Alan

There have been events and interventions here in Scotland/UK which have 
proof of either s spot surge in cycle use, or steady growth.  Really 
important is how Glasgow has - for approaching 2 decades, steadily 
installed cycle parking in public places, and monitored the use.  I've 
taken pictures of one site especially - outside RSAMD in Renfrew 
Street.  Pre parking installation one pioneer bike user wedged his U 
lock in the ridges on a bollard for a secure place to park.  Now there 
are a theoretical 32 spaces outside, often full and people have returned 
to locking to the bollards again.  For most locations the racks empty at 
night and fill during the day so it would be fair to presume that these 
bikes represent regular journeys. The monitored sites indicated at one 
stage 30+% year on year increases in cycle use.

The Glasgow regime is one to commend to other Scottish authorities

I and - by observation - a number of other cyclists are increasingly 
shunning the stores who are less friendly to cycles.  We use 
supermarkets where we can roll out bikes in to load from the check-out 
rather than places where the trolleys get a covered shelter but cycle 
parking is in a distant corner, insecure and open to all weathers.  I 
challenged the CEO of Tesco after I went to their 24 hour store in Crewe 
to get provisions for an overnight train - at 23.00 the store was 
empty.  Ironic really that I recall Tesco making huge PR play on having 
a naturist shopping evening, and screening the store windows, yet the 
suggestion of a cyclists shopping session, when the store is 
quiet/closed to the public seems totally alien to them - surely one 
major chain should take this up for the Summer of Cycling.

Council offices, and other development should provide for the cycling 
callers, short term roll-in for delivery or collection, which will make 
the bike a perfect tool for the delivery and collection of packages, 
especially when 90% of the packages currently being collected by vans - 
double parking, parking on footway and generally clogging city streets 
as they defeat their own objectives by piling in more vans to combat the 
delays from ... traffic congestion. On a bike, with cycle friendly shops 
I can get round 3-4 calls in under 30 minutes, even at 4 pm!  Try that 
by car.

There may also be the market for PUDO points for parcels, serviced by 
large vans where callers can collect their parcel or arrange for a 
cycle-based delivery service.

The privatisation of Dundas Street in Glasgow is an example local to me 
where my route has been closed off, as has happened with much of Central 
Glasgow where the back lanes and vennels set at the block pitches ideal 
for walking have been built over or 'blocked' by premises like Princes 
Square.  I have been hounded from near deserted shopping malls for 
walking inside with my bike (and luggage) in search of a cash machine or 
particular shop. Only in Nottingham has Broad Marsh had the bottle to 
retain the public thoroughfare round the clock as a main route from the 
city to the station, you'll probably be asked to walk the bike through 
when the place is busy, although at night it is a wonderful well 
illuminated way to go. Dundas Street was a direct walking route from 
Queen St Station to Buchanan Bus Station, taking less than 3 minutes 
when you needed to change between train & bus - now try the routes 
available when Debenhams, or the Glasgow Concert Hall are shut. Routes 
like this are vital to make the city work for walking, and should permit 
walking with a cycle (as this is recognised by the courts as being a 
pedestrian).

Leicester has no ban on cycling in any pedestrianised areas this should 
apply across the UK BUT may require a stronger message that pedestrian 
movement has priority over all vehicular movement.  We may need a formal 
sign to define Pedestrian Priority as the UK already had worked out for 
the Hong Kong Highway Code, with a mechanism to ensure those who failed 
to allow this had a form of sanction to be imposed.

Provision of cycle specific infrastructure where the sheer number of 
cyclists demands it, or a topographic detail needs a cycle-oriented 
provision - contour routes to cycle around deep valleys (or public 
transport lifts (Luxembourg Grunt-Ville)), cycle bridges, to provide 
convenient crossings of rail, road, river barriers (Copenhagen) etc

Most cities manage their tram & light rail systems. In the UK cities 
with tram & light rail consistently find reasons for not permitting 
cycle carriage rather than looking at the options for trial of the 
options available - and for Croydon this includes a report sponsored by 
TfL which recommended officially permitting cycle carriage (it does 
happen unofficially), and for the newest tram delivery, having the space 
for cycles removed from vehicles diverted from a larger order for 
Bergen, where cycles are carried, on the same vehicles.

Several permit off-peak carriage on buses, and in Denmark the law 
requires that taxis are equipped to carry cycles and prams, as well as 
wheelchair users.  In a London consumer survey 18% of those who 
currently do not cycle responded that they certainly would cycle if the 
option of getting a bus, taxi, or train, should they find their cycling 
took them beyond their personal comfort zone.  Others responded that 
they might cycle or their cycling limits would be expanded if such 
facilities were commonly available without the uncertainty of 
'negotiation'.  As some on this list will know this is an area where I'm 
keen to evangelise, and extend the coverage, not least to have firm 
evidence in the increased fare revenues/passenger numbers delivered 
through cycle integration with public transport.  Nothing is a better 
when dealing with a highly risk-averse industry than waving the 
potential cash results from embracing cycling, under the nose of the CFO!

Protest is the least promising route - massive public take-up of an 
initiative that delivers immediate and generally financial gains for 
every participant is almost unstoppable - just track the cycle parking 
at St Pancras - official provision 2000%+ between 2004 and 2007 or 
Waterloo main cycle parking location 2002 = 30 spaces 2010 = 320 spaces, 
and the general survey of onward travel from peak hour arrivals at 
London rail termini compared the modal split for cycling between 2001 
and 2011, and found an increase of over 400% in cycle trips, made.  This 
is perhaps what has driven the increased provision of cycle parking at 
London stations - demand so great that it a) cannot be ignored and b) 
cannot be 'managed' by repressive measures because the demand is from 
the customers, and poses a major problem if a confrontational policing 
regime is applied.

Dave Holladay

Glasgow

On 27/05/12 16:59, Alan Munro wrote:
> Hi,
> I'm really not sure how to frame this question but here goes!
>
> I'm looking for some of the best recent exemplars of cycling cities
>   - particularly cities that started off not very cycle friendly
>   - that are now good exemplars of a cycling city.
>
> I'm really trying to understand the processes by which they came to be a cycling city, from things as diverse as protest and bike user groups to such things as the ways in which local government helped/hindered them and what changes made them better.
>
> Sorry, this is a big ask. I'm looking quite closely at the moment at Portland and New York, but really would like to find good examples in the UK and Europe. A bonus would be if you are in contact with people involved and could suggest contacts.
>
> I'm asking this because at the moment we are in quite significant engagement with the Scottish Government on cycling after a very successful protest - the biggest organised in Scotland. I feel we need some good illustrations of just what can happen to fire the imagination, but also we need to understand just where the barriers and opportunities are, politically and logistically, and how they were overcame.
>
> alan munro
>
> http://pedalonparliament.org/