Ross Lydall 30/11/20
A Tory council was today facing demands to refund an estimated £300,000 of Government cash after deciding to rip-out controversial cycle lanes in Kensington High Street.
Kensington and Chelsea council said work to remove the lanes would start on Wednesday – sparking a massive backlash including from the borough’s teachers and cyclists.
Will Norman, the Mayor of London’s walking and cycling commissioner, said he would seek to recover the Government cash so it could be reallocated by Transport for London to other boroughs.
He said he was furious that cyclists were being injured and killed but the council had now blocked three major safety schemes.
Kensington and Chelsea council criticised for scrapping cycle lane | The Guardian
Peter Walker
Separated bike lane in Conservative-run borough to be removed after seven weeks
Mon 30 Nov 2020 17.04 GMT
First published on Mon 30 Nov 2020 16.44 GMT
A Conservative-run council has been accused of favouring the convenience of car drivers over the wellbeing of local people by scrapping a popular cycle lane after opposition from 0.2% of the borough’s population.
Kensington and Chelsea council, which last year vetoed its section of a cross-London bike route, has said it will remove the separated cycle lane along Kensington High Street, seven weeks after it was installed.
Harrow Council votes to maintain ‘Streetspace’ schemes | Harrow Times
Adam Shaw27th November
Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, Car Use, and Active Travel: Evidence from the People and Places Survey of Outer London Active Travel Interventions | Published in Findings
Transport Findings
September 11, 2020 AEST
Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, Car Use, and Active Travel: Evidence from the People and Places Survey of Outer London Active Travel Interventions
Abstract
This paper reports on analysis of impacts of active travel interventions in Outer London between 2016-19. We find larger effects (decreased car ownership and use, increased active travel) in intervention areas where Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) were introduced. Decreased car ownership and use is only found in such areas. Sample size for LTN areas is small and hence uncertainty about effect magnitude is large, but effect direction is consistent. This suggests that to reduce car use as well as increase active travel, LTNs are an important part of the intervention toolbox.
“He who shouts loudest is no way to operate”: public overestimates bike lane opposition by 50% finds new Cycling UK research | road.cc
Many councils massively overestimate public opposition to bike lanes
Cycling UK has expressed concern that the “loudest voices” are having undue influence on decisions relating to new cycle lanes. New research commissioned by the charity has revealed that people overestimate public opposition to such schemes by more than 50 per cent.
Experts have said that it is often a vocal minority who are fighting new cycling infrastructure, yet there have been any number of occasions where new schemes have been cancelled or reversed following a handful of complaints.
Cycling UK is concerned that councils often pay disproportionate attention to the loudest voices and that this is having an undue influence on decision making.
The charity cites Kent as an example, where a third of new active travel schemes have been removed following vocal local opposition.
Should you swap your car for a bike to reduce your environmental impact? | Medium
Tabitha Whiting
In 1908 Henry Ford made the car affordable to all. He revolutionised car manufacturing with his Model T car, which used an assembly line production technique for the first time, making it quicker and easier to manufacture a car with less labour — and therefore reducing the sale price.
Since then, cars have dominated the transport industry. It’s not unusual for an average household to have two, even three or four, cars sat outside.
We’ve got used to having our own personal mode of transport, and it’s not something many of us want to give up. But cars are also responsible for a high proportion of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing heavily to climate change. So is getting rid of your car, and swapping it for a bike instead, the best option if you want to reduce your environmental impact as an individual?
Cycling’s spending review trim prompts orgs to question ‘Green Revolution’ – Cycle Industry News
Mark Sutton26 November, 2020
Cycling UK‘s head of campaigns Duncan Dollimore reacted with disappointment, once again calling in to question the path the UK’s ‘Green Revolution’ is taking: “The Government’s ‘Gear Change’ document released in the summer set out a bold vision for cycling and walking in England, but neither that nor the promised ‘Green Revolution’ can be delivered without substantially increasing investment.
Pedal Me cargo bike data proves urban efficiency and cost saving of smaller vehicles – Cycle Industry News
Mark Sutton25 November, 2020
Operating in London and expanding rapidly on the back of a second successful funding round, the cargo bike delivery network has shunted its model from carrying people to carrying largely cargo for businesses. The reason for this? The analysis, produced by Pedal Me Data Scientist Nicolas Collignon, does the talking when comparing the firm’s bike network against equivalent van deliveries.
‘Maak van het Nationaal Toekomstbeeld Fiets een daverend succes’ NL to create a “National Vision for the future of Cycling – Fietsersbond
“Making the National Future of the Bicycle a resounding success”
NL to create a “National Vision for the future of Cycling” to give cycling a more structural role in governmental plans and budgets as a viable form of mobility and a solution to a number of social challenges. Initial outline expected in March 2021.
Er komt een Nationaal Toekomstbeeld Fiets. Dat maakte het ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat op vrijdag 27 november bekend na de bestuurlijke overleggen met de regio’s over de investeringsprogramma’s. De Fietsersbond is enthousiast over dit voornemen.
New briefing paper for active travel preps MPs for era of change – Cycle Industry News)
Mark Sutton
A new 40 page briefing document has been circulated to Members of Parliament informing on everything from the economic benefits of active travel and the workings of the Cycle to Work scheme right, through to incoming micromobility trends.
Designed to be a comprehensive covering of all the FAQs politicians may wish to gather information on in response to developments in their own constituency, the document puts in black and white a research-led investment case for growing cycling’s modal share. As active travel policy is a devolved issue, the target audience is English authorities, but the content remains applicable nationwide.
Putting everything in one place the paper starts off with a briefing on the wide-ranging health benefits, headlining with a reference to the positive net impact cycling for transport has on the National Health Service.
The physical and mental benefits of building active travel in a daily routine are given weight in this Public Health England paper that supports the idea of building exercise into a transport routine.