How to campaign more effectively - council relations, running your group, and more
The Pathway Approach
The Pathway Approach
An introduction to the Pathway Approach, a journey any area takes from no delivery on active travel to a complete and coherent approach to transport, is there to help campaigners focus efforts.
Pathway: Stage 1 - Get Help
How to campaign - if your group is just you and a few others, and your borough is barely acting on active travel, climate etc. then you need more help. Here's how.
Pathway: Stage 2 – Any Win At All
How to campaign - if you have a small group of dedicated volunteers, but your council isn't prioritising active travel, you need "any win at all". Here's how.
Pathway: Stage 3 - Critical Friend
How to campaign - if your council is starting to deliver schemes that upset drivers and the council is moving forward despite that, it's time to get coherent and balance your group’s public support with a private push to improve schemes. Here's how.
Pathway: Stage 4 – Fill in the Gaps
How to campaign - when your borough starts implementing good schemes without you asking, you're at this stage. There will still be gaps in the active transport network so this is another opportunity to grow your group, make it more representative and support behaviour change. Here's how.
Campaigning basics
Getting started in active travel campaigning
Do you want to make your local area better and safer for walking, cycling and wheeling but have never campaigned before? Or maybe you have campaigning experience, but not for active travel? Here’s how to get started.
How your council works
It's important to know what the council leader does, what the cabinet is and what's the difference between a ward councillor and an officer. This resource explains the inner workings of councils in the UK.
Campaign planning
Picking your campaigning focus
You want more cycling, walking & wheeling in your borough. But what exactly do you ask for to get there? Here's how to pick a focus for your campaign using The Pathway Approach.
Creating a campaign plan
As a campaigning group, it’s best to set clear objectives and work out a campaign plan. The impulse might be to throw yourself into action straight away, but taking time to analyse the situation and develop an effective strategy can make all the difference to your campaign’s success.
Campaign actions
Flyering dos and don'ts
Flyering can be a really brilliant way of engaging with local cyclists (and people walking and wheeling) and drumming up support for your group and/or campaigns. Here are some basic tips to get it right…
Handling opposition to schemes
What do you do when there's a new scheme in your borough that suddenly gets a furor of opposition? Use this guide for some key tips on how best to respond.
Schemes & infrastructure
Responding to new schemes
A new scheme lands in your borough, or you hear about it coming. What should you do? This guide looks at what considerations to take when assessing new schemes and how to respond to consultations.
Using technical guidance
When your borough starts showing ambition and putting out good schemes, you can start holding them to account on various technical guidance to improve their quality. This guide will help you assess schemes using technical guidance.
TfL's Strategic Cycling Analysis explained
The Strategic Cycling Analysis (SCA) is TfL's map of where it is prioritising cycle routes. Learn how to use it in your campaigning.
LCC Infrastructure Handbook
Our 2019 handbook on everything you need to start understanding and assessing infrastructure, responding to consultations, and campaigning around cycling schemes
Creating networks
Building Coalitions
We can campaign more effectively if we do it with support from others. By reaching out to groups with similar aims, we can amplify our message as well as work with others to deliver big events such as hustings and rides.
Reaching all (cycling) communities
As cycling becomes a more popular way to get around and your council has the will and ambition to put in high quality schemes, it’s important to recognise that there are still many barriers that people who want to cycle might face.
Funding
Funding streams for active travel schemes
Where do boroughs get money from to do active travel schemes and why do some boroughs get more than others? It’s a complicated world…
You must have a London Cycling Campaign website account to view this resource
Creating an account gets you access to all London Cycling Campaign resources, so that you can make the best decisions for how to campaign and get support and information.
Access to all campaigners’ resources
Access to detailed information on infrastructure
Access to campaigning support