http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Top cycling cities en Mon, 18 May 2026 03:38:36 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205&page=2#post-255319 Tue, 18 Jul 2017 11:31:42 +0000 PS 255319@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/07/it-takes-more-than-bollards-to-build-a-bike-paradise/533607/?utm_source=nl__link3_071717">Nijmegen</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205&page=2#post-247032 Mon, 17 Apr 2017 17:06:18 +0000 chdot 247032@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/04/oslo-is-on-track-for-a-car-free-future/522882" rel="nofollow">https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/04/oslo-is-on-track-for-a-car-free-future/522882</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205&page=2#post-202648 Sat, 24 Oct 2015 12:00:11 +0000 gibbo 202648@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>"So Glasgow would have a harsh 2 points then? :-)"</em></p> <p>I've only been to Glasgow once in the last few years. </p> <p>Based on the state of their roads - at least, the ones I saw in the West End - it's probably even worse for cyclists than Edinburgh.</p> <p>(It certainly shares "cycle lane = parking lane" attitude we have in the east.) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205&page=2#post-202647 Sat, 24 Oct 2015 11:23:13 +0000 LaidBack 202647@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Right... thought you meant placings!<br /> So Glasgow would have a harsh 2 points then? :-) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205&page=2#post-202646 Sat, 24 Oct 2015 11:19:53 +0000 gibbo 202646@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>"Gibbo - you mean Edinburgh is better than Berlin for cycling?"</em></p> <p>I mean, if Berlin scores 41 points, Edinburgh should score around 4 points. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205&page=2#post-202644 Sat, 24 Oct 2015 10:36:39 +0000 LaidBack 202644@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Le S's orginal re-activated Oslo post makes interesting reading.<br /> <em>"The newly elected city council, made up of the Labor Party, the Greens and the Socialist Left, said the plans would benefit all citizens despite shopowners' fears they will hurt business.<br /> ..."Oslo city council will hold consultations, study the experiences of other cities (!) and conduct trial runs, the parties said."</em><br /> So not a done deal and I reckon the advent of 'special cases' including electric and self drive cars might muddy the waters a bit. Sad fact is that Edinburgh had an open goal to re-do city centre when it was under the **** project. I did work for a local business on Leith Walk that even supported this as they knew that ultimately it would benefit them. They've closed now. </p> <p>Gibbo - you mean Edinburgh is better than Berlin for cycling?</p> <p>Nelly - agreed. 'It might be poor infrastructure but it's ours' sort of thing might be happening. Visitors that do a tour with LB often think it's great in places but can't understand why some bits aren't right. (I don't mean the bikes :-)) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205&page=2#post-202640 Sat, 24 Oct 2015 08:17:00 +0000 Nelly 202640@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"edinburgh is not on the list"</p> <p>Probably not a surprise? </p> <p>Just because there are a bigger %age of cyclists here than (say) Glasgow doesn't make us a top cycling city. All it tells us is that more people tolerate crappy infra and dangerous driving conditions here. </p> <p>Cycling is still seen as "niche".</p> <p>The council and Scottish govt are not convinced enough by active travel - god knows why, all the chronically unfit and overweight people up town should tell their own story - and without political will nothing game changing will happen. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205&page=2#post-202639 Sat, 24 Oct 2015 08:12:54 +0000 gibbo 202639@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I was in Berlin a couple of weeks ago.</p> <p>My guess is that, if Berlin scores 41, Edinburgh would score around 4. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205&page=2#post-202638 Sat, 24 Oct 2015 08:07:47 +0000 Ed1 202638@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>edinburgh is not on the list yet </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205&page=2#post-202634 Fri, 23 Oct 2015 20:18:03 +0000 LaidBack 202634@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"More people cycle in Dublin than take the tram."</p> <p>Good article in National today.<br /> <a href="http://www.thenational.scot/comment/gordon-macintyre-kemp-promoting-cycling-is-a-win-win-for-our-cities.9082" rel="nofollow">http://www.thenational.scot/comment/gordon-macintyre-kemp-promoting-cycling-is-a-win-win-for-our-cities.9082</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205&page=2#post-202633 Fri, 23 Oct 2015 20:13:50 +0000 le_soigneur 202633@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Oslo to <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/19/us-norway-environment-oslo-idUSKCN0SD1GI20151019">ban cars from 2019, building 60km of cycle infra by then</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205&page=2#post-44508 Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:46:50 +0000 Wilmington's Cow 44508@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Short critique, put together with the help of this thread, on the criteria of the survey <a href="http://www.citycycling.co.uk/Issue7/CyclingCities1.html">here</a>. