#BikeIsBest Advocacy Digest No. 105

Hello and welcome to this Leap Year #BikeIsBest special, which comes not once every 208 weeks but every. Single. Week. Lucky us.

NEWS, GOOD NEWS AND ONLY GOOD NEWS

There seems to be a fair amount of positive news about this week, so I’m sharing it with you just for your enjoyment. Because, basically, we deserve it. 

BIG STORIES FOR CYCLING ADVOCACY

CYCLE LANES HELP MORE PEOPLE RIDE! We know it to be true, but data is ever-important: cycle lanes get people cycling, according to a European Cyclists’ Federation study. Not only that, they improve perceptions of public spaces. Using data from a 70,000-strong survey from across Europe and beyond, ECF correlated responses on whether people cycle in a given city, against their own data on cycle lane kilometres in that city. The more cycle lanes, the more people cycle; simple.

CYCLE THEFT WIN. The City of London police have gone a long way towards cracking cycle theft in the Square Mile, by deploying some clever tactics. Using bait bicycles, locked up in theft hotspots and mounted with trackers, police tracked a gang of thieves back to their warehouses across east London. Eleven people have now been sentenced for their role in the thefts, and thefts have fallen by 90%. Cycling UK praises the force’s ‘substantial results’ and urges others to follow suit. 

GHOST BIKE PATHS RESURRECTED. Journalist and historian Carlton Reid has been on a mission to uncover cycleways built in the 1930s, with the hope of bringing them back into use. Cycling Weekly reports on Reid’s new website BritishCycleTracks.com, the culmination of a project backed by 900 crowdfunders and a whole lot of sleuthing. In total Reid found 102 hidden cycle paths, totalling 500 miles, across Britain - and at least one has been renovated. 

BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS. Hamish Belding, of Cardiff bike bus fame, uses his cargo bike to get around, but also to showcase how discriminatory ‘anti-motorcycle’ barriers can be for non-standard cycle users on traffic-free paths. Over the years some barriers he’s taken aim at have been removed, which Belding says help disabled cyclists and cargo bike users. He, like many active travel campaigners, believes barriers can be a knee-jerk reaction to a problem that may not exist - with huge unintended consequences for legitimate path users.

LOWER SPEED LIMITS SLOW DRIVERS DOWN… Another piece of ‘obvious but useful’ evidence is that 20mph speed limits do slow drivers down. Road sensors in Wales have recorded speed from 3.4m vehicles across nine locations over a two week period in November and December, and found drivers were travelling, on average, at 24.8mph. While that’s above the speed limit, we know every 1mph speed limit reduces collisions by 6%.  

OTHER HEADLINES

…AND WE CAN GET USED TO THEM. This thoughtful piece by the Guardian’s Adrian Chiles discusses how, over a few short months of driving at 20mph, 30 starts to feel dangerously fast. Not everyone is on board but it’s interesting to read about this change of heart, nonetheless. 

INTERESTING GRAPH OF THE WEEK: 

According to analysis by the European Cyclists Federation, 6% of roads in the UK have some form of cycling facility, or some reduction in motor traffic, making cycling more attractive. Source: https://ecf.com/qecio-infrastructure-public-roads 

ACTIVE TRAVEL WORD OF THE WEEK:

Barriers. Barriers can be physical, as in narrow little chicanes which can only be navigated on a regular two-wheeled cycle, or metaphysical, as in someone doesn't feel cycling is for them. If we want more people to benefit from cycling, both need tackling.

Until next time,

Adam Tranter

Founder, #BikeIsBest