Tuesday 21 January 2014

THE CASE FOR CYCLE EXPRESSWAYS


When you leave home to go shopping, work, school or on holiday, you should feel safe if you walk, use your car or go by bicycle. It is possible to do this in cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen, but mostly not the case in Great Britain.
Sure, we have plenty of roads and footpaths but cyclists seem to have been forgotten. In our health and safety conscious age, cyclists have been overlooked. This is why there is a case for cycle expressways.
Here are some statistics. In Denmark and Netherlands, 40% of people regularly cycle whereas here it is just 2%.
A cycle expressway is dedicated for cyclists and mobility vehicles. Where there are junctions, these should be traffic calmed and motorists do not have priority.
In Malmo in Sweden, cycle friendly routes were provided and cycling increased to 25% of journeys while cars dropped by a similar amount. It is not just people's health that benefits, people save money as does Government expenditure.
Near me, local people are campaigning for a cycle expressway to connect Plymouth to the new town of Sherford. To find out more, please join Plymouth Cycling Campaign