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205&page=2#post-44506 Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:44:28 +0000 steveo 44506@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Some thing about this and the whole copenhagenize/cyclechic movement lodged a question in my head which has finally resolved...</p> <p>How far does your average Copenhagen or Amsterdam commuter, well, commute?</p> <p>/curmudgeonliness seems to be catching.... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205&page=2#post-43780 Sat, 22 Oct 2011 10:41:35 +0000 gembo 43780@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Oh, of course, higher bonus points I should have read the small print about non-counting bonus points that count in case of a tie, stupid me. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205&page=2#post-43762 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:26:56 +0000 Instography 43762@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@gembo<br /> They explain that where two cities tied on points, the one with the higher bonus points is ranked higher. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205#post-43757 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:16:33 +0000 LaidBack 43757@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I'm still curious about Rio being one of the world's best cycling cities...</p> <p><em>may have to go and investigate.....!</em></p> <p>Will be giving the Favelas a miss.... may just have to stick around the prom at Copacabana..</p> <p>Think Edinburgh has far too many enthusiasts cycling unusual/odd bikes and sporty things. To move us up the ranks people should buy a Paper Bicycle or walk...! </p> <p><em>Just kidding of course.... diversity is good for business.</em> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205#post-43754 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:47:35 +0000 gembo 43754@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>just noticed they haven't even gone for alphabetical order with two cities tied on 41 points and the 4 cities tied on 36 points </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205#post-43753 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:43:17 +0000 PS 43753@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Given its concentration on "major" cities (with the honourable exception of Portland for its cyclists ability to give Copenhagenize a hard time), I suspect there are quite a few cities on that list that are in no way one of the top 20 cycling cities in the world either, on the assumption that it's easier to cycling-friendly-ize a minor city than a major one*. However, eye of the beholder and all that... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205#post-43752 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:39:59 +0000 gembo 43752@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Min - that is a very accurate statement, Guadalajara I will investigate further. In the halcyon days of the Gang of 4 somewhere called Peking was clearly the no1 cycing city in the world. The next 19 top cycling cities were also in China.</p> <p>Beijing - I guess must still be in a real top 20 but I could be wrong.? If criteria were no. of millions of people still cycling it might still be no 1 by a long chalk [I don't know I am not making the claim I am just saying that the categories chosen were chosen for a reason and my category - total number of cyclists would similarly be biased towards Beijing, Mexico City and New York as huge cities]</p> <p>The copenhagenise top 20 is as others have said - a rigged vote, not out of mendacity as they are open with their categories just designed to give no 1 and no 2 to amsterdam and copenhagen. Both lovely cities to cycle in.</p> <p>Not sure how flat the other 18 are? San Francisco has hills </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205#post-43750 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:21:30 +0000 kaputnik 43750@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Absolutely agree with Min.</p> <p>And I could absolutely construct a survey that would return it as the No. 1! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205#post-43749 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:19:44 +0000 Wilmington's Cow 43749@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>This ^^^ </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205#post-43746 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:59:04 +0000 Min 43746@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I think the absence of Edinburgh in the list can perhaps be <br /> explained by the fact that no matter how you measure it, there <br /> is no way that Edinburgh is one of the top 20 cycling cities in <br /> the world. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205#post-43742 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:46:26 +0000 LaidBack 43742@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>What about Odense? I rated it highly even in bike friendly Denmark.</p> <p>'Capital' cities are of course key in any survey as they represent more people / more influence. Edinburgh is a capital - but a small one. </p> <p>Oslo is probably good for cycling too but is another small city.</p> <p>The Hague is another example...</p> <p>For international audience London is shorthand for Britain/UK just as Amsterdam is shorthand for the Netherlands. