Space for Cycling

Local elections, local asks

In 2014, ahead of the local council elections in May, we called on every councillor candidate to support safer cycling in their area and asked them to back a specific local improvement identified by our local groups. 50% of candidates agreed to do this, which translated to 47% of Councillors who were elected.

The improvements called for in each electoral ward in London ranged from making sure there were safe cycle routes to a named local school to installing physically-protected cycle track on a named major road. Most of the suggested measures came from one of these categories:

• lowering vehicle speeds
• removing through motor traffic on minor/residential streets
• installing physically-protected space for cycling on main roads
• opening up our green areas for cycling
• creating safe cycle routes to schools
• improving London’s town centres to make them easier to visit by bike

For years following the campaign, LCC tracked all of the hundreds of asks and progress on them – many as they came to fruition. But perhaps more importantly, Space for Cycling made sure most councils in London went from warm words on cycling to action on the ground and paved the way for more recent and rapid changes.