33 More cyclists are good for drivers

Every person who drives reduces the utility of the roads for other drivers and, of course, for every other road user. For every person who stops driving and starts cycling, that’s one less car on the road, and if York can realise its true cycling potential of 30-50% of journeys by bike, that’s a lot fewer cars! So let’s provide top-notch cycle routes for the people who are able to switch to cycling and use them. This then frees up the remaining space and makes life better for those who simply don’t have any choice – such as disabled people or those who really have to drive for a living.

34 Use a workplace parking levy to boost active travel

Stand on the side of any York road during rush hour. How many cars do you see that have only one occupant? How many of those journeys could be undertaken by other means? How much more road space would that free up? And to think that some people complain about the size of cycle lanes! 68% of York’s commuters are drivers. For all those who have no choice but to drive, be it for distance, disability or the nature of their work, there are lots of others who do have the choice and many of those are choosing to drive only for very short commutes. If we are going to improve the quality of life in our city, we’ll need to address this dysfunctional use of road space . One particularly effective method been adopted in Nottingham, where the council charges larger employers £458 per parking space per year (which is usually passed onto the employees using them). The £10million raised each year is used directly to improve public transport and cycle infrastructure. As a result, Nottingham has seen a drop in car use, growth in public transport use and is the only English city to see a reduction in road journey times in recent years. Every city is different. Larger Nottingham has its trams. Smaller York could spend the dividend on cycle infrastructure.