Is cycling in central London the preserve of young people in Lycra? Why do so many people think urban cycling is too risky? Despite a substantial increase in the number of people cycling on main roads (300% in the last 15 years and rising by 10% a year, according to Andrew Gilligan, cycling commissioner for London) many would-be cyclists are still too scared to cycle in the capital.
So what’s the answer? This spring the government will roll out the cycle superhighways scheme, which should offer safer, faster cycle routes around the city. But is this enough? How do we create safe pathways for all road users, and encourage more people to get on their bikes?
Discussing the issue at a Guardian Live event were Chris Boardman, Olympic cyclist and British Cycling policy adviser, Andrew Gilligan, cycling commissioner for London, Dr Rachel Aldred, senior lecturer in transport at the University of Westminster and Steve McNamara, Licensed Taxi Drivers Association general secretary. They were joined by Peter Walker, who writes the Guardian cycling blog, and cycling journalist Laura Laker, who chaired the event. Here are their suggestions:
The problem with the cycle superhighway is that it applies 24 hours a day
Steve McNamara
1. Create space
Boardman said that although cycling’s statistically very safe, it’s not perceived as such and one way to combat the problem is to create more space for cyclists: “This will be the most painful part as the space has to come from somewhere.” McNamara said taxi drivers were all for creating safer pathways. “As road users, we think segregated cycling is the way to go,” he said, adding that taxi drivers were in favour of about 90% of the cycle superhighway, although they were troubled by sections of the Embankment.
Walker agreed, saying the key problem is infrastructure – particularly difficult issues such as blocking off rat runs that are taken over by speeding cars during rush hours.
2. Introduce timed segregation
McNamara said segregation had to take into account the way people move about the city. “The problem with the cycle superhighway is that it applies 24 hours a day. The numbers of people cycling in the morning and evening rush hours are massive, but go down there at half 10 in the morning, half two in the afternoon, eight in the evening, and there’s nobody there,” he said.
He advocated segregating certain lanes at certain times of the day. “That costs nothing – you just need a simple camera enforcement system and the rest of the day people can move around.” Not all the panel agreed – Aldred and Walker said the roads needed to be available all day to suit other cyclists, particularly those who are under-represented such as women and older people.