Wheelie wins

‘Cycling city’ Bristol heads push on bikes in towns

That most familiar of all zero-carbon vehicles, the bicycle, is to get £100 million backing from the government in a drive to promote its potential as an urban alternative to the car. A dozen cities and towns across the country will share the grant from the Department of Transport to help fund a wide range of pro-cycling projects showing what can be done.

Bristol will become the country’s first ‘cycling city’, backed by a £11.4 million award. Blackpool, Cambridge, Chester, Colchester, Leighton-Linslade, Shrewsbury, Southend, Southport, Stoke, Woking and York also get government money as they join the list of ‘cycling demonstration towns’.

Initiatives include investment in infrastructure, such as new and improved cycle lanes and bridges, and educational programmes aimed at encouraging cycling and improving safety. Leighton-Linslade is set to introduce 20mph speed limits in some areas, Southend and Southport will focus on cycle training for school children, while Cambridge, where the city centre is as full of bikes as anywhere in England, will seek to spread the habit outwards to surrounding areas.

In each case, central government grants will typically be matched by local funding. This applies to Bristol too, where the city council has outlined developments aimed at doubling cycling in the Bristol and South Gloucestershire area within two and a half years. Pip Sheard from Bristol’s Friend’s of the Earth described it as “the best news for a long time. Sustainable transport is just what we want.”

Bristol can look forward to:

• New and improved cycle routes, especially at busy junctions;
• New cycle resource centres, where cyclists can park safely, shower, and have their bikes fixed; and
• An on-street, pay-as-you-go cycle hire scheme called ‘Hourbike’. Inspired by the recent flowering of similar systems elsewhere in western Europe (such as Vélib in Paris), it will allow users to pick up and drop off short-loan bikes at automatic lock-up points dotted around the city. 

Sustrans regional director Adrian Roper hopes Hourbike could be the first of many on these shores: “The scheme could become a prototype for cities across the UK and help show people that cycling is often the quickest and easiest way to get around town.” A spokeswoman for Bristol City Council, said: "Currently, about 3% of Bristol commuters cycle regularly. We're looking to double that during the project. Our goal is to demonstrate that cycling is popular and that funding for the necessary infrastructure is a worthwhile cause." – John Clulow

29 August 2008