Dissertation Questionnaire for London Cyclists

Thanks Eddy P! 

Interesting comment, nobody else has yet told me that my survey suggests that I haven't been to Regent's Park. I happen to have lived very close to it for my whole life, riding my bike there almost every day for 6 years. I also use it in other ways: walking the dog; lunchtime picnics in summer; amateur football league on Sundays...

I'll try to explain more very briefly. 

There is quite a lot of literature (notably Pucher et. Buehler, Horton et al. etc) which suggests that having a 'hub' or a 'node' in the network - as geographically placed such as Regent's Park - can increase walking cycling in a city in a function of just being there. (The so called 'safe space' in my title). 

TfL have obviously read the same literature that I have, as one of their main aims is to create a 'Dutch style super hub' for cycling. From what I've seen however, it's unclear as to what they intend this to be. Some policy papers seem to suggest that a London terminus station could serve as the hub, whereas others suggest an entire borough or suburb. 

What I personally think is more likely is that a relatively small, locationally favourable  area, with lots of connections to the rest of the network, would be perfect for the function. Other places like the Olympic Park, Clapham Common, or Battersea Park could also be suitable hubs. 

TfL seem to think that segregating cycle traffic, installing cycle hire ranks, and providing huge ('000s) cycle storage would go ways to building the hub. I disagree however, and think that infrastructure is not the only thing which requires investment, but that building a community and making lots of different people feel 'safe' are more important factors to consider. Infrastructure is just one way in which these feelings can be engendered. 

Hope that makes it more clear. 

any further points please do either comment here or email me at l.lerner [at] lancaster.ac.uk