Has cycling's 'new golden age' been and gone?

Jdsk
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Re: Has cycling's 'new golden age' been and gone?

Post by Jdsk »

"Analysis of government cycle count data from March to July shows pedal-powered trips were up 28% on Saturdays and Sundays across England and down 3% on weekdays against pre-pandemic levels. Cycling peaked at 300% above pre-pandemic levels on some days in 2020, as people cycled for their daily exercise on quiet roads."
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... investment

Jonathan
Bmblbzzz
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Re: Has cycling's 'new golden age' been and gone?

Post by Bmblbzzz »

Stevek76 wrote: 15 Jun 2021, 9:42am
Bullseye wrote: 10 Jun 2021, 12:36pm I'm very surprised Camdens figures don't match those of Hackney.
While hackney never had an LTN implemented in a coordinated manner until now it has numerous modal filters put in over decades that amount to much the same end result for large parts of the borough. It also has been steadily ratcheting down parking supply over the years.

It could likely be higher had earlier council leaders not been hostile to good quality cycle tracks on main roads.
Instituting traffic changes in this way, over time and avoiding labels such as "Low traffic" (or any other labels), usually achieves the same result but without arousing the same anger.
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Has cycling's 'new golden age' been and gone?

Post by [XAP]Bob »

mattheus wrote: 10 Jun 2021, 2:05pm Some discussion that came out of recent LTN debate is that stats will include journeys that are entirely THROUGH your borough
(your residents and the people that work or run businesses there probably don't care for those people!)

I would expect car journeys to be more of those than journeys than by residents.
But they should care that those through journeys aren't being made by car... and the smaller cafes may well see an opportunity to refuel those travellers.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
mumbojumbo
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Re: Has cycling's 'new golden age' been and gone?

Post by mumbojumbo »

People in London are very fickle. Last year less traffic emboldened timid cyclists to venture out and tempted the lethargic to cycle more. Like Abba, Girls Aloud, and other ephemera it has passed out of favour .In Yorkshire the investment in a bike and the mantra of money-saving means that cycling will persist into the 2030s.
Jdsk
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Re: Has cycling's 'new golden age' been and gone?

Post by Jdsk »

National Audit Office: "Briefing for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking: Inquiry on Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy 2":
https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploa ... -Final.pdf

Jonathan

PS:
mumbojumbo wrote: 23 Jul 2021, 8:59pmLike Abba... it has passed out of favour .
; - )
mumbojumbo
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Re: Has cycling's 'new golden age' been and gone?

Post by mumbojumbo »

Abba are making a come back-there is still a market for MOR dross.
Jdsk
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Re: Has cycling's 'new golden age' been and gone?

Post by Jdsk »

"The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on walking and cycling statistics, England: 2020":
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistic ... gland-2020

Guardian coverage:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... tudy-finds

Jonathan
Pete Owens
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Re: Has cycling's 'new golden age' been and gone?

Post by Pete Owens »

It will be interesting to see how much of those patterns stick as working patterns get back to normal.

I guess there were 3 main factors involved:
1. Working from home will have seen a large drop in weekday travel by all modes - I would expect people returning to the office will simply revert to their old travel patterns - though with hybrid working this will result in less commuting overall.

2. Those taking up cycling to avoid public transport will have discovered how much more efficient and pleasant it is. Now they have overcome the initial barrier of using a bike in the first place, a good number will continue to do so even when it becomes safe to pack yourself onto a crowded bus with 30 unmasked people.

3. It is likely that the increase in weekend leisure riding was driven by the lack of opportunity to travel - both internationally and within the UK. Many will be itching to get back on planes and spend weekends away, but there will be some who found that it is a great way to get out and enjoy themselves without the hassle of long distance travel.
Bmblbzzz
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Re: Has cycling's 'new golden age' been and gone?

Post by Bmblbzzz »

Car traffic is very near to pre-pandemic levels both at weekends and weekdays.
Bmblbzzz
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Re: Has cycling's 'new golden age' been and gone?

Post by Bmblbzzz »

Annoyingly I can't find the figures now but they are somewhere on gov.uk
morsing
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Re: Has cycling's 'new golden age' been and gone?

Post by morsing »

Hi,

In my opinion, the drop is caused by insane British motorists and horrible cycling infrastructure.

Regards,
Henrik Morsing
thirdcrank
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Re: Has cycling's 'new golden age' been and gone?

Post by thirdcrank »

I think that working from home - perhaps partial working from home - will persist because it has been shown to be capable of working. The organisations which had problems - eg National Savings IME - were unprepared and inflexible. In economic terms, why run expensive offices when employees can provide a lot of that? The long-term effect might be to encourage the move to living in more rural areas and with that, a lot of car/ delivery traffic but less commuting.
awavey
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Re: Has cycling's 'new golden age' been and gone?

Post by awavey »

if anything it feels like theres more traffic on the road, and I dont mean caused just by people queuing for petrol, for the past couple of weeks when Ive been going for rides there have been queues of traffic on roads where I dont recall even prepandemic that being the case, except in the rush hours.

I dont know if the partial working from home thing will work, its a pain to have to carry IT equipment around on a bike to enable you to work from two locations all the time. and theres a degree of presenteeism in the office rearing its head, like from a Dilbert cartoon the bosses despite having trusted their employees for 18months, are now of the if we cant see you in an office you cant be working, which is disappointing, all of which probably means more people will be back commuting by cars for the forseeable, especially with winter approaching.
mattheus
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Re: Has cycling's 'new golden age' been and gone?

Post by mattheus »

awavey wrote: 27 Sep 2021, 1:45pm and theres a degree of presenteeism in the office rearing its head, like from a Dilbert cartoon the bosses despite having trusted their employees for 18months, are now of the if we cant see you in an office you cant be working, which is disappointing, all of which probably means more people will be back commuting by cars for the forseeable, especially with winter approaching.
I don't believe this is happening much, simply because the bosses have also discovered the benefits of home working!

Time will tell ...
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Cowsham
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Re: Has cycling's 'new golden age' been and gone?

Post by Cowsham »

I think this the golden age is just beginning. We have satnav, electric bikes, more cycle paths than we've ever had and a larger selection of manufacturers / models than we've had in a long time. I see many more people out on bikes too.

Enjoy it while your still able -- my 3 month injury lay off has made me appreciate cycling, the freedom and health benefits it brings much more.
I am here. Where are you?
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