The Cycling Embassy of Great Britain welcomes the Mayor of London's newly-announced Ride London festival. However, we note that, while closed roads for cycling, even for only two days a year, are obviously appreciated, a real legacy for cycling would be to make the roads of London safe and inviting for people of all ages and abilities, every day of the year, not just for a weekend in August.
The Mayor's press release talks about 'urging' and 'encouraging' people to cycle, but ignores the fact that perception of road danger, stress and discomfort are the major impediments to the uptake of cycling in London. A two-day festival will do little to address this basic problem.
The lesson of the Mayor's previous Sky Rides is that if you create safe, pleasant conditions for cycling in London, people will come out in droves, but when the traffic returns on Monday morning, all of those bikes go back in the shed; doubtless the same will be true for next year's Ride London event. We would urge the Mayor not to ignore that message; that demand for cycling in London is high, but suppressed by the environment in which people have to cycle the other 363 days of the year. Let us capitalise on our Olympic success. Make cycling in London a normal, everyday activity, not just a leisure activity for one weekend a year.