The UK government has just set up a brand new agency dedicated to the practice of cycling and walking. It’s called Active Travel England and aims for cycling and walking to make up 50% of all UK travel by 2030.
Led by former cyclist Chris Boardman (world champion and Olympic pursuit champion), this government agency will work on everything to do with the new standards to be introduced in the field of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. It will also be able to grant funding to various projects promoting cycling or walking that meet exactly these standards. Finally, it will be responsible for identifying dangerous highway code violations related to cyclists and pedestrians.
Chris Boardman’s choice is wise as he has already participated in the development of the “Bee Network” plan, the UK’s first unified cycling and walking network, with over 2800km of dedicated infrastructure.
This decision follows recent changes to the UK Road Traffic Act in favor of pedestrians and cyclists and investments in new infrastructure to encourage cycling. It also comes with new funding for local governments, rail operators and businesses to promote cycling at their level.
The development of soft mobility should provide the population with more comfort, with less traffic jams, pollution and deaths on the roads. This is clearly part of a larger plan to drastically reduce CO2 emissions in the UK over the next 30 years.
(ETX Daily Up)