Review of City Cycling – the Future of Cycling Includes Women and Children

City Cycling – Edited by John Pucher and Ralph Buehler is a new book that makes a strong case for cycling transportation. The review below was written by Alison Moss, our Executive Assistant.

Good news: city cycling for everyday transportation is on the rise! This is good news not only for bicycle riders and their advocates, but also for society at large, which stands to benefit from improved public health, improved environmental health, increased transportation equity and urban beautification, as cities are re-imagined as places for people.

In City Cycling, a book intended for lay audiences and planning professionals alike, Editors John Pucher and Ralph Buehler make a solid case that any city can have more of their residents riding a bicycle. City Cycling is a veritable manual for increasing cycling in any city. Drawing on case studies from nations with both high and low rates of cycling (The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany vs. The US, Canada and Australasia), City Cycling discusses three elements required to promote cycling for everyday transportation: dedicated cycling infrastructure, policies and educational/promotional programs.

While all of the elements listed above are viewed as essential and understood to act synergistically, City Cycling offers a strong emphasis on infrastructure, specifically infrastructure that is separated from vehicular traffic.

 No city in Europe or North America has achieved a high level of cycling without an extensive network of well-integrated bike lanes and paths that provide separation from motor vehicle traffic. Bikeways are the trademark of bike-oriented cities in the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.

American transportation policy, by way of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, offers no criteria regarding the separation of bicycles and vehicular traffic, leading to situations such as this:

… on San Diego’s Camino del Norte, a 55 mph (90 km/h) divided highway, bike lane users are expected to weave across one lane of 55 mph traffic and then ride 900 feet (275m) in a bike lane sandwiched between four lanes of traffic on the left and two lanes on the right.

Separation from vehicular traffic is essential for increasing cycling levels because the majority of people in any given city are considered “traffic-intolerant” or “risk-averse.” Traffic-intolerant groups, including many women, children and elderly, will not ride if they perceive it to be unsafe. Thus, while a significant cycling population is needed to advocate for infrastructure improvements, cycling populations will remain stunted while infrastructure is poor. This is where policy, education and minor infrastructure improvements may make a dent.

Lessons for San Diego

City Cycling is rife, not only with examples of the world’s finest cycling cities but also, with examples of nascent cycling cities, both in the US and abroad. These examples hold great promise for America’s Finest – if currently auto-centric – City: San Diego. From City Cycling, we can glean the following lessons:

  • Establish criteria requiring separated cycling facilities (e.g. cycle tracks or cycle paths)

This should be done where traffic is heavy and speed is high. Dutch standards are quite high in this regard, but San Diego would benefit from employing any such standards. Situations like those encountered on Camino del Norte would certainly be deemed unacceptable to most users.

Where mixed-traffic streets are employed:

Lower speed limits – The Dutch Design Manual for Bicycle Traffic states that for bikes to operate in mixed traffic, the speed limit should be 30kph (19mph) or less. This standard is already applied on most US college campuses, to the effect of great comfort and safety for cyclists and pedestrians.

Redesign streets – Mixed-traffic streets should also be designed without traffic lanes, as lane markings tend to segregate users and increase speeds.

Mandate safe passing distance – A lateral passing distance of 3 feet or one meter is required by law in many municipalities and nations. This is a life saving measure and would have the likely effect of spurring infrastructure improvements.

Restrict through-traffic on some streets (e.g. create Bicycle Boulevards or Woonerfs) – Safe, low-traffic accommodations for cyclists can be created through the addition of placement of bollards or planters at the ends of streets, permitting the passage of cyclists and pedestrians, but not vehicles. The provision of fast vehicular routes is already accomplished in freeway-rich San Diego.

Concluding remarks

City Cycling makes an excellent case for both the importance of increased cycling and the means required to achieve it. While each chapter lends important information to the overall argument, a few chapters stand out in impact. The chapter titled “Bicycling Infrastructure for Mass Cycling: A Transatlantic Comparison”, is invaluable for its specific examples of best and worst practices, throughout the world. The chapter titled “Women and Cycling” and “Children and Cycling” are tremendously important for their investigations of the low cycling levels among these groups. These chapters also make the obvious, but essential, point that cycling will never become mainstream without considering the needs of vulnerable segments of society.

Overall, the book is a worthy addition to anyone’s bookshelf, in order to understand the importance that cycling plays in enriching our cities.

To read other reviews of the book, check out the reviews from the European Cyclists’ Federation, the League of American Bicyclists, and Bikes Belong.