Unless you’re in the bike-heavy city of Cambridge or along the Cycling ‘Superhighway’ in London, your local area may not be the easiest – or indeed safest – place to cycle around. We all know that walking, running and cycling are our healthiest transport options, and a recent survey by Cycling UK found that up to 77% of the British public support measures to encourage them. Of those, 80% would like to see our streets redesigned to better protect pedestrians and cyclists from those in motor vehicles.
But in truth, do we actually need more cycle lanes in the UK; and would they be utilised if they were introduced? There are certainly many benefits to their implementation into infrastructure, and here we cover off just a few…
Safer conditions for Cyclists
There are currently over 12,000 miles of bike lanes in the UK as part of the NCN (National Cycle Network), but this amount comes after almost a quarter of all of them were scrapped as a result of them being found unsafe. Integrating new bike lanes into urban areas allows for specifically designed routes that isolate cyclists from motorists to increase their safety. Built alongside main roads, these lanes provider a markedly safer environment for those on two wheels rather than four and can help lower the amount of accidents and injuries experienced.
Reducing Traffic Congestion
A common argument aimed against cyclists by motorists is that having to dodge and drive around them increases levels of congestion on roads – and often with bike lanes taking up road space, they blame cyclists for less lanes for vehicles. However, once introduced, its repeatedly found that bike lanes increase the levels of cycling (for both leisure and work) and decrease the levels of driving in the area, helping in turn to reduce the number of cars on the road and help ease any congestion.
Healthier People, Healthier Environment
Some of the world’s healthiest cities have over 50% of their working population commuting by bicycle, and a few days in Amsterdam or Copenhagen can quickly demonstrate this! Encouraging more residents to cycle helps improve health three-fold:
- It’s a great source of physical exercise for the individual cycling, improving their cardiovascular health and overall wellbeing
- It reduces the number of motor vehicles on the roads, improving the air quality of the area and in turn the health of the community breathing it
- Less carbon emissions are produced as a result of less cars being used, reducing the carbon footprint and helping boost air quality, noise pollution and the ecosystems of the environment.
The Bottom Line
There’s no doubt about it – if you can get on two bikes for a journey, you should! However, in order to help encourage Brits to cycle more and to do so safely and easily, the creation of new bike lanes around urban areas and main roads would certainly be beneficial to all.
In March 2024, it was announced than £101 million would be invested into new projects to boost walking and cycling nationwide. The current government have yet to confirm their support for this motion but given its popularity, it is likely they’ll take this forward and allocate funding to local councils. For now? Speak to your MP and local councillors and encourage them to get involved. Get on your bike, and get campaigning for safe streets!
