Do the French have the right way of it?
Summary
I was amazed that in so many towns and cities cycling is fast becoming the No.1 form of transport in France
Having just returned from my holiday in France I was amazed that in so many towns and cities cycling is fast becoming the No.1 form of transport. More and more urban centers are becoming pedestrianised and cycle lanes delineated. Also people stay in them, so I saw no “near misses” while walking around.
The other thing that fascinated me was proliferation of different types of “Cargo Bikes”. All electric, some for mothers taking children to school, some for shopping and some for extremely large cargos.
The are so enthused and proud of getting the population onto bikes they even have a counter by the road to monitor the numbers.
Back in the UK, cargo bikes are still so unusual that sightings of them is a cause for Newspaper Articles!
Anna Tyzack rides an electric cargo bike carrying her four children Credit: Andrew Crowley/The Telegraph
It’s time here that the government took cycling seriously and thought about the movement of people of goods and people. For instance, all those houses built down by the railway station in Box Road, would have never been built in Europe without a clear pedestrian and cycle path to the shops and center of the village. Instead, the new footpath / cycle path to connect the Box Road houses to the shops ends after 100m at an abrupt stop…