Abstract

With the recent shift in Government transport policy, more and more local councils are developing cycling strategies for their districts. However, a significant increase in cycling is not likely if such strategies are implemented in isolation from other council policies and actions. This is particularly a concern in locations where it appears that "providing for cyclists" is being interpreted as just "providing cycle facilities".

A number of existing cycling strategies have certainly been fairly limited in both their scope of cycling-specific issues (such as education and promotion) and in their actual implementation. However, to really encourage more cycling, councils also need to seriously review and implement other "sustainable transport-friendly" policies for land use planning, speed limits, general road construction and maintenance, parks & reserves planning, travel demand management, traffic calming, and parking management, to name but a few.

This paper discusses some of the pitfalls observed in local council cycling strategies and policies to date. It also identifies other policy areas that have an impact on cycling and suggests practical ways that councils can truly make a difference to encouraging more cycling.