Dear John, Couldn't agree more and your sentence 'Trouble is that in the UK cyclists and cyclist's issues and needs do not occupy the cognitive space of many of those organizations and people who are charged with making provision for cyclists' rings very true from my experience in the South West and particularly where I live in Bath. Interestingly, in Bath in the last ten years cycling has increased despite a lack of investment and/or understanding of what is needed. Cycling is low on the list of priorities and with a budget of about £200,000 per year it doesn't go very far.
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Henrietta Sherwin
Research Associate - Southville Project
Centre for Transport & Society
University of the West of England, Bristol
Frenchay Campus
Coldharbour Lane
Bristol
BS16 1QY
Telephone: 0117 32 83066
Fax: 0117 32 83899
Home: 01225 427660
Web: http://www.transport.uwe.ac.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: Cycling and Society Research Group discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of john meudell
Sent: 25 September 2006 11:06
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Bike It - Expressions of Interest for Research
Henrietta
It's not just in parents that we've lost a generation of cyclists, we've also lost a generation (or two) of planners and designers capable of providing for and integrating cyclists with the other modes. As part of an MSc in Transport & Planning I've just completed I did a field exercise comparing the way Holland and the UK make provision for non-motorised users. I would estimate that the gap is something between 20 and 30 years in evolution of understanding and conceptual thinking amongst infrastructure providers.
I would note that, having worked for a dutch headquartered international company and lived in Holland on and off for most of that period, I have watched that evolution on a first hand basis. Trouble is that in the UK cyclists and cyclist's issues and needs do not occupy the cognitive space of many of those organizations and people who are charged with making provision for cyclists. What's particularly worrying is the poor attitude to and understand of safety of cyclists....as we've discovered over the years in Surrey. So not only do they not know how to improve the position of cyclists they often are not aware there's a problem (hence 11,000 cyclists complaining about clauses in the proposed Highway Code revision which could be taken to imply that cyclists must use dedicated infrastructure).
And when things like that get into the culture of organizations they the very devil to get rid of.
Regards
John Meudell
Mole Valley Cycling Forum
Surrey Cycle Forums
CTC Councilor (elect)
-----Original Message-----
From: Cycling and Society Research Group discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Henrietta Sherwin
Sent: 22 September 2006 16:48
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Bike It - Expressions of Interest for Research
Dear Alex,
This is just to express interest in research around the Bike It programme for a group at the Centre for Transport and Society in the Bristol/Bath area.
At this stage, as a group we felt the information available on the website did not give enough detail i.e the questions that you have already asked and to whom for your own monitoring purposes, it is difficult to suggest a research project that would either fill in gaps or add value to your existing research. We would really need to understand more clearly how the existing monitoring is being done.
In your email you said that the Sustrans Research and Monitoring Unit are conducting a complex 3 year monitoring programme covering the various aspects of Bike It and the way in which they impact upon cycling levels
amongst school children. The question that we would be interested to
research is whether the activity around schools through the Bike It initiative has changed the attitude of parents/grandparents to cycling and/or their behaviour. Has the visibility of the project gone beyond those directly involved in the school community to the wider community just observing that 'It is possible'?
At a recent conference 'Urban Mobility' What role for cycling? Approaches in the Netherlands and UK, some Dutch participants said 'You've lost a generation of cyclists in the UK and their suggestion was to start with the young'. But it may be that this is also a way to involve adults of parenting age or indeed grandparents. Is it a more effective that going direct to parents? More generally we are interested in the stages of life and cyling.
The group consists of Dr Graham Parkhurst, myself and Joshua Hart. Joshua has just enroled on the Masters Programme in Transport and Planning from San Fransisco where he has been involved in campaigning for cycling and worked for Rails to Trails for two years.
Henrietta
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Henrietta Sherwin
Research Associate
Centre for Transport & Society
University of the West of England, Bristol
Frenchay Campus
Coldharbour Lane
Bristol
BS16 1QY
Telephone: 0117 32 83066
Fax: 0117 32 83899
Home: 01225 427660
Web: http://www.transport.uwe.ac.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: Cycling and Society Research Group discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alex Bulmer
Sent: 14 September 2006 15:32
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Bike It - Expressions of Interest for Research
Hello All,
Sustrans Research and Monitoring Unit would like to request expressions of
interest for small research projects (£1-3k) to look at the impact of the
Bike It Programme.
Proposals should be aimed at delivering findings which will enable the
programme to be evaluated and developed, or as small 'priming' studies
which could present themselves as a route to a wider research project.
Some of you may be aware of the Bike It programme which is led and
implemented in schools by Sustrans (for more information see
http://195.224.180.230/default.asp?sID=1102425335218, and the Bike It
Project Review - attached). Sustrans Research and Monitoring Unit are
conducting a complex 3 year monitoring programme covering the various
aspects of Bike It and the way in which they impact upon cycling levels
amongst school children. We have a limited funding pot which we would like
to offer to interested parties to conduct research which will complement
our own approach. If your expression of interest is appropriate to the
monitoring programme, we will send you a short proforma to complete.
We would be grateful if recipients could pass this message onto
appropriate colleagues and parties whom they consider appropriate.
Please respond to [log in to unmask]
Expressions of interest must be received by the 25th of September. Completed proformas will be expected by the 9th of October with decisions
made by the end of the month.
Many thanks,
Alex
--------------------------------------------------------
Alexandra Bulmer
Research Assistant
Sustrans Research and Monitoring Unit
[log in to unmask]
Tel. 0191 2616160
Fax: 0191 261 4500
Sustrans, 37 Side, Quayside, Newcastle, NE1 3JE
Sustrans - it stands for sustainable transport - is a charity that works
on practical projects to encourage people to walk, cycle and use public
transport in order to reduce motor traffic and its adverse effects.
Sustrans, National Cycle Network Centre, 2 Cathedral Square, College
Green, Bristol, BS1 5DD Registered Charity No 326550
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