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205#post-43740 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:35:24 +0000 crowriver 43740@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Hidden away in the 'results' of the survey: "Stockholm is lucky that Malmö doesn't qualify as a major city but hey, at least Oslo makes them look good. "</p> <p>So, there is a 'hidden' criterion that the city must be 'major'. Which would perhaps explain the absence of 'minor' cities like Edinburgh, Cambridge, York, etc. But hold on, what is Portland doing in there? Is Portland 'major' in North American terms? Population is less than 600,000 making it the 29th city by size in the US. </p> <p>But wait, Portland is America's cycling Mecca! It <em>has</em> to be on the list, right? Otherwise all those Portland bloggers are gonna kick Copenhagenize's butt...</p> <p>Seems I guessed right. At least they are honest enough to admit it: "The Copenhagenize Index features primarily major cities but we threw Portland into the pot to see how the city would fare. Besides, we'll never hear the end of it from Portlanders if we leave them out. "</p> <p>Arbitrary. Myopic. Narcissistic. Self-referential. Add self-serving to the mix, along with refreshingly frank. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205#post-43737 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:09:33 +0000 crowriver 43737@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@anth, I used to be agnostic on the Cycle Chic thang. See threads passim.</p> <p>However I am now of the view that the Copenhagenize development is undermining itself through its arbitrariness. It's trying too hard to emphasises the hip aspects, which would be okay if it was not simultaneously trying to be taken <em>seriously</em> as a cycling advocacy initiative.</p> <p>In order to be taken at all seriously by the 'opinion formers' it seeks to influence, it needs to sharpen up its methodology substantially. Otherwise, it is just the equivalent of GQ magazine for cyclists: occasionally interesting but ultimately superficial froth. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205#post-43733 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:20:42 +0000 Morningsider 43733@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>During 2006 cyclists racked up 2.9bn miles in the UK - a modal share of 0.009% of total distance travelled.<br /> During 1949 cyclists racked up 14.7bn miles in the UK - a modal share of 34% of total distnce travelled.</p> <p><a href="http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics/tables/tra0101" rel="nofollow">http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics/tables/tra0101</a></p> <p>I think urban cycling has a long way to go before it recaptures its glory days in the UK. It certainly didn't "start in 2006". </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205#post-43732 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:12:46 +0000 wingpig 43732@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><blockquote><em>"..after a while you come to expect that..."</em></blockquote></p> <p>Depends whether something seems central or ancillary, raison d'être or quirk. Not sure which [cycle-heavy European city]-ize Twitter stream it is I'm thinking of without checking but one of them often seems to be predominantly composed of lightly-sneering RT-ed links related to helmet-related articles/sites/stories. Stuff like that flavours their perception quite strongly, even accounting for (or constructing some valid) logic for the existence of the flavouring-behaviour from the initial pro-more-cycling premise. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205#post-43731 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:05:32 +0000 Wilmington's Cow 43731@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>It's funny how much the Copenhagen Cycle Chic thing annoys a lot of pepole. I can genuinely see why, but I've also spent a bit of time speaking with Mikael over a pint or two about cycling (and Marc, the man behind Amsterdamize, over a pint - bit of a theme going there) and he's an engaging and passionate cycling advocate. Sure there's a <em>style</em> bias to the site, but after a while you come to expect that, in much the same way as Fat Cyclist has a sports cycling bias.</p> <p>Same with the loaded helmet question - CCC is anti-helmet. I think everyone knows that. Bike Hugger is pro-helmet. I read both.</p> <p>I did have a point to make here, but I've lost it. Er. I'll have a think, needs a new thread of its own I think. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205#post-43730 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:00:21 +0000 wingpig 43730@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><blockquote><em>"When there's an even gender split, how does it get better than that?"</em></blockquote></p> <p>Suppose it depends on what sort of gender split you want in your fashionably-clothèd-cyclist cycle photo blog.</p> <p>One of London's advantages is that more of its residents have recognised the disadvantages and bottom-pain of car ownership for much longer. From the volume of cyclists, they have to be accepted, albeit not necessarily borne willingly or tolerated. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=4205#post-43729 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:56:53 +0000 crowriver 43729@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>Sorry, what is the "or better" comment getting at? When there's an even gender split, how does it get better than that?</em></p> <p>Given Cycle Chic's 'heritage', this probably means 'better' opportunities for taking ever so slightly fetishising photos of pretty young women cycling in summer dresses. </p>