Boris Johnson’s “cycling revolution” has so far failed to build on the gains made during the pandemic, as the proportion of people cycling at least once a week has fallen to its lowest recorded level in England.
As local councils have removed dedicated cycle lanes after the pandemic, the number of people cycling for leisure and the number of younger people cycling has dropped. Sarah Mitchell, chief executive of UK cycling charity Cycling UK, issued a plea for proper cycling infrastructure, arguing that “the short-term benefit is that people will be able to keep making those essential journeys to work, to school, to the shops by bike. The long-term benefits will be improvements to the nation’s health, economy and environment.”
