Analysis: Second Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy lands

The second Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy has today been published, a document that covers the period from 2021 to 2025. Required by the Infrastructure Act of 2015, the updated document was due last year, but was delayed down to Covid and its effect on the multi-year spending review.

The headline comments from Trudy Harrison, Under-Secretary of State for Transport, include an ambition to double cycling by 2025 with £3.78 billion to be invested in the next three years across both active travel means. The specific goal in that time frame is to see cycling stages (trips) go from 0.8 billion to 1.6 billion.

In her foreword Harrison writes: “Now that the economy has reopened and road usage is back to pre-pandemic levels, we cannot afford to lose those active travellers (referencing 46% increased cycling rate during peak pandemic). This second cycling and walking investment strategy (CWIS2) reaffirms our commitment to making walking, wheeling and cycling the natural choices for millions more journeys.”

With Active Travel England now tasked with managing what projects are green lighted, the CWIS2 period will be guided by new infrastructure design standards and build upon learnings from an unprecedented window into what cycling in the UK could look like, thanks to what were calmer traffic conditions during the pandemic. Those prime cycling conditions, sadly, have now evaporated in the face of a return to motoring.

“We now need to step it up a gear. CWIS2 outlines the total investment into active travel across government through to 2025,” adds Harrison. “That means, where possible, redesigning towns, cities and neighbourhoods to enable more active short journeys. It means making active travel more inclusive, by removing barriers that make it harder for some to walk, wheel or cycle to their destinations. And it means using the newly created body, Active Travel England (ATE), to set high standards for active travel infrastructure, new development design, engagement, training and behaviour change.”

The funding breakdown for the second four year Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy is as follows:

Active travel revenue and capital funds	£1,298 million
Wider DfT programmes	£1,328 million
Other central government funding	£1,158 million
Total	£3,784 million

The document reminds that the efforts to drive active travel run complimentary to wider goals that have been laid down in things like the Clean Air Strategy, Future Mobility: Urban Strategy and Sport England Strategy. Each of these has policies that should directly benefit and drive cycling rate increases.

On walking there is now an ambition to have the total number of walking stages per person hit 300 a year, plus to drive an increased percentage of children walking to school from up to 55% are other top-level aims.

It is noted that between walking, wheeling and cycling the impact of physical activity, in particular when these forms are transport choices, is helping the NHS cope with its direct £1 billion annual cost of inactivity, plus a further indirect bill of £8.2 billion.

The Department for Transport active travel policy team and Active Travel England will be responsible for monitoring the delivery of CWIS2 and developing future strategies including the development of CWIS3 and any future Gear change plan.

All of the above is somewhat subject to what happens next in the world of politics. With Boris Johnson’s tenure looking like it’s at an end, the house of cards could come down with advisors close to the prime minister possibly at risk.

CWIS 1 and Gear Change: One Year on

“Of the 26 actions outlined in CWIS1, almost all are now complete, or are being delivered following delays arising from the pandemic,” writes the document. Apparently outstanding are certain commitments on Bikeability, Cycle Rail and other initiatives.

In her foreword Harrison says “At the height of the pandemic, 2020 saw the proportion of short journeys walked or cycled in towns and cities increase from 41% to 48%. Walking for everyday journeys may have decreased during the pandemic, but our latest data shows that the CWIS1 walking aim was consistently achieved from 2015 to 2019. One in every two primary school children was walking to school in 2020, not far short of the CWIS1 target of 55% by 2025. And when it comes to cycling, although levels have increased by 45% since 2013, we need to secure further increases across the board to achieve our aims.”

According to the Gear Change: one year on update for 2021, more than 100 miles of new segregated cycle lanes have been laid down in the 2020/21 timeframe, alongside at least 150 Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes; the latter of which have been subject to turbulence politically, but were somewhat vindicated in local elections with anti-LTN campaigners achieving almost no success.

Accounting for feed into walking and cycling from other funds, the review estimates that £3.245 billion was invested in active travel over the CWIS 1 period. The table below shows direct investment from the Department for Transport and is followed by wider Government funding: