In reality, this is rare. Evidence shows that reallocating road space for cycling and walking can help to ease road congestion.
Moreover there are additional benefits that can arise from reallocation, such as public realm improvements and people shifting to active travel that are likely to lead to changes that help to achieve other policy objectives (e.g. health and well being and/or pollution abatement and in the current health emergency social distancing). One reason, the authors of the report state is as follows:
Cars are the least space-efficient way of moving people and goods around – a three-metre wide lane can move 700 to 1,100 people per hour in cars, whereas for bicycles and walking this increases from 2,000 to 6,500.
The research goes on to point up that economists also agree, along with most transport professionals. If there is a problem, it is that transport predictive models quite likely underplay the importance of the shift to cycling through lack of numerical evidence.
But is this what concerns you?
We will consulting the public on proposals so far for the Spott Dunbar connection in the very near future, so we wanting to open up the conversation.
Leave a comment on this website or head over to our dedicated facebook page.