NEWS
LSE report: UK cycling in rude health
A new report from the London School of Economics has shown that cycling generates nearly £3 billion for the UK economy. As well as providing 23,000 jobs, the report lists other major benefits from cycling such as improvements in public health and reduced pollution and congestion. The LSE report cites the main
health benefits from cycling as reduced absenteeism, with cyclists averaging 10 percent fewer sick days per year, and lower risks of stroke, coronary heart disease, cancer and other diseases caused by obesity and lack of exercise. It highlights bike-friendly measures that have been successful in establishing cycling in some northern
European nations: ■ Preferential traffic signals f or cyclists at junctions; ■ Traffic-calming and lower speed limits; ■ Strict liability collision laws; ■ Cycle storage facilities. The report also highlights poor safety on British roads as a major barrier to cycling, though there are no clear recommenda-
myself an ordinary cyclist. So do my other friends with a ‘curly’. Max Wooldridge, SW19
Letters Oct/Nov 2011
YOU’RE BAR-RED Rob Kittle’s comment that “ordinary folks do not use curly handlebars” (Letters, Aug/Sept issue) cannot go uncontested. If it’s a tongue-in-cheek, irreverent comment, good on him, but if he’s being serious, it is one of the most ridiculous comments made since George W Bush left our lives. My bike has drop handlebars (I love the variety of positions offered and I consider
SADDENED BY THEFT Although I was saddened to read of the theft of Ashok Sinha’s bikes, I was relieved to know that I’m not the only one who has reacted so emotionally to having my bike stolen. Like Ashok, I found it “especially galling to lose a child’s seat” and wondered at the heartlessness of the thief, who would surely have only got twenty quid or so for his troubles. On holiday and on the school run, for 10 years my lovely red bike had likewise been “friend, trusty servant, dependable companion”. I felt as if my pet had died! But I did find some comfort in reading Ashok’s piece, so thank you for that. Yesterday I collected my new bike and have a feeling this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship... Rebecca Sharkey, email
tions towards reallocating road-space to cycling. Another report published earlier this year by the Understanding Walking and Cycling project at Lancaster University identified reallocation of road space as a major precondition for increasing cycling in the UK to the levels seen in the Netherlands.
RACK IT UP TO EXPERIENCE As I got off my bike and locked it to the racks outside the Hub in Regents Park last week, a policeman cycled up to me to tell me I couldn’t cycle there. This seemed a little illogical. Why have bike racks if you cannot ride a bike? Why can he cycle but no-one else can? I pointed out I had just cycled the 200 yards from the Outer Circle to the visible bike racks along an empty path which did not seem to pose any problem. He insisted rather aggressively that there is a sign at the entrance to the park making it clear that cycling is forbidden there. I had not seen one and would have suggested he could get off his bike and walk back with me then and there to show me, but I did not have the time. When I left the park later I did check very carefully and there is nothing to indicate you cannot cycle to the racks. The surface of the path is different from the footpaths. I know there is ‘No
10 London Cyclist Oct/Nov 2011
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