Britain Is Creating a Government Organization Devoted to Biking and Walking
The new push to promote and fund active travel is as much about improving health as it is about curbing pollution.
Active Travel England will only fund bike and walking infrastructure that ensures safer and more connected travel. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)
Photographer: Mike Kemp/In PicturesThe U.K. is creating a new government organization geared exclusively at promoting cycling and walking. With a budget of £2 billion ($2.57 billion) over the next five years, Britain will launch Active Travel England to fund to improve cycle and pedestrian infrastructure across the country.
This means new lanes, better protected junctions and more parking spaces for bikes, all funded only if they adhere to a new set of stricter guidelines for quality and design enforced by the department. Making cycling accessible to more people is also a priority. An as-yet-unspecified “national e-bike programme” — probably a set of subsidies for buyers — will be launched to help make cycling more accessible to older and longer-distance users. The government has also just released 50,000 fix-your-bike vouchers worth £50 each to encourage people with a bike rusting away somewhere to get it back on the road.