22
JANUARY 2022 LIGHTING JOURNAL
[BRIDLINGTON]
ON YOUR BIKE
The combination of pandemic and climate change is encouraging more and more of us to switch from cars to more active forms of travel, such as cycling or walking. Yet the UK’s active travel network remains woefully patchy and under-resourced. This has to change, and well-lit active travel infrastructure could be a key part of the solution By Trystan Williams
I
n the 1950s and 1960s, the motorcar was king. Its primacy brought the construction of our meandering motorway network, which carved through the countryside, connecting urban and rural centres with arterial routes, taking cues from examples such as the autobahn in Germany and the USA’s interstate highway network. Journeys became shorter, more comfortable and the default transport mode of
the twentieth century – the car – was established and entrenched in our infrastructure. From this newfound mobility, we emerged into the second half of the century with optimism, supported by a fitfor-purpose transport network. So complete was this adoption that the government of the day deemed it was OK for nearly 35% of railway lines and 55% of train stations to be axed under the Beeching cuts of the 1960s; decisive action had
been taken and a result was realised [1]. The subsequent decades brought the renaissance of our industry, one where lighting our road networks became the clear priority. For some 60 years this market grew with ongoing enhancements and increasing efficiencies and safety as, alongside it, we saw exponential traffic growth. Climate change is now, of course, shifting this dial significantly, with the pandemic, in turn, shattering long-accepted
