We spoke at two Neighbourhood Panel meetings last week. One of the points we made was that we want to see changes that allow people to cycle. Note the emphasis there. We’re not campaigning to encourage, convince or force more people to cycle. We campaigning for changes that allow them to cycle.
In the presentation we quoted a YouGov survey from last year:
60% of Britons say they never ride a bike – but more dedicated cycle paths and safer roads would get them cycling more
Another example appeared this morning on Twitter, prompting me to write this post.
Q: What makes your city “unhappy”?
A: We’re too scared to cycle.
These are not isolated results, there are numerous reports and surveys and they all say the same thing.
People want to cycle more but are scared of cycling in traffic
This is the same response we get when we talk to the local public and so do the council. The county council ran a series of events last year called The Festival of Cycling. They asked the public to stick little stickers on statements about cycling.
I’d like to cycle more, but I don’t because… the roads are too busy
What would help you to cycle more? safe cycle routes
So, people want to cycle more but are scared to do so because of the traffic on our roads.
People want segregated cycle lanes, away from the traffic, not shared with pedestrians.
They want: Space For Cycling
Ely Cycling Campaign 