mjr wrote:OK. The cycling aspect seems to have got lost in more general anti-obesity stuff within about a day. What can we do to bring cycling back to the front?
The unfortunate fact is that historically, official campaigns to promote cycling, whether by government or the industry, have flopped. IMO, the only things which work - in the sense of a change of mode - are those which restrict driving. I think the most powerful has been when traffic congestion has been so severe that cycling has become a better alternative. Few UK politicians are going to propose policies to restrict car ownership and use and such restrictions which are enacted are often to speed the traffic flow. Commercial vehicle use continues to grow. This government scrapped the fuel price escalator and market forces have reduced fuel prices further.
Those are things "they" might tackle, but don't.
As UC suggests, more enforcement would help: perhaps some of Bozzer's extra 20,000 police might be deployed in that direction. I doubt it, but even the inspectorate of constabulary has woken up to the collapse of traffic policing.
viewtopic.php?p=1508569#p1508569For there to be any significant change, there would have to be a fundamental change of the traffic law régime to recognise the danger caused by motor vehicles. Here's something I prepared recently
viewtopic.php?p=1511537#p1511537Something "we" might do is campaign. Fifty years ago, most personal violence (numerically) was "nothing to do with the police." Campaigning reversed that. More recently, hate crime has become a priority, again through campaigning.
. Suppose it may be worth getting a low cost extension