A View from the Handlebars: Time to think beyond the car

Judging by the arguments within Hull City Council recently, active travel has become just another excuse for grandstanding and scoring political points. But the issue means much more for CycHull member, Anna K. In this blog post, Anna explains the very real impacts of removing the all-day bus lanes on everyday cyclists like her and makes a plea for a transport infrastructure that values, rather than discriminates against, its most vulnerable users.

The proposed removal of the all-day bus lanes is considered a great achievement by some. Not by me!

Whilst the bus lanes weren’t exactly well thought out as cycle infrastructure, they have allowed people who choose to cycle for utility purposes - like me - to flow through the city pretty much unencumbered and with a relative amount of safety – at least if going straight on at junctions. (They’’re not so great when you have to filter out of them to turn right.) The lanes have also allowed buses and taxis to travel through the city, relatively freely.

Now, we’re told that this small concession to active travel is to be taken away. The taxpayer will once again fund a legal process which could see the lanes return to peak hours. This move is supposed to benefit drivers but could easily have the reverse effect - making more room for motorists nearly always increases congestion because of induced demand. Meanwhile removing the all-day bus lanes will certainly impact cyclists badly - taking away choices for children and teens cycling to school/college as well those who can’t afford to own and run a car.

Another impact of removing them could be to reduce the council’s chances of getting future government funding for cycle infrastructure.

Net Zero Chance

The council has set a target for Hull to be carbon neutral by 2030. To achieve that, we need to start decarbonising our lives in lots of ways, including transport. Knowing that money only stretches so far and the council has to juggle its budgets, I cannot see where the necessary funding will come from to create safe green routes for those who choose or need active travel, let alone persuade more people to reduce the number of short journeys they make by car.

How can we expect people to leave their cars at home, when the alternative is vulnerable travel on bicycles without the safety of separated infrastructure? There seems to be a disconnect in planning. But that’s to be expected when it’s utility motorists and the odd leisure cyclist at the helm.

Not only has the council committed to removing the all-day bus lanes, they have also chosen (illogically) to waste more taxpayers’ money on gesture cycle lanes that don’t meet national standards. New lanes have been put in on North Road that are too narrow to accommodate both cycles and cars (see image below). To make matters worse, this council has painted them on the road underneath newly built so-called ‘half and half’ parking bays.

This is car centric mindset at its finest – designed by motorists for motorists – with a complete lack of thought for utility cyclists like me.

Signs of disrespect

The tendency to treat cyclists as an afterthought continues even in the midst of financial hardship when it would make sense to encourage more economical transport modes. People are cutting heating and eating poorly, for the convenience of a keeping a car running. They can’t depend on public transport which is shockingly expensive and unreliable in our car-centric culture.

We have been trained to use the car. Every aspect of our infrastructure proves it. Roadworks have diversion signs for cars – on the cycle paths! When work is carried out on pavements, what’s the first thing that appears on cycle paths? Cyclists Dismount! Work on cycle paths, Cyclists dismount! Crossing a bridge with two cycle paths either side, Cyclists dismount! Approaching a zebra crossing attached to off-road cycle infra? Cyclists Dismount!

When people driving cars pull up to a junction adjoining a pavement for walking and cycling, are they expected to get out of their car and push? No! All the stops are pulled out for the motorists. The same can’t be said for people on bikes or on foot.

Thinking beyond the car

Until we have a viable, safe and cost-effective alternative to the car, our roads will continue to be congested, pollution levels will increase, our health service will be overstretched, our living standards will deteriorate. And more and more people will be paying the equivalent of a small mortgage on vehicles they will never own.

We need a modal shift in this city and we need to start thinking beyond the car. We need to create strategies for designing greener, healthier, more equitable communities, with an infrastructure that benefits all, not just drivers. The whole mindset needs to change. Think of disabled people or those with limited resources who are unable to drive and have no family to help them get around. They all need to get themselves and their children around our city safely and economically.

The local council needs to do more, not take out what little there is. Start thinking beyond the car. Accoring to the 2021 Census, 35% of households in the city have no car - and in some neighbourhoods, the figure is much higher. Yet all the congestion is created by people in cars! Start tackling dangerous drivers: those who squeeze in between central islands and people on bicycles, or overtake vulnerable road users on double white lines on a blind bend. Those who cause an accident, then leave a person on the road, whilst others simply drive around them.

We need to rebuild our communities, remembering that it doesn’t matter if your personal transport cost £60 or £60,000 or you walk our streets for free. We are all equal and have a basic human right to be safe however we choose to travel.