FAQs
- Active travel is a low cost means of transportation, meaning people in disadvantaged communities can be more easily connected to jobs and other social opportunities if walking, wheeling and cycling routes were made easier to use. These forms of transport can often by difficult or frustrating now by the lack of safe crossings for example. Active travel can also be made quicker and more attractive by providing more direct routes with better conditions.
- Active travel is also a really easy way for people to build physical activity into their daily routine. Many people in our Let’s Talk Movement survey said that time was a factor in limiting them being active more, while many short journeys currently made by car or public transport could be walked, wheeled or cycled within a very similar amount of time.
- Active travel also can help children and young people lead more independent lives, being less reliant on parents or public transport to get around the city to see friends, access learning opportunities, or just feel more connected to where they live.
- This is not true. In places with mature cycle networks – not just abroad but cities here like Oxford and Cambridge – good infrastructure means that older people feel more confident cycling and thus continue to do so. Properly designed cycle infrastructure can also enable people with disabilities to cycle, as modern cycleways can accommodate “non-standard” cycles. The rise of electrically assisted cycles also overcome certain barriers that people would otherwise face.
- Our plan will also not just cover cycling but also walking and wheeling. Cycle tracks can be legally used by Class 2 and Class 3 mobility scooters. Cycle tracks provide an easier route for these mobility scooters, as users can travel much faster than walking speed. And mobility scooters not sharing the footway means less conflict with other vulnerable pedestrians.
What is wheeling?
Wheeling means travelling using a scooter, wheelchair, rollator, pram or pushchair. Scooters include mobility scooters, kick-scooters and electric scooters. Some people also include people who cycle slowly or lean on a cycle while they push as a form of wheeling.
Why is active travel important?
What does LCWIP mean?
LCWIP stands for Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan. This will be the document that we produce once we have listened to your feedback in this survey. It will be the plan for how we build a network for active travel in the city, and what other measures are required to support people walking, wheeling and cycling. LCWIP is a statutory document, and by having one in place we are better positioned to ask for money from the government or private developers. The name of LCWIP was decided by government before the time when the importance of treating wheeling separately to walking was understood. However, our LCWIP will include wheeling, as we are doing in this survey
How many people use Coventry’s cycleways?
Usage varies across locations and is affected by local factors such as the number of schools in the area, shops, places of work and other destinations that people want to travel to, as well as how safe and confident people feel riding on a particular route. Cycle count data across the West Midlands is available from Transport for West Midlands, which includes Coventry's own cycleways. Access cycleway usage data at: https://wmcycledata.com/
Why do you have to take road space away to create cycleways?
Over half of the people asked tell us that safety is the largest barrier to cycling and a quarter of people say a lack of confidence is also an issue. We want to help more people be able to cycle. Cycling has significant health and economic benefits as well as helping to reduce pollutants that cause poor air quality. We know that cycle tracks on roads that are physically separated from traffic and pedestrians enable more people to cycle
Only the young and fit cycle. By prioritising cycling, you are excluding people with disabilities for example