PACTS: Cycle facilities must be 'well planned'

Date: 26/10/2011

Cycling facilities should be well thought out to ensure the safety of riders, the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) has said.

Keeping bicycle riding safe should be encouraged wherever possible by the implementation of well planned cycle provisions, such as cycle lanes. Cycle lanes keep bicycles out of the way of the traffic zone and a comprehensive city system can help put bikers' and pedestrians' minds at ease.

Naomi Baster, policy and research officer at PACTS, said: "Whilst we welcome the rise in cycling levels in recent years, we are concerned that the number of cycling casualties is similarly rising."

Cycling has been heavily promoted, for its environmental benefits, but recently published figures by the Department for Transport show an increase in cyclist deaths in 2010, and a third yearly rise in serious injuries.

Ms Baster concluded: "The policy objective at which to aim must be to get more people cycling safely."