On 12th August 2013 Prime Minister David Cameron joined Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton and Jody Cundy – British Olympic and Paralympic champions – to announce a new government ambition to kick start a “cycling revolution”. This revolution was created in the hope that cycling barriers will be removed for a new generation of cyclists.
Cameron announced his revolution at the British Cycling Watford event and vowed to make Britain ‘cycle-proof’ by funding £94 million to encourage more people to use bikes in eight major cities and four national parks. The Prime Minister also announced the development of a comprehensive Cycling Delivery Plan to ensure that strong and durable arrangements are in place to make the ambition real.
Investment
The announcement of £94million of funding through the Cycling Cities Ambition Grant greatly boosted the cities that had applied for funding. Along with local contributions the cities including Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham came close to receiving the £10 per head minimum level of funding recommended. This funding is due to stop in March when another lot of funding from the Sustainable Transport Fund will begin. This fund has been provided for capital projects which increase the use of sustainable transport including buses, walking, cycling and electric cars etc. The Local Sustainable Transport Fund funding will end in 2016 when these funding streams will be replaced with the Single Local Growth fund which involves spending on all aspects of local growth. British Cycling fears this funding will prioritise major transport and housing projects over the growth of cycling.
British Cycling has a long-term plan for success and that can only be successful with sufficient funding to do the job. As of current, there is no national budget for cycling meaning that local authorities are living from hand to mouth and are unable to plan for future cycling projects.
Cycle-Proofing
The Highways Agency now has a strategic lead dedicated to cycle proofing and has implemented an annual cycling budget also updated training packages for engineers to improve cycling design standards. The department for transport has approved the introduction of new traffic signs in order to create more convenient and safer routes for cyclists.
An important requirement in developing a cycling network is a commitment to high standards of design to make sure cycling is a safe and convenient mode of transport. The current national design standards will need to be updated to incorporate the Dutch style best practice as well as making them stronger to prevent the creation of cycle lanes that don’t meet acceptable standards.
What are your thoughts on cycle-proofing Britain? Are you interested in making your workplace cycle friendly? Contact our cycle shelters sales team to see what we can do for you.