Cycling City and Towns Programme Overview March 2010 Contents
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Cycling City and Towns Programme Overview March 2010 Contents Introduction 3 CyclingDemonstrationTowns–investmentpayingoff 3 EvaluatingtheimpactsoftheCyclingCityandTownsProgramme 4 CyclingCityandTownsprogrammes 4 PopulationofCyclingCityandTowns 5 LevelsofcyclingforCyclingCityandTowns 6 CyclingEnglandbudget 7 SummariesofCyclingCityandTowns’activity 8 Aylesbury 8 Blackpool 9 Brighton&Hove 9 GreaterBristol 10 Cambridge 11 Chester 12 Colchester 13 Darlington 14 Derby 15 Exeter 15 LancasterwithMorecambe 16 Leighton-Linslade 18 Shrewsbury 19 Southend-on-Sea 20 Southport 21 Stoke-on-Trent 21 Woking 22 York 23 2 Introduction Thereisgrowingrecognitionthatcyclingcanhelptacklesomeofthebiggestchallengesfacingthe countrytoday–andthefirstresultsfromtheoriginalsixCyclingDemonstrationTownshaveprovided robustevidencetosupportthis. Thisreportbrieflysetsoutthoseencouragingfindings,beforeprovidingbackgroundinformationonthe widerprogramme,alongwithcoredataaboutpopulation,fundingallocationandcyclinglevelsinall18 locations.ItalsoincludesasnapshotofkeyactivitiesineachCyclingCityorTown. Cycling Demonstration Towns – investment paying off CyclingEnglandwasformedin2005witharesponsibilitytoincreaseshorturbantripsbybikethrough thedeliveryofprojectsfortheDepartmentforTransport.Atlaunchweimplementedtwoflagship programmes:Bikeabilitytrainingforschoolchildren,andthedevelopmentofCyclingDemonstration Towns,wheretownsacrossEnglandinvestedintheirlocalcyclingprogrammesatalevelequivalentto thatofsuccessfulEuropeancycletowns,withtheaimofachievinganincreaseineverydaycyclingtrips. CyclingEnglandhelpslocalauthoritiesdeliverprogrammesofworkdesignedandimplementedlocally, workingwiththosewhoareseekingtoincreasethenumbersofcyclistsintheirtownsandcities. InOctober2005,theCyclingTownsprogrammestartedbyestablishingsixCyclingDemonstration Towns.CyclingEnglandinvitedbidsfromtownswithapopulationofabout100,000andthetownswere selectedfromapplicationsby31localauthorities,onthebasisofthreeprincipalcharacteristics: • Theambitionoftheirprogrammetoincreaseshorturbantripsbybike • Thecommitmentandinvolvementofseniormembersandofficers • Thecommitmentbythelocalauthoritytomatch-fundtheCyclingEnglandcentralgrant. Eachtowndevelopeditsownprogrammeofactivities,designedtotakebestadvantageoflocal opportunities,butsupportedbysomehighqualityready-madepackagesfundedordevelopedby CyclingEngland,suchasBikeability,BikeItandGoRide. Forthepastthreeyears,wehavebeengatheringdatafromtheCyclingDemonstrationTowns- Aylesbury,BrightonandHove,Darlington,Derby,ExeterandLancasterwithMorecambe-inorderto measureprogress.InNovember2009weannouncedthefirstresults.Theseareverypositive-with cyclingincreasingby27percentonaverageacrossalltowns,demonstratingadecisivebreakfromthe downwardtrendincyclinglevelsintheUK,outsideLondon,overthelast30years. TherehasalsobeenasignificantincreaseinphysicalactivitylevelsintheCyclingDemonstration Towns–socyclingiscontributingtoimprovementsingeneralhealth–andcyclingtoschoolisalso up.Notonlythis,buttheresearchhasalsoshowntheprogrammetoprovideagoodreturnonthe investment-foreach£1spent,theincreaseincyclinglevelshasgeneratedbenefitsvaluedataround £3(www.dft.gov.uk/cyclingengland/cycing-cities-towns/results). SoforthefirsttimeintheUKoutsideLondon,wehaveachieved‘liftoff’forcycling.Theresultsofthe sixCyclingDemonstrationTownsshowthatspecificandtargetedmeasurescanhaveasignificant impactinincreasingcyclinglevels.WehavelearntmuchduringthefirstthreeyearsoftheCycling Townsprogramme.Crucially,toincreasecyclingrequiresacomprehensiveandwellintegratedplan, focussedontheunderstandingofthreethings:people–whocouldbepersuadedtotakeupcycling; place–wheretheywanttogo;andpurpose–whytheymakethesejourneys.Allthisgivesusgreat confidencethatthespecificcyclingstrategiesimplementedbythetownscanmakearealdifferenceto thetravelcultureoftheUK. ThisapproachisbeingfollowedinEngland’sfirstCyclingCity–greaterBristol–andthe11newCycling Townsestablishedin2008followingGovernmentfundingof£140milliontoCyclingEnglandforthe followingthreeyears.Asinthepreviousroundoffunding,localauthoritiesupanddownthecountryhad tocompeteforthechancetobecomeCyclingTowns.HalfthehighwayauthoritiesinEnglandsubmitted bids,demonstratingthegrowinglevelsofpoliticalsupportforcycling,andensuringthatthesuccessful proposalswerefullybackedbythelocalcommunitiestheywouldaffect. Muchhasbeenachievedsincetheexpansionoftheprogrammeandthecontinuedfundinguntil2011 willhelptoensurethatinitialsuccessesaretranslatedintosustainedbehaviourchange.Itwilltaketime tocreatesuccessfulcyclingcitiesandtowns,andthisisonlythebeginningforfocusedinvestmentin cycling,butweareconfidentthattheircyclinglevelswillcontinuetoincrease. 3 Evaluating the impacts of the Cycling City and Towns Programme Acomprehensivemonitoringandevaluationprogrammehasbeenputinplacetolookattheimpact oftheexpandedCyclingCityandTownsprogramme.Thefindingsofthisevaluationwillaimtohelp, inspireandencourageothertownsandcitiestoplanandimplementprogrammesthatgetmorepeople ontheirbikes. Theevaluationwillproviderobustdatatoanswersomeofthekeyquestionsthatneedtobeanswered whenplanningacyclinginitiative-‘whichgroupsofpeoplecanbeencouragedtocycle/ridetheirbikes moreoften’,’whattriggeredbehaviourchange’,‘whatarethewiderandlongertermeffectsofcycling interventionsonhealth,theenvironment,qualityoflifeetc?’. Sustrans,UniversityofBoltonandCavillAssociatesareresponsibleformonitoringthechanges incyclinglevelsinall18citiesandtowns.Thisincludesthedevelopmentofamonitoringplanfor eachcity/town,andcollectionofdatafromtrafficcounters,manualcountsandroute-usersurveys. AsummaryofthisinformationwillberegularlyreportedthroughouttheCyclingCityandTowns Programmeandthismonitoringdatawillalsofeedintothewiderevaluation. Sustrans,UniversityofBoltonandCavillAssociatesarealsoresponsibleforassessingchangesin cyclingbehaviourandphysicalactivityintheoriginalsixCyclingDemonstrationTowns.Thisinvolved abeforeandaftertelephonesurveywith1,500individualsineachofthetowns,conductedbyICMin 2006and2009.Anotherfollow-upsurveywillbeconductedin2012. Additionally,consultantsAECOM,UniversityoftheWestofEnglandandtheTavistockInstituteare undertakingaprogrammeofworktoevaluateinvestmentinthe12newCyclingCityandTowns,aswell astheCyclingEnglandSchoolsandYoungPeopleprogramme.Thisworkwillendeavourtounderstand whathaschangedineachtown,whythesechangeshaveoccurred,andthespecificcontextfor