Research carried out for the BikeIsBest organisation found 77 per cent of Britons would support changes in their local area to encourage more cycling and walking. Data taken from a YouGov survey undertaken last week revealed 65 per cent of people said they wanted streets redesigned to protect pedestrians and cyclists. It found 51 per cent would cycle more if this happened. Meanwhile, 33 per cent said they would drive less if street layouts were changed.
Meanwhile, BikeIsBest said they believed something could be done about the dangers of motor traffic. It found that 65 per cent of respondents believed children should be able to play in the street without the danger from rat-running traffic. Sixty-six per cent disagree with the idea that nothing can be done.
The campaign was commissioned by Dr Ian Walker. He said, “Perhaps one reason negative voices find it so easy to sway things their way is that people have a tendency to misjudge public levels of support. The survey showed that, whilst most people think Britain would be a better place if more people cycled, they also guessed that other people were less supportive, and more hostile, to the idea than they were.”
