A greater use of roads pricing and the building of new homes with no car-parking provision are key to encouraging a greater take-up of cycling according to a new report from London TravelWatch.
While the capital’s passenger watchdog says cycle specific infrastructure such as segregated lanes will remain important in boosting cycling, wider measures “to restrain car travel” are needed if cycling levels in London are to match those seen in its European counterparts.
The body recommends closing minor roads and central areas to through motor traffic, “thereby improving local streets for cycling and walking.”
It also calls on councils and City Hall to give planning consent for homes which have no parking provision, and a “wider and more sophisticated system of roads pricing” in which drivers pay to use “the busiest roads at the busiest times.”
John Stewart, Deputy Chair of London TravelWatch, said: “It is clear that if more Londoners are to be encouraged to cycle, then there needs to be a package of measures to support this.
“Measures such as cycle-specific infrastructure, cycle parking and cycle training and will play an important part.
“However the learning from European cities with high cycling levels is that only substantial measures like roads pricing, closing streets to motor vehicles and parking policies to restrain driving, will really change travel behaviour and result in much more cycling.”
