News from Elsewhere

It’s classic chicken and egg because we get who we design for, but where we are used to designing for one group, we continue the cycle. This week, we’ve seen the debacle over the removal of a pretty basic, but incredibly effective cycling scheme on Kensington High Street, not for any data-led reasons, but because of lots of noise and selected attention by local politicians. 

Nine walking, cycling, public transport and shared mobility groups have come together to call for rapid action to cut greenhouse gas emissions with less than one year to go until COP26 in Glasgow.
The group known as the Sustainable Transport Alliance is a new UK-wide alliance for green and fair transport to tackle the climate emergency and ensure inclusive transport for all.
Ahead of COP26 in Glasgow, the alliance said rapidly reducing private car use is ‘crucial to safeguarding our climate and tackling air pollution’.

International cycling associations have reacted to the EU Commission’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy. The strategy is part of the European Green Deal, which aims to achieve a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from transport, in order for the EU to become a climate-neutral economy by 2050.
The Commission’s commitment to improve the current European framework for urban mobility, will include policies and financial support that reflect the importance of urban mobility, including safe infrastructure for cycling and walking, and innovative MaaS concepts including shared bike services.

Lime has partnered with Citymapper, allowing users to locate Lime e-bikes and scooters in 21 cities around the world.It will create a streamlined user experience to encourage more people out of their cars as they get moving again following recent lockdown measures. Users will quickly be able to find Lime e-bikes and scooters on Citymapper’s app, to help them get where they need to go in a safe, socially distant and sustainable way.

Boris Johnson is reported to have gone “ballistic” at the removal this week of emergency cycle lanes on Kensington High Street. Meanwhile it has emerged that two years ago the owners of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, both firmly opposed to the infrastructure, which passes by their offices, “welcomed” steps by local authorities to introduce more cycleways to promote active travel.
The Mail on Sunday reports today that Andrew Gilligan, the Prime Minister’s transport adviser, told the Conservative-controlled Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) not to remove the lanes, which had been put in place on either side of Kensington High Street in September – and even told the council that Johnson would ride his bike along them for a photo opportunity.

Nigel Farage says that his Reform UK party will target councils that promote cycling and walking in next year’s local elections in England as the issue of emergency active travel infrastructure, promoted by the government, becomes increasingly politicised – with Shaun Bailey, the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London, also making his opposition to such schemes a key policy as he seeks to oust Labour’s Sadiq Khan.

An official council role campaigning for cyclists Oxfordshire will be abolished after the position’s previous holder resigned from her post.
Suzanne Bartington said it was “impossible to enact positive change” in the county without a “portfolio or budget” when she quit her role as cycling champion in October.
The post will be replaced by a cross-party advisory group of councillors.
Councillor Arash Fatemian said a “diversity of approach” was needed.
In his motion proposing the change, Mr Fatemian said different areas of Oxfordshire needed different kinds of cycling infrastructure, and a one-size fits all approach was not working, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported.
He said: “What works in cycling and walking for Banbury and its hilly surrounds will not necessarily suit the comparatively flatter and better-established commuter routes between Oxford, Abingdon and the Culham science park.”
The city of Oxford is known for being a popular cycling city, along with other areas of the county.

This week we unveil the latest edition of our Guide to Inclusive Cycling. Now in its fourth edition, the guide was first published in 2017 to bring together our experience and expertise of all things inclusive cycling. While the fourth edition builds upon the work of the previous three, the circumstances during which it has been published mark the achievement of a significant milestone for the charity and our stakeholders.

The closure of Hammersmith bridge was over-cautious and it could be reopened within weeks to pedestrians and cyclists, a bombshell Government analysis has revealed.
Two expert reports said Hammersmith and Fulham council adopted a “conservative” approach to assessing the safety of the 133-year-old bridge when deciding to close it to vehicles in April last year and then to walkers and cyclists this August.
One expert commissioned by the Department for Transport said it was “unlikely” the bridge would suffer a complete collapse.
As a result, the council was urged on Thursday to “look again” at partially reopening the bridge early next year and allowing river traffic to pass underneath.
However plans to launch a ferry service from around Easter are continuing in case the damage to the bridge’s cast iron structure is worse than feared, or in the event it has to be closed again at short notice.