EU member states have placed different emphasis on active
transport and the use of urban design to facilitate cycling
and walking.1,2 The Netherlands and Denmark have a strong
culture of cycling, and since the 1980s both countries have
long standing cycling strategies and extensive cycle networks.
Germany and Switzerland have also developed urban and
transport planning in urban areas to increase cycling.3,4
Italy, Belgium and France have been slower to incorporate
cycling measures in laws and in planning or transport policy
guidance. The UK government’s ‘National Cycling Strategy’,
launched in 1996, aimed to quadruple the percentage of
trips made by bicycle by 2012 by creating local and
national cycle networks.5