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Thread: Saw a bit of discussion on here about why in Stevenage, which has beautiful segregated cycling tracks, people still drive. Read this article by @carltonreid https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/sep/19/britains-1960s-cycling-revolution-flopped-stevenage (1/7)
They built incredible cycle tracks. But they also built fast, easy roads right into the centre. The centre’s pedestrianised, so you have to get out your car. But you also have to get off your bike - you can’t cycle direct to the shop. (2/7)
So what happened? There was no incentive to change. People stayed in their cars. Sure, cycling was easy. But people were used to driving, and that was also extremely convenient. So they kept driving. (3/7)
You can compare this to the supermarket in Delft that @AsEasyAsRiding wrote about in 2016. https://aseasyasridingabike.wordpress.com/2016/11/01/the-dutch-supermarket/ (4/7)
Here, parking a car at the supermarket is easy and free, and cycling is also easy (bike parking here is right out front so admittedly already slightly better than Stevenage). But people generally cycle to the shop, because cycling is the status quo. (5/7)
The point is, if things are about as easy as each other, people will do what they’ve always done. You can’t just make things as easy as driving - you have to make its good deal better, or cheaper, or more convenient to use active modes like walking or cycling. (6/7)
So what does that mean in London? We can’t just create safe cycling infra. That’s not enough. We have to work out how to make active travel a good deal better than taking the car - and that might mean disincentivising driving as well as incentivising walking and cycling. (7/7)
