Government says its new vision for cycling and walking aims to build on a significant increase in active travel during the pandemic, boost people’s physical and mental health and tackle environmental challenges.

“From helping people get fit and healthy and lowering their risk of illness, to improving air quality and cutting congestion, cycling and walking have a huge role to play in tackling some of the biggest health and environmental challenges that we face,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday.

“But to build a healthier, more active nation, we need the right infrastructure, training and support in place to give people the confidence to travel on two wheels.”

Further measures laid out in the Government’s ‘Gear Change’ strategy – which is funded through £2Bn announced earlier this year for cycling and walking – include rolling out cycle training to improve confidence on two wheels and offering bike repair vouchers.

Safer conditions for active travel will also be created through more low traffic neighbourhoods and cycle friendly ‘Mini Hollands’, the document says.

Welcoming the plans, Living Streets interim chief executive Jenni Wiggle said: “Investing in safe, convenient and attractive conditions for walking and cycling brings a range of benefits that will help deliver the Government’s priorities around obesity and climate change.

“Placing walking and cycling at the heart of our transport system will allow us to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic stronger and is essential for transport decarbonisation.”
Campaign for Better Transport chief executive Darren Shirley said: “The plans contain many of the things we have been calling for. Making roads better for cycling, with more dedicated road space and long term funding, will help to encourage more people to take to two wheels.”

Government also says it will install more cycle racks at transport hubs, make electric bikes more widely available and consult on changes to the Highway Code to place cyclists and pedestrians at the top of a road user hierarchy.

Updated standards for cycling infrastructure have also been published which emphasise that schemes consisting mainly of paint or that make pedestrians and cyclists share the same space will not receive funding. The standards will be overseen by a new inspectorate called Active Travel England.

* Investment in active travel must enable increases in cycling and walking seen since the outbreak of Covid-19 to become a permanent part of everyday life, the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT) has urged.

In a new policy position paper, the group says Government needs to empower local authorities to make temporary street changes permanent, and calls for long term funding for the ongoing delivery and maintenance of active travel infrastructure.

“Enabling active travel is going to be fundamental to delivering rejuvenated neighbourhoods and creating brilliant places with stronger local economies, where people are able to enjoy a higher quality of life with cleaner air, a healthier lifestyle and a greater focus on local communities,” said ADEPT’s transport board chair Mark Kemp.

(Photograph: Sustrans)