Cycling In London - The Way Forward

From the London Cycling Campaign

Objectives

1. To increase cycling
2. To make cycling safer
3. To make cycling seem safer and more attractive
4. To provide highly visible schemes which promote cycling and TfL/the Mayor's strategy for transport, health, air quality and social inclusion.

It is essential that the Mayor and Transport for London understand that every trip shifted to cycling from motorised modes provides a direct economic, health and social benefit for all Londoners as well as for the individual cyclist.

The Mayor is committed to making cycling safer as part of the Transport Strategy and as part of the national strategy of casualty reduction, and also specific cycle related targets in the Road Safety Plan.

2 & 3 contribute significantly to 1, and are an essential part of achieving 1.

4 is necessary for political expediency as well as to increase the kudos and acceptability of cycling

Increasing cycling brings a wide range of accepted benefits.

The benefits of increased cycling

Purely transport related benefits of increased cycle usage

• Provides a viable alternative to car use, and is therefore an important weapon in traffic reduction, and in achieving the Mayor's traffic reduction targets
• Complements the introduction of the congestion charge as a positive alternative to car use (either on its own or as part of a "bikerail" journey)
• Increases non-car access to public transport considerably. The population that can easily access (within 15 minutes) a public transport node by cycle is 16 fold that which can access it easily on foot
• Reduces congestion on public transport system by offering a viable alternative for short trips
• A key part in a truly integrated transport system, where people interchange freely between modes, and are able to make any trip by the mode of their choice

Other cost effective benefits of increased cycle usage

• Reduces costs to business by reducing congestion and also reducing absenteeism through better health and greater punctuality
• Reduces air and noise pollution, and therefore helps create a healthier population
• Reduces severance caused by excessive car usage, and therefore has important community and social inclusion benefits
• By reducing casualties at the same time as increasing usage, it also contributes to casualty reduction targets
• Produces a fitter healthier population who are less prone to coronary disease, obesity and stress, and have a longer life expectancy

What a person who cycles or who might cycle wants

• To feel safe - this means feeling safe while moving and at junctions
• To be able to travel easily from one place to another - this means that routes must be direct, coherent, easy to follow (well signposted), and that there must be secure parking facilities at the point of destination which are easy to find and located near to the amenity or interchange
• To know what to expect - this means routes should be of a consistent standard, of a safety value that people understand and with which they are happy, and without hidden surprises of dangerous or intimidating junctions or situations.

Range of Projects needed to increase cycling

By Transport for London centrally

• Transport for London (TfL) needs to take the strategic lead on improving the safety of cyclists and encouraging more people to cycle
• All transport infrastructure, traffic management and information schemes need to facilitate more cycling in an integrated manner as a primary objective. They need to improve the conditions for cyclists alongside benefiting other modes
• The Transport for London Road Network (TLRN) needs to be fully audited for cycle accessibility and safety (as per the commitment in the Road Safety Plan) and a range of measures introduced to make the TLRN more cycle friendly - these should include best practice treatment of certain junctions, example high quality cycle lanes and shared cycle and bus lanes and sufficient cycle parking along its length
• TfL needs to take the strategic lead on promoting cycling, and easing access to information about cycling to the general public. This will include taking forward the excellent cycle route map project in partnership with the London Cycling Campaign (advertising the map on the buses and tube, for example), as well as important roles in National Bike Week in London, and participating in Car Free Day and important London based cycle events such as Cycle 2002. It should also include a professional marketing campaign — making cycling glamorous and attractive
• All cycle facilities need to be properly enforced. Many current facilities would be perfectly adequate if properly enforced - for example all cycle lanes should be the equivalent of double yellow line/red route enforced against parking 24 hours a day
• Act as a catalyst and facilitator of cycling initiatives within other sectors - health, economic regeneration, education, social inclusion etc
• Take the lead on initiating a Londonwide programme of Cycle Training for all London School children
• In conjunction with the London Development Agency set in place a comprehensive programme designed to make employers more cycle friendly and encourage employers to get more people to cycle to work

By TfL in partnership with the London Boroughs

TfL, in collaboration with the boroughs should

• Implement a high quality cycle network including a Central London Accessibility Scheme, Commuter Network, Outer London Town Centre and Public Transport Access Network and a Junction Treatment Plan
• Set in place a comprehensive programme of Safe Routes to School
• Implement a comprehensive cycle safety programme on borough roads
• Enable boroughs to implement safe cycle accessibility to all local amenities, shops, leisure facilities, and adequate secure cycle parking at these amenities
• Enable boroughs, rail and other public transport operators to implement high quality interchanges, easing cyclists on and off buses, tubes and trains

