The main aim of this study was to determine whether any real factors contribute to the exclusion of cyclists from some pedestrian areas. In these areas where cycling is permitted, it has been achieved by: (a) shared use of the whole, or certain sections of the pedestrian area; (b) combined use with selected motor vehicles (eg buses and service vehicles); (c) time-restricted access; (d) special paths for cyclists. This study was in two stages, in stage one, 1 hour video recordings of pedestrian areas at 12 sites in England and at 9 sites in mainland Europe were taken.
Cyclists in the UK are normally permitted to use with-flow bus lanes and other bus priority facilities because sustainable modes of transport are being encouraged and because cycling in bus lanes is usually safer than riding outside them between moving buses and general traffic.
The numbers of pedal cyclist fatalities in London have varied over the years from 1986 to 2006; averaging 18 per year, the maximum was 33 in 1989 and the minimum was 8 in 2004. There has been a substantial increase in cycling, particularly in central and inner London. The London Travel Report 2007 (Transport for London, 2007a) reported that in 2006 the cycle flows on London’s major roads were almost twice as many as in 2000. During the period January 2001 to December 2006 a total of 108 pedal cyclists were killed in London.
There are fewer road deaths per head of the population in Britain than in almost any other country in the world. With minor variations in international rankings, this has been the case consistently for many years. The most recent data (2015) show that Norway and Sweden both have fewer road deaths per head than Britain while Switzerland, Denmark and the Netherlands have more.
