why loads of cyclists in some cities and hardly any in others?

[bonj2]

Whenever i go to sheffield I am always shocked by how many cyclists there are. i.e. LOADS. I swear there are a huge amount more than when i lived there.
Yet in mansfield there are none. Almost literally - I see one maybe every couple of weeks.
wonder why?

 

[bonj2]

Mansfield isn't a city bonj. But granted, it's a damn sight less hilly than Sheffield. But is it more the lack of a university and students?

well it's a town with about a third the population, but there's nowhere near a third the amount of cyclers.

 

[bonj2]

Mansfield isn't a city bonj. But granted, it's a damn sight less hilly than Sheffield. But is it more the lack of a university and students?

that's one possibility - but the cyclists can't all be students, I see loads cycling in the opposite direction to the uni.

 

[GrahamG]

Tell me about it - moving from Birmingham to Bristol was a shocker.

Some cities quite simply lend themselves to cycling a lot more. This is not just about infrastructure but also culture (i.e. lots of students, hippies) and congestion. Cities like Birmingham, Glasgow, Milton Keynes, Wolverhampton, Leeds and so on are just so car oriented compared to traditional cycling cities (think London, Oxford, York, Hull) that it's highly unlikely that anyone but the really dedicated will cycle. Car use is deeply ingrained in people's psyche in these places.

 

[marinyork]

Mansfield isn't a city bonj. But granted, it's a damn sight less hilly than Sheffield. But is it more the lack of a university and students?

I think it does seem to be growing a bit. The £4 daily bus ticket might be a lot to do with it. Also there always was fairly busy cycling commuter belts in Sheffield (the flatter and more affluent bits) or bits that are hilly but a very short distance from town. The other bits are cycling deserts and still are. It's just how things work out. Rotherham is as flat as the north east of Sheffield or other flatter bits but there are virtually no cyclists in Rotherham. Sheffield never really was a car city but since the buses have gone downhill...

 

[Arch]

Sheffield never really was a car city but since the buses have gone downhill...

Don't they have engines to get them back up?

Imagines loads of buses and confused people milling about at the bottom of every hill..

 

[bonj2]

I think it's very important; Sheffield has a huge student population with the two Unis, and it has the reputation of being one of the places that most students stay on afterwards to work and live. That gives you a more middle-class population (and probably a more green/alternative population) and that will usually lead to more cyclists (whether they are shopping, commuting or just weekenders). There must be something, as it's bloody hilly!

is that a polite way of saying everyone in mansfield are scummers?

 

[theclaud]

the cyclists can't all be students, I see loads cycling in the opposite direction to the uni.

Perhaps they're going home?

 

[Fnaar]

that's one possibility - but the cyclists can't all be students, I see loads cycling in the opposite direction to the uni.

Are they on their way home?

 

[summerdays]

I think it does seem to be growing a bit. The £4 daily bus ticket might be a lot to do with it. Also there always was fairly busy cycling commuter belts in Sheffield (the flatter and more affluent bits) or bits that are hilly but a very short distance from town. The other bits are cycling deserts and still are. It's just how things work out. Rotherham is as flat as the north east of Sheffield or other flatter bits but there are virtually no cyclists in Rotherham. Sheffield never really was a car city but since the buses have gone downhill...

There is a Bristol website where you can log various things to do with cycling from where they should put in new stands to hazard points etc. When you look at the distribution map it seems to be predominantly to the north of the river with a bit on the immediate south. Its the nearest I can get to a cycling distribution in Bristol.

First map is total pin points:

and the second is the recently added points still follows a similar distribution:

Perhaps if you never see a cyclist its a lot harder to be the first.

 

[marinyork]

There is a Bristol website where you can log various things to do with cycling from where they should put in new stands to hazard points etc. When you look at the distribution map it seems to be predominantly to the north of the river with a bit on the immediate south. Its the nearest I can get to a cycling distribution in Bristol.

First map is total pin points:

and the second is the recently added points still follows a similar distribution:

Perhaps if you never see a cyclist its a lot harder to be the first.

I don't know much about Bristol but it's an interesting point. Rivers are often natural barriers to cycling. In Sheffield interestingly enough this isn't the case as unlike many other places in Yorkshire such as Wakefield and Leeds (even York) we don't suffer from a dearth of bridges.

 

[bonj2]

is that a polite way of saying everyone in mansfield are scummers?

Nah. [/QUOTE]

Well it should be, 'cos they ARE!
(well most people)

 

[bonj2]

I don't know much about Bristol but it's an interesting point. Rivers are often natural barriers to cycling. In Sheffield interestingly enough this isn't the case as unlike many other places in Yorkshire such as Wakefield and Leeds (even York) we don't suffer from a dearth of bridges.

that's 'cos the main river is largely underground.

 

[AdamBlade]

I think marinyork may be right about the bus prices. I've noticed a definite increase in cyclist on my commute over the last 12 months. In this period I think there has been 2 bus price increases.

 

[GrahamG]

There is a Bristol website where you can log various things to do with cycling from where they should put in new stands to hazard points etc. When you look at the distribution map it seems to be predominantly to the north of the river with a bit on the immediate south. Its the nearest I can get to a cycling distribution in Bristol.

Perhaps if you never see a cyclist its a lot harder to be the first.

I've made this point to a few people - there's are serious barriers to cycling to the east and south of the city which I don't think are being addressed in any big way by the council's £20M+ cycle city funding.

It's the ring road to the south and east, plus the M32 to the east that are the main problems.