Friday, 19 November 2010
Helmets
Super stuff on bike helmets and other things here: http://adrianshort.co.uk/2009/08/24/save-the-planet-ban-cycle-helmets/
Monday, 1 November 2010
Increasing modal share
The BMJ has published this: Interventions to promote cycling: systematic review
All very interesting - if you think that a couple of percentage points difference or less in cycling a few journeys a month is important.
There is a startling fact in this paper, but it is not the primary reason for publication, and doesn't leap out. The base rates for cycling reported here, as modal share (proportion of all trips), in the Netherlands is around 40%. In Denmark it's >20%. In the UK we sit at 2% (http://www.velo-city2009.com/assets/files/VC09-ECF-facts-and- figures.pdf).
Why are these rates so different? The obvious difference is infrastructure. Cycling facilities in the UK are risible. Compare them to those in Denmark and Holland, with their focus on subjective safety.
Unless there is investment in such a system in the UK, rates will continue to stagnate, as the population will remain convinced that cycling is an activity for lycra-clad athletes in hi-viz clothing and body armour, weaving in-and-out in hostile traffic conditions. Fine for the committed (no pun intended), but mass cycling will need more to be realised.
Sadly the governments lack of vision, as evidenced by the demise of Cycling England, and the low ambition of UK cycling organizations, mean this is unlikely to improve anytime soon.
All very interesting - if you think that a couple of percentage points difference or less in cycling a few journeys a month is important.
There is a startling fact in this paper, but it is not the primary reason for publication, and doesn't leap out. The base rates for cycling reported here, as modal share (proportion of all trips), in the Netherlands is around 40%. In Denmark it's >20%. In the UK we sit at 2% (http://www.velo-city2009.com/assets/files/VC09-ECF-facts-and- figures.pdf).
Why are these rates so different? The obvious difference is infrastructure. Cycling facilities in the UK are risible. Compare them to those in Denmark and Holland, with their focus on subjective safety.
Unless there is investment in such a system in the UK, rates will continue to stagnate, as the population will remain convinced that cycling is an activity for lycra-clad athletes in hi-viz clothing and body armour, weaving in-and-out in hostile traffic conditions. Fine for the committed (no pun intended), but mass cycling will need more to be realised.
Sadly the governments lack of vision, as evidenced by the demise of Cycling England, and the low ambition of UK cycling organizations, mean this is unlikely to improve anytime soon.
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