History of cycling infrastructure

[3][16] In the 1930s, Britain’s Ministry of Transport built an extensive network of bike highways around the country—at least 280 miles of paved, protected infrastructure dedicated to cyclists alone.

[17] Local CTC branches organised mass meetings to reject the use of cycle tracks and any suggestion that cyclists should be forced to use such devices.

[18] In 1935, a packed general meeting of the CTC adopted a motion rejecting ministerial plans for cycle path construction.

[19] In 1947, in response to official suggestions that cyclists should use cycle-tracks, the CTC adopted a motion expressing determined opposition to cycle paths alongside public roads.

Increasing traffic congestion and the 1970s oil shocks contributed to a resurgence in cycling in some countries, notably the Netherlands and Denmark.

Outside of SCAFT-inspired developments in Nordic countries, the use of segregated cycle facilities was mainly confined to university towns with established populations of bicycle users.

One of the aims of the redways was to make travel for pedestrians and cyclists convenient, safe, pleasant and accident free, but a study suggests that the system has only partially met these expectations.

Things began to turn around in about 1972 with not just the oil crisis, but also the all-time peak in traffic deaths - especially among children, the most vulnerable of road users - leading to the mass Stop de Kindermoord ('Stop the Child Murder') protest.

[23] Amsterdam's traffic circulation plan of 1978 gave priority to bicycle facilities, in particular separated cycle tracks, which also meant taking some road space away from motor vehicles.

The national government soon followed with subsidies for constructing bike paths alongside secondary and minor roads so that "lost ground could be made up".

[26] The California Statewide Bicycle Committee (CSBC) was created in 1975,[27] initially composed of representatives of governmental and motoring organisations.

This has led to various high-profile cycle network projects, in Montreal, Dublin, Portland, New York, Boston,[30] London and many other cities.

In the 2000s urban planners in several cities started to use models and simulations to estimate future bicycle paths usage and the extent to which they would improve community health outcomes.

[31][32][33][34] [Author Carlton] Reid and his collaborator, urban planner John Dales, are raising money on Kickstarter to continue their research, with the goal of restoring some of the network to use.