UK: "Road proceeds should be invested in repopularising the bicycle"

A informative & thought-provoking op-ed piece from The Times.

Enjoy.

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The Times online: Pedal Power Feb 21 2007
http://tinyurl.com/27mpsk

Road proceeds should be invested in repopularising the bicycle.

In all the sound and fury about roads in the past few weeks, there can
be few groups left that have not had their say, though the arguments of
cyclists have quietly glided by. When London’s transport supremos
launched the extended congestion charge zone this week, they noted in
passing the dramatic increase in cyclists that the capital has seen.

In the past five years, the number of people cycling in London has
risen by almost 50 per cent. These people are not the mad, bearded
loons of popular myth, their coat-tails flapping crazily as they pedal
round the Elephant and Castle. The modern cyclist is making an elegant
and intelligent response to pollution and traffic congestion.More...

More than half of all car journeys in London cover distances of less
than two miles. The car is a creature comfort, but the experience of a
short drive in Central London is not necessarily a comfortable one.
Many drivers endure grinding stop-and-start, culminating in fury at not
being able to find a parking space. They are short of time. Yet many of
those who are unemcumbered by children or shopping would save time —
and money — by cycling. On an average journey of four miles in Central
London, cycling is the fastest mode of transport.

And, fumes and accidents apart, it is much healthier. Regular cycling
is said to halve the chances of suffering from heart disease.
Campaigners argue that regular cyclists can achieve levels of fitness
comparable to those of noncyclists ten years younger. It is a way to
reduce stress and demonstrate an environmental conscience at the same
time. How modern.

Some pedestrians will dismiss this two-wheeled idealism. They
experience cyclists as a menace. Those who ride on pavements, who head
in the wrong direction down one-way streets, and who smugly jump
traffic lights with no care for others, are certainly stoking contempt
for this bespoke form of transport. But the majority should not be
tarred with that brush. British cyclists are to be admired for their
courage, if not always for their manners.

The risks are daunting. They include aggressive drivers, terrifying
junctions, and cycle lanes that stop abruptly with no apology except
the word “Ends”. Cyclist fatalities across the UK rose to three a week
last year — the only form of transport to show an increase. Cycle lanes
need to be better protected from motorists. There would also be safety
in numbers.

At 2 per cent ridership, London lags far behind cities such as Berlin
(10 per cent), Copenhagen (20 per cent) and Amsterdam (28 per cent),
where the cyclist numbers influence driver behaviour. Many British
cities suffer particularly badly from 1960s road layouts.

But some of those are being reversed. The flow of a gyratory system has
been successfully altered in Shoreditch, one notorious London blackspot.
Traffic lights and crossings have improved matters at Blackfriars
Bridge, the scene of a cyclist death in 2004. But this is not enough.
London has a unified transport authority.

It must join up the dots. It is unacceptable for the world’s foremost
capital city to have a patchwork of cycle routes which peter out
timidly on the road to nowhere. It may seem paradoxical that an
intermediate technology is now the future. But it would be churlish not
to encourage cycling as the cheap, green answer to so many contemporary
troubles. May those who cycle be blessed with clean consciences,
stronger arteries and safer journeys.


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cfsmtb