Why Ljubljana's cycling policy shames UK cities

 

Guess what? I have read something which cheers me up! Makes a change from all the bad news which has me tearing my hair out.

I have read about grand cycling facilities abroad where many countries are taking steps to restrict car use.  No, not Holland nor Denmark this time, the leaders in sustainable transport planning often written about in this column.

Instead, this time we go  to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, who have shown what can be achieved. It gives you heart, proves that where there is a will transport congestion can be solved.

For this story I  am indebted to Jim Densham’s feature in the recent issue of Cycle, the excellent bi-monthly magazine of national cycling organisation Cycling UK.

The article, entitled: Less Traffic, More Cycling, describes the author’s experience when he visited cycling friendly towns while on holiday abroad, places which have successfully cut traffic congestion by creating safe roads in towns for cycling and walking.

He writes that last summer he visited Ljubljana (pictured above) where he found a huge area of the old city is pedestrianised…”enjoyed by thousands of people taking in the sights, buying from market stalls and food vendors, and relaxing in on-street café seating.”

But by contrast, 60 miles away in Trieste in Italy, he found the town was throttled by traffic, with noisy, crowded streets, narrow pavements, the stench of traffic fumes, cars and mopeds rushing about. Just like in the UK. It was a world away from the capital of Slovenia.

Densham tells that Slovenia made changes following a “52 per cent increase in car use between 2002 and 2012".

So they came up with radical plan to limit motors and give priority to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport. Over 10 hectares – just under 25 acres - of the city centre was pedestrianised.  Doesn’t sound much when converted to miles, 0.386 square miles.

But that fact in itself reveals how little road space is needed to  improve conditions.

It can make a big difference.

Densham says it shows that huge challenges can be met in the urgent need to restrict car use, and he also mentions the initiatives in Paris which hosts this year’s Olympic Games. Barcelona, too, aims to put people before cars.

He mentions Ghent in Belgium which seven years ago introduced a city “circulation” plan to dramatically cut car travel in the centre. The changes boosted cycle use from 22 per cent of journeys to 37 per cent.

All of these fine initiatives show just how far the UK lags behind.

                              Torquay's bonkers answer to overcoming a gradient on a cycle route

                                                   was to provide steps (see Blog June 2, 2022). 

                                             Do note, the above pic is not the Torquay masterpiece.

The author  compares his experiences abroad to the reality of his home city of Glasgow, streets full of traffic. A visit there, he says, may leave a bad taste in the mouth, literally.

Which can only get worse. Densham writes that government predictions for England and Wales say traffic is to increase by up to 54 percent by 2060.

A grim picture.

Elsewhere in Cycle, the various stories reflect on the huge enthusiasm in Cycling UK to get Britain cycling despite the setbacks. Setbacks such as government slashing funding for cycling; of plans

to allow traffic to enter previously  restricted areas because Sunak thinks this  unfairly punishes motorists.

If Britain is good at anything it is dancing the Quick Step.   They agree to funding cycling one moment, then slash the budget the next; one step forward, one step back. The Cycle Planning Quickstep.

The front cover of Cycle depicts a London city night scene and a huge Cycling UK slogan on the side of a building declaring “Rishi, fight climate change…don’t fuel it.”