Nothing will change unless drivers want to look for an alternative form of transport.
As it is at the moment asking most drivers to cycle in would be like asking most people on this forum to roller blade or skateboard to work, not going to happen because we’d rather ride.
Motorists are currently paying more than ever for the privilege of driving, higher fuel, taxes, low emission zones, inner city congestion charges, high parking charges, but while they can just pay there way out of they’ll continue to do so and just moan about it a bit more on social media.
Its the mindset that needs changing and nothing else will work.
You can try and force people off the road but in the UK most people are too belligerent and will just ignore it, as they do with speed limits, traffic lights, because their mindset says it doesnt apply to me.
In southend we have 5 miles of sectioned off cycle lane straight down the seafront, which gives easy access to most of the area. Most days its empty, I pass maybe 5 other bikes in rush hour, yet every morning theres a queue of traffic next to me nearly half a mile long looking at an empty cycle lane.
Most use atthe weekend in summer, families drive to one end of it, park up, and ride to the seafront get an ice cream and ride drive back home.
And here’s the kicker, after over 20 years of commuting using mainly the cycle lane, Ive driven in most days this winter. of an evening on a meter and half wide cycle lane Im now having to dodge and avoid electric bike (conversions) and electric scooters, and even cars, using it (mainly for food delivery), most have no lights most are doing way over 20 mph and that and the usual car near misses are I’m done with, and thats before we start on the rain and cold weather.
And locally we have some fairly narrow roads, within the last month a guy riding a cargo bike died as the result of a head on collision with a car.
A lot of cycle friendly things were put in place during lockdown I don’t think many, if any, are still in place, some from not being used (everyone jumped back in their car after trying cycling for a week) some that worked were forcibly removed by the public and councils as they ‘weren’t need’.
And then on top of that the bike industry is doing itself no favours, no one is going to pay £1,000 for an ‘average’ bike when they’ve got a perfectly good car, that can carry a weekes worth of shopping too on the way home.
ITs not just drivers mindsets we need to change its the planners, we need long term planning, not kick it down the road repairs, its the politicians, again need to start running the country and using long term planning not spend four years lining their pockets and just trying to not offend anyone so they can get re-elected, and the councils need to take a long term look at road planning, something that will be effective in 50 or 100 years not just adding another lane to a junction that already needs updating by the time the works been completed, and only then we might have a glimmer of hope of changing a long ingrained mindset.
