The newly-launched Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Strategy (CWIS) is part of government plans to encourage cycling in the UK.
An important part of the delivery of the strategy at a local level will be the Propensity to Cycle Tool (PCT), which was developed by a team at Universities of Cambridge, Leeds and Westminster, led by researcher from CEDAR.
The CWIS highlights the Propensity for Cycle Tool’s potential use in assisting with the preparation of Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIP) – a key feature of the government’s strategy.
The tool, funded by the Department for Transport, helps prioritise investment in transport planning and is widely seen as representing a step-change in planning strategically to increase cycling. The design, features and potential applications of the PCT was recently published in the Journal of Transport and Land Use.
Roger Geffen, policy director at Cycling UK, the UK’s largest charitable membership organisation promoting cycling use said: “PCT is set to have a transformative impact on cycle planning in England. I believe it is the single best thing the Department for Transport has done for cycle planning.
“The way PCT is featured in the LCWIP guidance will encourage local authorities to use the PCT to inform their cycle network planning processes.
“I therefore expect most local authorities in England – and certainly any authority with serious ambitions to boost cycle use – will use the PCT to help develop their LCWIPs over the next few years.”
Propensity to Cycle resources
- Propensity to Cycle tool at www.pct.bike.
- Map of current and potential cycle commuting by local authority district, including for various future scenarios: www.pct.bike/la-map.html
- Evidence Brief: England’s Cycling Potential – Results from the Propensity to Cycle Tool project
- Department for Transport Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (pdf)