Success of schemes during pandemic has led many cities to plan vastly expanded bike networks
When the coronavirus pandemic led to lockdowns a year ago, hundreds of cities reconfigured their streets to make walking and cycling easier to aid social distancing and reduce air pollution. Now, with an end to the lockdowns in sight, the measures have proved so successful that cities across Europe are betting on the bicycle to lead the recovery.
According to the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), the continent’s cities spent €1bn on Covid-related cycling measures in 2020, creating at least 600 miles (1,000km) of cycle lanes, traffic-calming measures and car-free streets.
Local Authorities “unprepared” to deliver on Transport Minister’s cycle to school ask – Cycle Industry News
Mark Sutton8 March, 2021
Freedom of Information requests lodged by climate charity Possible and cycle trade campaign group BikeIsBest have found local authorities demonstrably “unprepared” to deliver boosted cycle to school rates due to shortcomings on cycling and walking infrastructure connecting homes and educational facilities.
The findings quickly follow a Tweet from the Transport Minister Grant Shapps which called upon people to consider easing pressure on public transport by cycling and walking as schools return this week.
Government ‘hiding active travel funding report from Parliament’, Cycling UK claims | road.cc
Charity maintains report would show current funding insufficient to meet targets to grow cycling and walking
Cycling UK says that the government is suppressing the findings of research into active travel funding from scrutiny by Parliament, maintaining that the data shows that current levels of spend are insufficient to achieve its own targets for growth in cycling and walking.
The claim was made by the national cycling charity’s policy director, Roger Geffen, as he gave evidence to the House of Commons Transport Committee’s inquiry, Reforming public transport after the pandemic.
Would you scrap your car for public transport credits? – BBC News
Would you scrap your car for public transport credits?
A scheme in the Midlands is encouraging people to scrap their cars to get public transport credits. The BBC’s Katy Austin reports.
Huge majority support Royal Parks schemes – London Cycling Campaign
Great news: an overwhelming majority of respondents agree with LCC that parks are for people, not cars. Bad news: despite those results, The Royal Parks are set to meekly roll over the trials of current schemes for another year, rather than make these schemes permanent now, and add to them.
Another year of dangerous Royal Parks roads?
The Royal Parks has received almost 18,000 responses to consultations across changes to five of its iconic parks in London that were subject to trial restrictions to motor traffic over the last six months. And good news is that in every consultation, a strong majority of respondents supported the moves to restrict motor traffic from the park. That’s in part thanks to you and LCC’s campaigning on this issue.
Removing road space can ‘disappear’ traffic, says ITF – transportxtra
Reallocating road space from cars to bikes and pedestrians can result in traffic “disappearing”, suggests a new report from the International Transport Forum (ITF).
Governments should review how much road and parking space is allocated to the different transport modes. “Reallocation of road space and changes to road layouts that give more space to cyclists and pedestrians should be used as a strategy to manage car use.”
Growing use of micromobility has strengthened the case for reducing road capacity for cars, the ITF believes.
St Peter’s people-friendly streets trial Results from the six month monitoring report
Summary of key findings
People-Friendly Streets
Better places for everyone
This interim monitoring report shows that at this point in the St Peter’s people-friendly streets (PFS) trial, the project is having the intended impacts in the area of reducing motorised trafic across internal roads, reducing motorised trafic overall across internal and boundary roads, increasing levels of cycling on some internal roads, and reducing levels of speeding on internal roads, while air quality has improved in line with borough trends
Kensington High St cycle lane revisited – transportxtra
London mayor Sadiq Khan is pressing the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to approve the reinstatement of a protected cycle lane on Kensington High Street when councillors consider the matter this month.
Kensington and Chelsea installed temporary cycle lanes on the street with light segregation last September following pressure from Transport for London and the Government. The Prime Minister’s transport adviser Andrew Gilligan took a personal interest in the scheme.
If you don’t build it, they won’t come – John Dales – transportxtra
05 March 2021
If you don’t build it, they won’t come
The 1989 film, Field of Dreams, is one of those from which a particular line has become a popular saying: “If you build it, they will come.” This is, as pedants like me will tiresomely remind people, a misquote of the original: “If you build it, he will come.” The ‘he’ in this case is the deceased father of the lead character (Ray, played by Kevin Costner), and the line is uttered by an ethereal voice only he can hear. The ‘it’ Ray had to build in the film was a baseball pitch, so that a ghostly ballgame could take place. The ‘it’ most often referred to in contemporary discourse on streets is cycle tracks, with the ‘they’ being people on cycles who would not otherwise travel that way.
London pollution: ‘I will have to pay £480 to park outside my home’ – BBC News
Tom Edwards 9 hours ago
Transport correspondent, London
Residents in the south London borough of Merton who drive more polluting cars are the latest to see the price of parking increase.
Merton Council wants to introduce parking permits of up to £690 for older and more polluting vehicles.
Paul Hockney lives in Raynes Park and has had his bright orange Honda car – nicknamed Harvey – for 20 years. He drives very little, mainly using public transport.
He uses the car to get big items to his allotment and will have to pay £480 to park outside his house.
“It’s completely unfair to those of us who have done our bit to reduce the mileage and the amount we pollute,” he told me.