Workshop two asked participants to respond to questions raised by the “Cycling citizenship” paper. In particular, we asked participants to respond to the following:

How does cycling affect local environments?
Does cycling offer a distinctive ‘view from the saddle’?
Why might some people find it hard to connect transport choices to wider environmental issues?
What (if anything!) might linking cycling to citizenship offer practitioners?

Some of the comments made by participants are outlined below in note form – we hope to provide a more detailed writeup once we have transcribed the workshop discussions.

How does cycling affect local environments?
-Nicer
-Quieter
-Civilised
-Sociable
-Interactive
-Human contact
-Less polluted
-Friendly
-Divisive – walkers/cyclists
-Annoying other cyclists
-Club cyclists/commuters – user types

-Eyes on the street
-Messy
-Secure by design, cul de sacs
-Less polluted, less congested
-Different pace (closer to pedestrian pace)
-More human
-But pedestrians resent sharing space

-Enviro-impact of infrastructure
-Local distinctiveness
-Human scale
-Streets, curbs and paths and public spaces

Does cycling offer a distinctive ‘view from the saddle’?

-All transport provides a different view
-Awareness of environment – smell, sounds
-Cities shrink on a bike

-Yes!
-Cover ground
-See stuff
-Sights/ smells

-Eye contact
-Senses – hearing, smelling, seeing, tasting
-Extends horizon – 360degrees
-Higher up
Natural environment
- Notice
-Freedom
-Feeling of terrain – potholes, micro terrain
-Alert
-Alive
-Mental health
-Defined by who we are?/ What we wear?
-Interactive
-Distinctive
-“Hinterlands”
-Feel small in busy traffic
-Awareness of weather

Why might some people find it hard to connect transport choices to wider environmental issues?

-I wanna go……
-“The car in front’s the problem”
-“Mine’s essential”
-“My contribution is small” – only doing one journey
-Knowledge – info about alternate choices/ hard to access alternatives
-Habit – I know this – it’s easier!
-Can connect to local, but not global
-Perceptions of weather, hazards (moral pressure, safety for children), practicability, fashionable
-Complicated and pressurized lives
-“I’m doing this trip because I always do it” “ I haven’t time to think| – Just in time travel decisions
-Built environment is pro-motor
-Advertising and social pressures

-Being seen as leftie/greenie
-Fear of change?
-Doing differently
-Decision makers/individuals
-“Not seen as normal”

-Recycling and rubbish awareness is widely accepted
-Cycling is not yet accepted by Govt.

What (if anything!) might linking cycling to citizenship offer practitioners?

-something to offer politicians (e.g. eyes on the street)

-Cycling in London?/ Elsewhere?
-“Ride a bike, be a good citizen?”
- Personal responsibility and your impact on others/ your community
-Segmentation [people influenced by others?]
-Healthy – not such a drain on society
-“Big Society?”

-Eco-citizenship
oresponsible with rights
osmall but significant contribution
obeing part of the community
-Puts a positive slant on above
-Looking at bigger picture of situation
oArchitectural liaison officer
oQuestioning safety of new cycle routes
-“Civilised” society
omore human contact
oupping “happiness”

Workshop one asked participants to respond to questions raised by the “Good cycling, bad cyclists?” paper. In particular, we asked participants to respond to the following:

What are the perceptions of cycling and cyclists where you live and work?
Are you, or anyone else addressing this issue? How?
How have perceptions of cycling and cyclists changed?
What, if anything, needs to be done?

Some of the comments made by participants are outlined below in note form – we hope to provide a more detailed writeup once we have transcribed the workshop discussions.

What are the perceptions of cycling and cyclists where you live and work?
-People seem to be very judgmental of themselves as cyclists and cyclists in general
-The vulnerability of cyclists is a pre-occupation of my workplace (TFL)
-There is a difference when you ride the ‘Boris Bikes’ – people have a different opinion of you
oPublic spirited
oGenerates interest and excitement
oFeel safer
oEarly adopter
oOpen-minded vs closed minded
-Cycling chic in Cambridge – fashion, design, architecture
-“Multi-modalist” – Do you think of commuters as one type of transport users or are we moving away from this?

