Last April, the
All Party Parliamentary Group on Cycling released a
report, and a
petition called for a parliamentary debate. The debate is upcoming on
2 September.
Some cities are performing well. Having put cycling closer to the heart of transport for decades, Oxford and Cambridge boast continental levels of journeys made by bike (17% and 30%).
In 2009, the six cycling demonstration towns, including Exeter and Darlington, recorded an increase in cycling of almost a third. This boost was delivered at an average cost of just £3m per town.
We should not be daunted by how far we still have to go to reach the levels of other European cities. Cycle commuting in New York doubled in four years thanks to investment in high-profile cycling improvements, and further expansion is planned. Seville recently managed a ten-fold increase in cycle use in just three years - from 6000 to 60,000 cycle journeys per day between 2007 and 2010.
Recommendations include:
- "Create a cycling budget of at least £10 per person per year, increasing to £20."
- "Revise existing design guidance, to include more secure cycle parking, continental best practice for cycle-friendly planning and design, and an audit process to help planners, engineers and architects to think bike in all their work."
- "Strengthen the enforcement of road traffic law, including speed
limits, and ensuring that driving offences - especially those resulting
in death or injury - are treated sufficiently seriously by police,
prosecutors and judges."
- "The government should set national targets to increase cycle use
from less than 2% of journeys in 2011, to 10% of all journeys in 2025,
and 25% by 2050."
Labels: Cycling, Politics
# posted by Philip Wadler @ 10:20 AM