change. Theevaluationalsoincludesabeforeandaftersurvey-around1,250householdsineachtownwere contactedin2009andthiswillberepeatedatalaterstagetomeasurechangesinattitudes,cyclingand travelbehaviour,andoverallphysicalactivityamongstthepopulation. Aswellasthis,theevaluationwillincludein-depthinterviewsandcasestudyresearch,tounderstand theimplementationandeffectsofspecificinterventionssuchasthosetargetedatjourneystowork,and journeystothestation. Cycling City and Towns programmes Asummaryofeachtownorcity’sactivitiescanbefoundonpages8-23.Manyofthetowns’ programmesshareanumberofcommoningredients,suchas:improving,extendingorbuilding cycleroutes;workingwithemployers;offeringBikeabilitycycletrainingandothercyclingpromotional programmesinschools;implementingatailoredcyclehirescheme;introducing20mphzones; implementingcyclesignswithtimes(ratherthandistance);workingcloselywithPrimaryCareTrusts; improvingcycleparkingfacilitiesinschools,atstations,andotherkeydestinations;andupdatingcycle maps. TheCyclingCityandTownsplayakeyroleindeliveringBikeabilitycycletraining,whichnationwidewill reachanestimated350,000childrenin2010/11. Projectofficersimplementingtheseprogrammesfromthe18townsandcitymeetregularly,hosted bydifferentplacesintheprogramme,tosharegoodpracticeandlearnfromoneanother.Wherever possible,goodpracticeisalsodocumentedandsharedwithawideraudiencethroughtheCycling Englandwebsite. Ultimately,CyclingEngland’saimthroughtheCyclingCityandTownsprogrammeistohelpotherlocal authoritieswhoareseekingtoincreasethenumbersofpeoplechoosingtocycle.Weprovideacentral huboftechnicaladviceandexpertiseand,thankstotheCyclingDemonstrationTowns,agrowing evidencebasethatcyclingisbothinexpensivetofundandoffershighreturnintermsofbenefittocost ratio.Therenowexistsmoreevidencethaneverbeforetohelpmakethecaseforcycling. 4 Population of Cycling City and Towns Population of Cycling City and Towns 600,000 City / Town Population 550,000 (1) GreaterBristol 570,000 500,000 Stoke 240,000 York 184,000 450,000 Cambridge 180,000 400,000 Southend 160,000 Blackpool 142,000 350,000 Chester 120,000 300,000 Exeter 115,000 (2) Derby 105,000 250,000 5 Colchester 104,000 200,000 Darlington 99,000 Lancasterwith 96,000 Morecambe 150,000 (3) Brighton&Hove 95,000 100,000 Woking 91,000 Southport&Ainsdale 90,000 50,000 Shrewsbury 75,000 0 Aylesbury 65,000 Leighton-Linslade 38,000 TOTAL 2,569,000 1 Populationfigures basedon410,000forBristolCityCounciland160,000coveringpartofSouthGloucestershire 2 ThepopulationofDerbyis245,000,buttheprogrammeisfocusedonworkingwithatargetedunder25spopulationof105,000 3PopulationofBrighton’sCyclingTownarea- WestBrightonandHove LevelsLeve ofls cyclingof cycling for Cyclingfor Cycling City Cityand Townsand Towns Figuresbelowshowcomparativelevelsofcyclinginthe18CyclingCity andTowns. Pleasenotethatthe2001censusjourneytoworkdatafor: • Leighton-Linslade relates to the wards All Saints, Grovebury, Linslade, Planets, Plantation,Southcott(NBthesewardsdonotexistafterthe2004boundarychanges) • Southport & Ainsdale relates to the wards Ainsdale, Birkdale, Cambridge, Dukes, Kew,Meols,Norwood • Aylesbury relates to the wards Aylesbury Central, Bedgrove, Elmhurst and Watermead, Gatehouse, Mandeville and Elm Farm, Oakfield, Quarrendon,