-What are we doing? Rural/suburban
-More normal/ visibility
-Infrastructure

-Positives and negatives have both increased (eg. LL)
-Demographics influence attitudes
-“Cyclist” as a “specialist” activity
-Superficial attitudes?
-Invisible until you do something wrong

Are you, or anyone else addressing this issue? How?

-Boris Bikes – see above
-TFL and rule breakers – persistent offenders. Not enough has been done.
-Be more open-minded about ‘types’ of cyclists
-Make the most of opportunities
-Issue of rule breakers in Cambridge – pictograms on bookmarks for foreign students
-Research at TFL shows that:
oSensible choice to use a bike to enjoy the countryside
oSensible choice to drive to park-and-ride business park
oNever the twain shall meet.
-Japan: cycling on footpaths is accepted however there is a change in law and policy
-Safer cycling on footways – use of planters to avoid conflict with pedestrians

-Schools and community programs
-Tour of Britain
-Visiting schools

-Use of words/categories to avoid “compartmentalism”
-Targeted cycle processes. Eg. Training at schools/ clubs/ clubs in targeted areas
-Wearing “ordinary” clothes
-Fashion accessories – commercial potential

How have perceptions of cycling and cyclists changed?

-Not so unusual – change over the last 10-15 years – especially certain areas. Eg. London
-Media use of cyclists
-Public figures/celebs using bikes
-Wider variety of bikes
-Greater awareness of environmental issues

-London – Style changes
-Social class – underlying factor
-Hackney – deprived. Aspiration is a car

-Evening Standard – dramatic attitude change!
-Politics
-Cambridge – Editor of Cambridge Evening News was on the judging panel of new bridge design.

What, if anything, needs to be done?

-Get key people with vested interests on-side. eg. Newspaper editors
-Infrastructure is important:
oFear of traffic
oSpace re-allocation. 3 lanes of traffic to 2 lanes of traffic = 2m cycle lane

-Bus backs – ASLs/ Feeding good news stories
-Refugees – fitted bikes, couldn’t afford vehicle/ public transport, training linked in
-Bikeability – perceptions
-PCT – cycling on prescription. Cycle to your hearts content
-Think cycling
-Personalities and media helping – John Snow, Olympic medalists, Boris
-Mainstream inclusion gets more people cycling

-Training non-cyclists also. Eg. HGV drivers and driving instructors
-Free cycling training for children and parents. Make it part of the curriculum
-Infrastructure….?

At the practitioner group meeting, we had two workshops relating to issues arising from the research project. Each workshop was kicked off by a short presentation (15 minutes). Because we wanted the workshop to be practitioner-focused and interactive, we didn’t do the traditional talk-plus-questions. Instead we used the talks as a springboard for posing questions to practitioners, allowing them to respond to the issues raised in the presentations.

Here are the slides from the presentations: notes from the presentation workshops to follow soon.

“Good cycling, bad cyclists?” – this presentation raised the issue of why, when cycling seemed to be part of the policy mainstream, cyclists remain stigmatised. It uses data from Hull and Cambridge to demonstrate how uncomfortable a “cycling identity” can be for people.

“Cycling citizenship” – this presentation suggested that cycling could be seen as related to new forms of citizenship, including healthy citizenship and eco-citizenship. Data mostly from Cambridge is used to discuss how cycling might affect people’s relationships to their local social and natural environments.

One of the small groups summarises a discussion.

We held our second practitioner group meeting on 27th September 2010. This time, the meeting focused on emerging findings from the project, with two interactive workshops based around themes from the project ( “Good cycling, bad cyclists?” and “Cycling citizenship”). We got things going with a bike show and tell, which produced an array of fascinating objects, images, and stories. This meeting had attendees from organisations including:

Hull City Council
Brighton & Hove City Council
Cambridge Cycling Campaign
Colin Buchanan
CTC
Cycling England
Cycling Instructor
Cycling Projects
Devon County Council
Hackney Cyclists
LB Hackney
Leighton-Linslade Town Council
Pedals (Nottingham Cycling Campaign)
Transport for London
West Sussex County Council