Some good news on cycling today! Nerdy bit first: new design guidance for cycling infrastructure, LTN1/20. The old one was out of date from publication, back in 2008 – so good riddance to this sort of thing https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycle-infrastructure-design-ltn-120

Although it was only guidance, councils were never going to go against it. LTN1/20 is arguably more than guidance: if councils don’t meet standards (no paint-only bike lanes, no ‘critical fails’, i.e. no potentially life-threatening flaws), there will be no cycling money

It’s not just cycling, of course. The funding gatekeeper, Active Travel England, will be an inspectorate for cycling AND walking, with an active travel commissioner, and there's a bunch of improvements for both.

There's big changes to the Highway Code proposed (really important; more on that later), and more concrete proposals for zero emission transport cities, 'mini-Hollands', funding for bike parking in residential areas and town centres, and bike training for anyone who wants it

If much of the latter sounds like London writ large, that's because it's coming from Boris Johnson at No. 10, and his cycling (and walking) sidekick, Andrew Gilligan, who delivered similar successful projects when Johnson was London mayor and Gilligan his cycling commissioner

Then the funding - a deal-breaker that won't be announced until the forthcoming spending review. £5-6bn needed in the next 5 years to double cycling levels to just 4% so it needs to be big bucks to make a difference. The good news: cycling and walking deliver massive returns

At present we have £2bn for active travel over five years, so a bit more cash needed. Perhaps it could come from the £27bn road building bonanza? https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/apr/21/campaigners-take-legal-action-over-27bn-uk-road-building-scheme

We're told there will be long-term funding for cycling, as per other transport modes. The details - and there are a lot - are released in a bunch of documents on the Government's website today. It'll take some processing, but for now, good news for cycling https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-plan-for-england

Correction - £6-8bn needed to double cycling, according to the Walking and Cycling Alliance https://www.cyclinguk.org/sites/default/files/budget_briefing.pdf

A boost for the National Cycle Network, too, in the Gear Change document. Sustrans, the charity that runs it, recently cut a quarter of its length, that was no longer suitable for novice/family cycling.

And here's my bike blog piece on proposed Highway Code changes https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2020/jul/28/what-do-the-highway-code-proposals-mean-for-pedestrians-and-cyclists