Forum topic: How increasing cycling benefits everyone
How increasing cycling benefits everyone
Basil Clarke
16 Oct 2015 00:09 #1725
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One of the points made repeatedly by opponents of plans to create cycle lanes along main roads is that they would benefit only cyclists and no-one else and that cyclists were therefore being unduly prioritised. Enfield Council, and at an all-London level, the Mayor of London, have put the case for benefits to the people of Enfield and of London across the board.
A newly published academic study sets out why the Council and the Mayor are right and the protesters are wrong. Benefits of Investing in Cycling has been written by Dr Rachel Aldred, Senior Lecturer in Transport, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at the University of Westminster.
Source: Benefits of Investing in Cycling
Dr Aldred, who backs up all her statements with fully referenced footnotes, summarises her findings as follows:
Investing in cycling will generate benefits for the whole country, not just those using a bike to get around. Eleven benefits are summarised here which can help solve a series of health, social and economic problems. This report shows how investing in cycling is good for our transport systems as a whole, for local economies, for social inclusion, and for public health.
Creating a cycling revolution in the UK requires sustained investment. In European countries with high cycling levels, levels of investment are also substantially higher than in the UK. The All-Party Parliamentary Cycling Inquiry has recommended a minimum of £10 annually per person, rising to £20, which would begin to approach the spending levels seen in high-cycling countries.
Investing in cycling will enable transport authorities to start putting in place the infrastructure we need to ensure people of all ages and abilities can choose to cycle for short everyday trips. As well as making cycle journeys more pleasant, safer and faster, it sends the signal that cycling is a normal way to travel. This is important because the perception of cycling as a marginal and minority mode is off-putting to many people.
The eleven benefits are summarised below:
- Problem: Our inactive population means more people dying of conditions such as heart disease
Benefit: More cycling means more people get the exercise they need, making for a healthier population - Problem: Motor traffic is a major cause of urban air and noise pollution
Benefit: Cycle trips, unlike trips in motorised vehicles, don’t generate air or noise pollution - Problem: Each year over 20,000 people are killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads
Benefit: More cycling can make the streets safer for everyone - Problem: Our roads are riskier for people cycling than they need to be
Benefit: Investing in cycling will mean cycling is safer and feels safer - Problem: Transport is a source of stress, particularly on the daily commute
Benefit: Cycling can improve psychological well-being - Problem: People living on low incomes struggle to access jobs and services
Benefit: Cycling can transform the mobility and life chances of Britain’s poorest - Problem: Many children and older people suffer from a lack of independent mobility
Benefit: Cycling promotes independence in youth and in older age - Problem: Many cities are dominated by through motor traffic and so aren’t pleasant to spend time in
Benefit: Designing well for cycling helps create more liveable, pleasant cities - Problem: Town centres are under pressure with over one in eight shops vacant across the country
Benefit: Investing in cycling can boost local economic activity - Problem: Not only are many peak hour journeys slow, they are often unpredictably so
Benefit: Cycling means more predictable journey times for people and goods in congested cities - Problem: Our transport systems are inefficient, wasting space and energy
Benefit: Planning well for cycling enables a more efficient use of the transport network
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The evidence that cycle lanes instead of parking don't kill of local business
Basil Clarke
22 Oct 2015 00:59 #1726
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"But here's the thing about the "studies on possible economic impacts" requested by retailers on Polk Street, or really wherever bike-lane plans emerge—they've been done. And done. And done again. And they all reach a similar conclusion: replacing on-street parking with a bike lane has little to no impact on local business, and in some cases might even increase business. While cyclists tend to spend less per shopping trip than drivers, they also tend to make more trips, pumping more total money into the local economy over time.
"So to put these debates to rest we've compiled an annotated, chart-filled guide to every major study we know of conducted on the subject to date."
The evidence, with statistics and charts, is drawn from 12 different cycle lanes schemes.
See http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2015/03/the-complete-business-case-for-converting-street-parking-into-bike-lanes/387595/.
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How increasing cycling benefits everyone
Katy McGilvray
22 Oct 2015 14:09 #1727
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These studies also make no reference to the residents and users of community services who will be severely impacted by loss of parking and the ability to drop off and collect. For example, users of the Ruth Winston Centre will not be able to be collected and dropped off directly outside the centre any more. Are these vulnerable and elderly people supposed to suddenly find the fitness to ride a bike?
All the talk of any positivity from this scheme seems to solely revolve around businesses.
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How increasing cycling benefits everyone
Karl Brown
22 Oct 2015 17:46 #1728
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I may have lost the thread over the months but I had though overall retail-centric parking was now to increase under the consulted scheme?
Personally I think there is a debate to be had about resident parking, or as appears to be the assumed position in the consulted case, that parking outside your own home is a given right. I feel no right over the piece of public space which happens to be near to my house just because I live there. Its parking use, or any other use, is no more “mine” than that of any other resident or visitor. Easier for me certainly but not based on anything justifiable above any other human.
Always been curious how RWC manages currently with the bus lane right outside. Maybe it’s a legal timing thing but I assumed parking in / on bus lanes to be little different to cycle lanes.
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How increasing cycling benefits everyone
Tom Mellor
24 Oct 2015 09:13 #1729
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TfL estimate 40% of all motorised trips are cyclable, and with some of the filters they have applied, it looks like a conservative estimate.
One of the filters is journey length. In London, only 34% of driven journeys are over 5 miles. They would take up to 19min to cycle at a 16km/h pace.
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How increasing cycling benefits everyone
Karl Brown
22 Jun 2017 15:25 #3043
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“London’s transport system helps to shape the city. As well as allowing people to get around, it has a big impact on quality of life – street space defines what London is like as a place to live and work, and public transport is part of many people’s daily routine. Creating a city for all Londoners will require an approach that will help London to grow in a way that benefits everyone.
In recent years, there have been important changes in the way people travel, but car use is still too high for a growing city. People remain dependent on their cars because street environments are not designed to promote walking and cycling, because overcrowded or unreliable services make public transport unattractive, or because parts of London have been planned around car use to the extent that few alternatives are available. As London’s population grows from 8.7 million today to an estimated 10.5 million in 25 years’ time, pressure on the city’s transport system and the demand for new homes and jobs will increase. Limited space means that building more roads is not an option. For London to function well and be a great place to live, the way people move around needs to be re-examined.
Reducing the need to use cars will provide huge benefits for all Londoners. More walking and cycling can make everyone healthier. Older people, the very young, disabled people and those living on lower incomes are most likely to be affected by the problems associated with a car-dependent city, such as poor air quality and road danger. Therefore, reduced car use will make London fairer. Streets will function more efficiently, with less congestion and pollution. Public transport and essential commercial journeys will run more easily and there will be more space for people.”
So in a nutshell, that’s (still) going to be less cars and more feet and bicycles when getting around.
The consultation is open until early October and can be found at www.london.gov.uk/transportstrategy
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How increasing cycling benefits everyone
Darren Edgar
28 Jun 2017 12:07 #3050
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It's a wide single carriageway. Plenty of room for a cycle lane without traffic impact.
And how many people that say they 'need' to travel by car REALLY need to? Always struck me as a choice of convenience/laziness rather than true neccessity. The only local trips I make by car are to the tip and for a big shops (more than 2 bags).
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