Evidence as to the effectiveness of measures to increase cycling

Examples of increase in cycle usage home and abroad

• York - 22% of trips by bike — achieved by restricted car access and implementation of a cycle network
• Hull - 14% of trips by bike — facilitated mainly by a comprehensive cycle network which has also led to a 40% drop in cyclist casualties since 1990
• Hanover - population 550,000 - increased cycle usage from 9 to 16% through traffic calming, 450km of cycle routes and car parking control

Potential increase in cycle usage

• 30% of parents said that a safe cycling route to school for their children would mean they would not ferry their children to school by car (Transport Studies Group, University of Westminster, 2000)
• 85 per cent of young people own bicycles but less than 1% per cent cycle these to school in 1999, compared to 6% 10 years earlier (DETR, Transport Statistics Report)
• See the cycle levels experienced in many European and other cities following concerted efforts to increase cycling and public transport

Examples from abroad - cycle levels and facilities in place

• Amsterdam - 284 km of cycle track, cycle lane or recommended cycle lane - 28% journeys by bike
• Odense - 24% journeys by bike - variety of cycle network provision from dedicated cycle lanes to combined cycle and bus lanes (5.6metres wide) to one way roads two way for cycles. This led to an 80% fall in child casualties in 15 years.
• Copenhagen - 26% journeys by bike - comprehensive cycle network
• Basel - population 172,000 - increased usage from 8 to 16% (1970- 91) through cycle network, parking measures, traffic calming
• Dutch Master plan - increasing cycling seen not as objective in itself but as a means of contributing to solving traffic and transport problems and/or restricting the growth of car use.

Led to a 36% increase between 1980 and 1997 in the distance travelled by bicycle, and a reduction in fatalities and casualties by 24%. These results have led to far better general safety record.

"promoting bicycle use without improving bicycle facilities is meaningless"

Examples from London of increase in usage following implementation of facilities

• Westminster

The following are the results of London Cycling Campaign’s Westminster group cycle counts conducted during morning rush-hours:

1. The number of people cycling along using Grosvenor Road SW1 increased by 54% between 05/10/99 and 11/09/01 following the opening of the Thames Cycle Route.

2. The number of people cycling along Chelsea Bridge Road between Ebury Bridge Road and Royal Hospital Road increased by 50% between 25/09/98 and 03/10/01 following the introduction of advisory cycle lanes. By contrast, cyclists turning off towards Hyde Park, where there had been no changes in infrastructure, increased by only 7% in the same period.

3. Eastbound and westbound cyclists on the North Carriage Drive of Hyde Park increased by 51% and 38% respectively between 11-Sep-98 and 29-Oct-99 following the opening of the Park Lane crossings. There were decreases of 38% and 80% in those using the alternative of Bayswater Road.

• Camden

For the Royal College Street 2 way segregated cycle track, cycle journeys

increased by a factor of 3 compared to the number of cyclists using

the road prior to construction of the track (this statistic based on cycle

counts conducted by LB Camden).

TRL conducted a survey on the track which showed that: -

• the track is used by 800 cyclists per day
• 69% said the existence of the track was the main reason they used Royal College Street
• 10% of cyclists said the track had encouraged them to make more journey's by bike
• 47% of cyclists said the track made their journey 'a lot safer',

and 42% said it made it 'safer' 

Strategic Cycle Network for London

This suggested network is made up of the following items:

• Central London Grid System - this area would be enclosed by the Congestion Charge zone. Inside this zone it is essential that people who cycle have total accessibility, and real ease to move around. This will be facilitated by a grid network. Much of this can be easily be put in place by having upgraded cycle signage, traffic calming in some places and ensuring cycle permeability e.g. by cycle contraflows down current one ways streets. See detailed plan.
• Commuter Network - this would stretch out 6 miles form the congestion charge zone, and facilitate easy 6 mile commuter journeys (half an hour trips) to and from workplaces. These routes need to be direct, well signposted and safe for all people who want to cycle. They can be based on current LCN routes - some of which would need significant upgrading, others of which would need certain junctions to be treated. It is essential to provide multiple cycle crossing points of the North and South Circular roads and the East Cross Route. This greatly increases the cycle network effectiveness and reduces the community severance caused by these roads.
• Outer London — outer London town centres need to be linked by high quality routes to enable trips between them. These are trips which are also very difficult by public transport.

  Borough networks of a 3 mile radius around town centres and public transport hubs also need to be encouraged - these would facilitate

1. bikerail trips into central London by making safe routes to outer London stations
2. cycle only trips into the town centres from the surrounding areas

• Junctions treatment project - certain key, high profile junctions would receive state of the art treatment, and be used as best practice examples for the rest of London. They would help show the priority being given to cycling, and its importance.