have return around 30% of non-drivers. That, this Streetsblog piece suggests, is enough to build a movement. It also makes the case for more balanced transport spend: where road spending dominates, it fails to serve substantial parts of the population. H/T Cathy Tuttle. 

OTHER HEADLINES

TRANSPORT MINISTER READS…ABOUT CYCLING. Louise Haigh, the new transport minister, says she is reading Laura Laker’s book, Potholes and Pavements, a bumpy ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network, calling it eye-opening and instructive. The book covers NCN history, and how to bring about a cycling revolution in the UK. It might be the first time a transport minister has, so early on, expressed a genuine interest in active travel, let alone such a public one.

INTERESTING GRAPH OF THE WEEK: 

Talking of signs. Marketing wizz, Tom Flood, has produced some sarcastic, and thought-provoking posters, which people are printing out and putting up on streets around the world. It says, simply, ‘we ask everyone outside of the car to be safe so that drivers can be dangerous’. You can see the signs, and some of his work, here: https://www.creativebyrovelo.com/shop 

ACTIVE TRAVEL WORD OF THE WEEK: Inclusive mobility. Transport, including walking and cycling infrastructure built with the needs of all disabled people considered from the outset

Until next time,

Adam Tranter

#BikeIsBest