Oxford - WOW

[garrilla]

Went to Oxford yesterday to drop off my son at Uni.

The amount of cycles/cyclists/bike parking spaces/etc was phenomenal.

I only really see that density of Cyclists whe I vist London, so it was great to see.

 

[chap]

Yes, Cambridge is the same. I have also heard that York has a fair number of Cyclists.

 

[wafflycat]

I would suggest that where there are a lot of students/university, you'll get a lot of cyclists.

 

[Gromit]

York does have a lot of cyclists and lately the numbers have increased. This is possibly due to the amount of stationary traffic on the roads in the mornings and evenings.

 

[garrilla]

I would suggest that where there are a lot of students/university, you'll get a lot of cyclists.

I live in Liverpool, there are about 55,000 students + 8,000 academic staff and cyclists are hardly noticable. Students are visible everywhere, you can't move for falling over them, but they are not on bikes.

 

[wafflycat]

Norwich has laods of cyclists - another university city.

 

[garrilla]

In fact, I can't even think where in the two universities, which are both based in the city centre, there are parking facilities that remotlely resemble ones that I saw yesterday outside of Wadham College or even those by the Bodlean or opposite Trinity.

 

[chap]

Norwich

Norwich has laods of cyclists - another university city.

Actually I did notice that, and have all the respect for them since it is not exactly flat, or at least I did not encounter any / many flat areas there during my brirf sojourn.

 

[u9ge]

I was a student at liverpool, did not take a bike anywhere as it would get nicked, mates had their door kicked in and bikes grabbed, while they were sat in the lounge!

Oxford/Cambridge have cycling cultures so it's completly reasonable people see this and join in. You hope as cycling increases (and thus becomes safer) more people join int. a fantastic cycle. Only downfall is then there is less traffic on the road and then people might revert to cars.

 

[marinyork]

I was a student at York. Fewer students than would be imagined cycled. Many residents cycled though. A couple of issues rarely mentioned is that York has a very simplistic and easy to learn road structure and many large green areas one can cycle through. Possibly another reason in York's favour is a lot of residents have an apocalyptic view of how bad the traffic is and exaggerate at every opportunity which tends to add Kudos to backslapping politicians such as the current leader of York Council.

Garrilla is right. Some places you'd expect people to cycle they do and some they don't.

 

[PK99]

I would suggest that where there are a lot of students/university, you'll get a lot of cyclists.

more a case of where:

a it's flat
b uni is tightly packed and students are the dominant life form in the uni area
c it's not full of thieving scallies

 

[Archie_tect]

I live in Liverpool, there are about 55,000 students + 8,000 academic staff and cyclists are hardly noticable. Students are visible everywhere, you can't move for falling over them, but they are not on bikes.

The collegiate universities [Oxbridge, St Andrews + Durham] have cycling traditions but not been aware of significant numbers when visiting elsewhere.

 

[jonesy]

Well the thing that keeps being forgotten about Oxford and Cambridge is that cycling has a significant modal share of journeys to work, i.e. it is an important mode for journeys made by local people, not just students. Furthermore, as others have pointed out, there are plenty of places with lots of students and low levels of cycling. A large student population is not a 'necessary and sufficient' condition for high levels of cycling; nor is being 'flat' (btw PK99- have you seen Headington hill in Oxford?). Nor is having lots of 'cycle routes'. More important in the case of Oxford and Cambridge is a lack of car parking and the generally traffic constrained nature of the road network making cycling advantageous over driving; and that is the reason why cycling is taking off in London, as well.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Yes echo jonesy on Oxford traffic, I wouldn't take a car into Oxford - it's quicker to walk let alone use a bike!

And if you manage to get a car into Oxford you pay more for parking than a cheap second hand bike, it doesn't add up which is why the bike is the quicker and cheaper option.

Other areas could follow this but generally councils haven't got the balls to stand up to radical thinking like no cars in a town centre is a good thing.

 

[2Loose]

Cambridge Uni also strongly disapproves of students bringing their cars into an already congested town (iirc a bursar's letter is required before they are allowed)... being pretty flat also helps the students make their minds up as to their preferred mode of transport