#BikeIsBest Advocacy Digest No. 99

Hello and welcome to your bracing dose of #BikeIsBest, where every puddle is a shining mirror to the sky. That’s because they’re all frozen, so watch your step - and your wheels too.

It can seem like things aren’t changing for active travel, with parts of the cycling industry in distress and funding cuts still part of the story in England, but progress is happening. It’s happening both in pockets, and behind the scenes in a more systematic way. You just need to know where to look. 

BIG STORIES FOR CYCLING ADVOCACY

CYCLING TO WORK MEANS BETTER MENTAL HEALTH. Commuting by cycle reduces the risk of mental ill-health, according to a new study. University of Edinburgh research combined data from 378,253 people aged 16-74 from the 2011 Scottish Census with NHS prescription records for the following five years. It revealed people who commuted by bike had 15% lower rates of prescriptions for anxiety or depression, compared with non-cyclists. Interestingly, the mental health benefits were greater in women than men. 

WOMEN FACING UNACCEPTABLE ABUSE

London Cycling Campaign’s research has shown that 9 in 10 of the women surveyed had faced abuse from other road users while cycling. LCC received countless reports of harassment, aggression and even physical and sexual assault. Needless to say, this is appalling and needs to be tackled and called out at every opportunity. LCC have a petition you can sign to show your support here.

GREENWAYS A-GO GO IN OXFORD. A network of new routes in Oxford just got the green light. The Oxford Greenways project is in its early stages, where potential routes are being identified and drawn up. The motivation? To help give people alternatives to driving, and end Oxford’s ‘current traffic nightmare’.  

…AND IN CAMBRIDGE, TOO. England’s walking and cycling commissioner, Chris Boardman, visited in December, to see how Cambridge is helping people get around other than by car. Cycling part of the Chisholm Trail, which links the city centre with North Station, he said ‘Cambridge is already leading the country’ with policies and infrastructure prioritising active travel. The message being, other cities and towns could do it too. 

ACTIVE TRAVEL ENGLAND PROGRESS. Brian Deegan, Active Travel England’s head of inspections, gave the Active Travel Cafe (formerly Ideas with Beers) an update. ‘We’re kind of looking at everything’, says Deegan, ‘to see if we can make it a bit better. Any government funding’, he adds, ‘comes across our desk’. Which is a lot. Deegan looks on the bright side of funding cuts, seeing it as an opportunity to integrate active travel further. The team has also been working with ‘lower capability’ local authorities, to raise standards. You can see the recording here. 

HEADPHONES VS CAR SOUNDPROOFING. Cyclists with earbuds in hear more than drivers with an engine running and the windows up, according to recent research from Australia. Though it’s old research, Cycling Electric’s Mark Sutton has dug it out again as the ‘headphones debate’ has become live again. It also raises interesting questions about how much drivers are aware of when it happens outside the vehicle. 

OTHER HEADLINES

PAVEMENT HELL? This Guardian piece focuses on the issue of blocked and damaged pavements on disabled users. From rubbish to A-boards, to badly parked cars, vans and micromobility vehicles, it’s a minefield out there. It’s a serious issue, with one in three adults over 65 not walking more, or at all, around their homes, because of the state of local pavements. 

INTERESTING GRAPHIC OF THE WEEK: 

Well, not quite a graphic, but I saw this and had to include it. Cycle paths are icy, but people are still using them! While mini-gritters are being deployed on major cycle routes, EcoCarriers has prototyped what looks like a bike-mounted wheelbarrow flinging grit on a bridge ramp, ahead of a biketrain (which is presumably akin to a bike bus). It perhaps has too wide a turning circle but I love the ingenuity: 

Source: https://twitter.com/i/status/1746909903946420360

ACTIVE TRAVEL WORD OF THE WEEK:

Cycle Paramedic. Spare a thought for the brave cycle-mounted paramedics out around London in freezing (and sub-zero) conditions. This 40-strong unit attends 17,000 calls a year, with an average response time of six minutes, cycling 20-30 miles each per shift. They carry enough kit to respond to emergency calls, and are deployed to the city’s most congested areas for rapid response.

Until next time,

Adam Tranter

Founder, #BikeIsBest