cycling benefits the whole community
TRANSCRIPT
Horsham District Cycling Forum
More cycling benefits the whole community
Horsham is a great place to live: interesting shops, fantastic leisure facilities and a stunning collection of restaurants in a compact and attractive town centre, surrounded by vibrant villages, all set in beautiful countryside
But there are big changes that will put Horsham under pressure: • Huge new development – more cars crowding into the centre • Loss of High Value Added jobs (RSA, Novartis etc.) The local area
needs to attract new hi-tech businesses • Increasing competition from Crawley, Brighton, online
supermarket deliveries, Amazon and eBay. Fewer people NEED to visit Horsham town centre – it has to be an attractive, easy to reach destination
Horsham District Cycling Forum
More cycling benefits the whole community
• Better use of space
Bikes use far less space than cars and, in a town, space really matters 6 to 10 customers on bikes can fit into the same parking space as one customer arriving by car
At Horsham Hospital, eight cars take up this much space, plus about the same again as circulating space
Eight people cycling instead free up valuable parking space for those who really need it
Horsham District Cycling Forum
More cycling benefits the whole community
• Better use of space • Boosts trade
A shift from cars to bikes actually boosts trade
On a bike you never have to worry about parking tickets. Pop in on the spur of the moment or decide to stay for a coffee. Nip quickly to the other side of town without lugging heavy bags of shopping: just load them on the bike. Studies show that we consistently overestimate how much trade comes from cars. Removing on-street parking can increase trade by 40%. So, even though people on bikes don’t buy as much per trip as drivers, they are regular customers who shop more often and, overall, spend more – especially at the independent shops and cafes that Horsham thrives on.
Horsham District Cycling Forum
More cycling benefits the whole community
• Better use of space • Boosts trade • Employers want it
Modern high wage employers of the sort we are actively seeking in West Sussex know they need a good cycle network: their employees want it. Astra Zeneca is one of 100 companies who wrote asking for cycle routes for the new Cambridge Biomedical Park
One hi-tech company says that its recruit profile is:
“Someone who is young and fit, will work long hours, and expect to be able to cycle safely to work as a way of getting good daily exercise.”
Another business says its apprentices are now cycling to work in dangerous conditions because it is their only affordable mode of transport. The businesses say that many more would cycle if conditions were better.
Cycling gives reliable commute times. Workers arrive less stressed and take fewer sick days.
Horsham District Cycling Forum
More cycling benefits the whole community
• Better use of space • Boosts trade • Employers want it • Widens economic participation
Although car ownership in Horsham is high, the number of individuals who don’t have use of a car is significant. Car insurance can easily top £1k for young adults . Transport costs are critical for job seekers and low earners. Buses aren’t an option for shift work or more remote places.
Horsham has a growing number of elderly people. Many can’t drive but - given the right conditions - wish to cycle or use mobility scooters and wheelchairs.
Almost 1 in 5 people have a disability but many people who struggle to walk can cycle. There are also many ‘invisible’ disabilities such as epilepsy that prevent healthy people driving.
For others, an adapted bike, a wheelchair or a mobility scooter provides independence – as long as the cycle paths are wide enough, smooth enough and don’t have restrictive barriers
For children cycling is fun, healthy and provides independence. Parents no longer have to act as taxi drivers!
Horsham District Cycling Forum
More cycling benefits the whole community
• Better use of space • Boosts trade • Employers want it • Widens economic participation • Cuts congestion
The capacity of our roads has to be designed around the peak. The worst time is during the school run. Think of the difference we see at half term.
Yet, at the moment only about 1% or so of Horsham children cycle to school. Even Tanbridge House only ever scraped 10% (probably lower now). At some UK primary and secondary schools up to 60% of pupils cycle. Children really want to cycle to school – there is great potential to cut peak congestion.
Horsham District Cycling Forum
More cycling benefits the whole community
• Better use of space • Boosts trade • Employers want it • Widens economic participation • Cuts congestion • Large health benefit
Multiple high quality studies show that by far the largest financial benefit of cycling is on health. Overall, for individuals the positives massively outweigh the risks.
More cycling also has a huge effect on the health of others: • air pollution from vehicles increases deaths from asthma • noise pollution: living next to a busy road affects children’s
learning and health • Less traffic on residential roads improves happiness and social
support networks
Horsham District Cycling Forum
More cycling benefits the whole community
• Better use of space • Boosts trade • Employers want it • Widens economic participation • Cuts congestion • Large health benefit But we need to make it safer
Cars are getting bigger
…and roads are getting busier
Nowadays drivers are less likely to get injured, but the risk of being killed or injured when riding a bike is far higher – and is rising. Drivers feel safe: so safe that, at any point in time, 1 in 60 drivers are using a handheld phone – many actually texting. Although the long term benefits of riding a bike far outweigh the risks, the risk of being hit and injured or killed is immediate and out of people’s control. Many people, especially women, the old and the young, deal with the risk by simply not cycling.
In Horsham only 1% of the traffic is people on bikes, but these people make up 22% of KSIs. Although most cycling and most collisions occur in town, rural roads are about 3 times more lethal per mile Worse still, cycling KSIs in W Sussex are rising and have doubled since 2010.
Conclusion
More cycling will benefit our whole community. Without improving the conditions, any rise in the number of people cycling will be small and be accompanied by a larger increase in casualties. The new housing developments are an opportunity to start providing the safer conditions we need.
