The Advertiser has been anguished and Councillors Antic and Moran have been gloating over “plummeting” cycling levels. Yet we seem to see as many cyclists on the city streets as ever. BISA committee member Ian Radbone has had a look at this, examining the evidence of the National Cycling Participation Survey, as well as other sources of data: the census, permanent counters, Super Tuesday counts and Cordon Counts.
Cycling levels are not plummeting, though the sad long-term decline in children’s cycling is continuing. There has probably been a slight decline in the amount of recreational cycling by adults over the past five years. The statistical evidence suggests that number of cyclists riding in and around the city has been stable over the same period.