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Sustainable transport charity Sustrans has published its new strategy for London, with specific methods to help get the Capital on bikes.
The Sustrans London Strategy has unveiled a plan stretching from 2009 to 2013 to encourage new cyclists – particularly under-represented groups such as women and young people. The plan has been timed to coincide with London Mayor’s Boris Johnson Transport Strategy.
According to the charity much must be done to realise Johnson’s aim to tempt non-cyclists in London onto bikes and has outlined a number of points to realise the aim:
Greenways: Sustrans has proposed an extension of the Capital’s greenways programme, which sees quiet routes to and between green spaces linking other networks. Research on the UK-wide National Cycle Network shows that a fifth of women on the network are new or returning to cycling, seeing women outnumber men in the younger people category – between 16 and 24.
School cycling: Sustrans plans to bring the Bike It scheme to the Capital – and make it available to all London boroughs by 2013.
Support for households: Sustrans’ TravelSmart programme offers custom information for households to help people walk, cycle or use public transport. TravelSmart is the most widely applied form of personal travel planning in the UK.
Sustrans’ role in helping the DfT Sustainable Travel Demonstration Towns (STDTs) has seen increases in cycling trips of up to 113 per cent. Sustrans’ strategy is planning to bring the TravelSmart to London by 2011.
"London has seen considerable success over recent years in increasing commuter cycling in central and Inner London,” said Carl Pittam, Sustrans’ London regional director.
“However 84 percent of Londoners never cycle, and certain groups are missing out especially – women make roughly half as many cycle trips as men, and journeys by children and young people have actually declined recently.
"We are glad to see that the draft Mayor’s Transport Strategy includes proposals to deliver safe cycle routes, to support school cycle training, and to influence travel choices through ‘smarter travel’ initiatives. Our Strategy for London complements these goals. It comprises a range of programmes that we know are effective in getting more people cycling, from more traffic-free Greenways to targeted work with young people in schools."
The Strategy can be downloaded from here.
