Committee member Steve Southall, recently back from an overseas trip, describes why cycling is such a pleasure in most of the places he visited.

My travels took me from Hong Kong through Turkey, Greece and Italy, returning via Japan.  Sadly I wasn’t able to venture to northern Europe’s cycling meccas of Amsterdam and Copenhagen (next trip!), but what I did see allowed me to form some opinions of how our urban environments can be made much more cycle-friendly.  You can read a full description in my blog, but my observations fall into three main areas.

Infrastructure

“Build it and they will come”.  Providing the necessary facilities, whether linked cycle paths, cycle parking or bike hire, is absolutely essential.  Every urban area has motor vehicles, which are potentially at conflict with cyclists.  Providing cyclists with safe and convenient facilities, which in turn boosts their numbers so they are expected to be ubiquitous, is the primary way we can increase cycling uptake.

Controls on motor vehicles

Most central urban environments in Europe are now being redesigned around people rather than vehicles.  Thinking of driving into central Florence with an unpermitted vehicle?  Ping – that’ll be a 200 Euro fine.  Bicycle or scooter?  No problem.   Want to visit the old town of Lucca to enjoy the shops and cafes?  Park outside the town and walk in, or hire a bike and pedal in safety to your heart’s content.

The concept of “self explaining roads” happens by default in these old towns and cities – roads are narrow, visibility is poor, surfaces are cobbled and bumpy, and pedestrians pretty much own the roads.  It’s therefore foolhardy in the extreme to travel at high speed, and unless on dedicated arterial roads vehicles crawl along giving way to everything in their path.

It helps too that petrol is around 50% more expensive in Europe than NZ (up to $4/litre in Turkey).  Cars are small, and drivers travel with a light right foot around town.

Culture and style

Not a single helmeted or yellow-vested urban two-wheeled warrior to be seen in all my travels.  Stylish residents just hop on a standard old-fashioned bike (usually with a basket on the front) wearing their street clothes and ride.

Certainly the lycra brigade are out in force on the Tuscan rural roads, but cycling being a national sport, they command instant respect from motorists who patiently wait until they can pass safely.  Perhaps we should get the All Blacks out doing their fitness training on bikes.

So what do we need to do to make Auckland more cycle friendly? Provide cycling infrastructure, reduce the dominance and high speeds of motor vehicles, and promote cycling as an ordinary everyday activity where cyclists are expected and respected on the roads.  Simple really!  It’s what Cycle Action as been promoting for many years, and the good news is that we’re seeing incremental change in the right direction.  All we need to do is speed it up.