Cycle campaigning

I've just come back from holiday in Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

I'd like to say that I'm enthused about the idea of campaigning for segregated infrastructure, and in some ways I am. However I can't help but have reservations about it.

Most of my experience was in Norway as I spent the best part of two weeks there. In as much as they have quite a strong cycling culture I think they're doing really well and doing a lot in terms of supporting access to cycling as a means of transport.

What became clear is that in terms of utility cycling, segregation is a brilliant thing. It provides access to use of a bike for transport and daily movement to all able bodied people, regardless of whether they identify as a cyclist or not. It makes the bike appropriate for many scenarios, including in one instance that I saw of the movement of primary age children from school to a swimming pool. You can probably imagine my joy that it was to see from a very young age Norwegians understood cycling to be a basic part of daily life.

However, despite this mostly very good infrastructure dedicated solely to cycling along with a sense of equality enshrined in law, it did seem as if quite commonly segregated facilities kept cyclists in place as a second class citizen. You're given a space and expected to stay there. Whilst laws and conventions protect the movement of cyclists in these spaces, the inequity of size still persists and it doesn't take much for a motorist to impinge upon a cyclist in their space, almost with impunity. For the utility cyclist this doesn't seem to be much of an issue, by no means are they prohibited from getting from A to B and any infringements will often be short lived.

On the other hand, for the leisure and sporting cyclist this proves more of a problem. Higher speeds become anti-social, getting in a good long run while in an urban environment can be difficult and out of town maintenance of segregated lanes can be patch. Maybe not bad enough to trouble a utility cyclist but a skinny-tyred roadie can find them quite unenjoyable compared the perfectly good road running right next to it.

I feel a little nit-picky in raising this but I also think there's a valid concern here. The end result of this is that the system of segregation creates a two-tier structure of cyclists. Utility cyclists are mostly fine but leisure and sporting cyclists are put at a disadvantage of choosing between unsuitable facilities or choosing conflict with motorists on the road who aren't always happy that the official system isn't being respected. I'm sure that over time Norweigians have come accustomed to this way of cycling and there may have been much that I missed.

Now looking at how this translates to our own st up back here in England, I worry about the potential for segregation to cause problems. Here, all cyclists are on the same footing. It may not be a good footing but anyone on two wheels is effectively equal. It may or may not be because of that, but a high proportion of cycling in this country of leisure and sport cycling. Because of this it supports a high proportion of the bike industry and innovation that we have. I suppose my worries boil down to these things;
a) a radical shift to segregation may damage the industry we currently have. Any new business that come in to support a subsequent shift in cycling culture may not properly be able to support it and risk a premature end to the golden age we're currently experience.
b) with the current position of cyclists as effectively second class citizens, segregation could be an inadvertent catalyst to further entrench this. Not so much an issue for incoming people to cycling, but taking away that free flow around the roads enjoyed at the moment may be hard to stomach for existing riders.
c) diminishing the quality of facilities could have a detrimental effect on out current sporting culture in cycling. At a time when we are experiecing a boom in riders and races of all stripes, and acheiving an equal level as our European counterparts, it would be a poor move to throw another obstacle in the way.

I'm not saying an unequivocal no to segregation, I recognise the need for it in a fashion and have enjoyed a lot of my time on segregated facilities. However, I hope that our way forward is careful, well thought out and takes into consideration our cycling past, the legacy that it has given us, our current culture and the things that make cycling in England great.