This blog has been written by Anika Heckwolf, Policy Analyst, Grantham Research Institute, LSE; Antonina Scheer, Policy Fellow and Research Project Manager, Grantham Research Institute, LSE; and Peter Wyckoff, PhD Candidate, Department of Government, LSE.
With London’s mayoral election coming up on 2 May, the safety of active travellers should be a higher priority for candidates. There are several reasons why London’s universities should be engaged on this issue.
Protecting members of the academic community in London
First, cyclists (and potential cyclists) at London universities deserve to be able to get to and from campus safely. Cycling here is still too dangerous. In 2023, two female staff members of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) died while cycling. One of these was killed by a speeding driver only a few streets away from where a postgraduate student at the London College of Contemporary Music had been killed also while cycling mere days before. In March 2024, a PhD student at LSE was tragically killed in a collision while cycling in Clerkenwell.
Many other universities in the city have lost staff or students to collisions while cycling. With 1.26 million journeys cycled daily and casualty numbers declining, cycling in London is increasingly popular and safe. However, with more than 1,000 serious injuries and seven deaths recorded in 2022, more needs to be done to make cycling safer still.
Building a cleaner, healthier environment around campus
Improving safety is important for current cyclists, but would also encourage potential cyclists; (lack of) safety is considered one of the main barriers to further uptake, with disproportionate effects on children, women and ethnic minorities.
Facilitating active travel is a key way for universities to tackle some of their scope 3 emissions, and to promote cleaner and healthier environments in their local communities. A ‘modal shift’ from driving cars to cycling or walking reduces carbon emissions as well as noise and air pollution and has major physical and mental health benefits. Cycling infrastructure has been found to reduce traffic congestion and boost high street businesses and local economies.
A cleaner and healthier environment is also helpful for attracting students. Prospective students want to study in London partly because of its high quality of life. As other cities have invested heavily in improving active travel options, notably around student hubs, London risks falling behind if we don’t step up.
Finally, some of the best research on the planet about active travel happens at London universities. Sharing what works, and what needs to be done, can help ground associated policy debates in the high-quality evidence at our disposal. As large employers and social centres, with considerable numbers of commuters, universities are keenly aware of where the active travel network can be improved, and we want to encourage more of them to offer their insights to local and municipal actors to address particularly unsafe areas. It is incumbent on universities to support, and contribute actively to their local communities.
A cross-university letter to the mayoral candidates
For all these reasons, we have jointly addressed a cross-university open letter to London’s mayoral candidates, asking them to pledge to:
- put a stop to cyclist and pedestrian deaths caused by motor vehicles in London by 2028, the end of the upcoming mayoral term; and
- bring forward the deadline from 2041 to 2032 for London’s Vision Zero.
Since the launch in February, senior leadership of several London universities, heads of academic departments, and elected representatives of staff and student unions have all signed the letter. An additional 700+ individuals that study and work at over 40 academic institutions in the city, including some of the world’s leading public health and urban design experts, have also signed on.
How can these pledges be achieved?
In 2018, Transport for London committed to “Vision Zero”, a target to eliminate all deaths and serious injuries on the capital’s transport system by 2041 – but London is not on track to do so.
Thanks to research conducted at London’s universities, we know how to get back on track – and even go faster. Developing specialised urban infrastructure that protects cycle lanes using physical borders is one important solution. London must also address safety issues at its road junctions, which is where the majority of serious and fatal collisions occur. Improving safety for cyclists will also involve ‘sticks’ as well as carrots, including stricter lorry vision standards and measures designed to discourage motorised traffic, such as low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs).
It is important, however that any policies to improve cycling and walking infrastructure are developed without negatively impacting those that rely on public buses, particularly disabled people.
London’s universities
In the past month, we’ve met with two of the mayoral candidates to hand over the open letter and to discuss policy priorities. These are only the first steps in our effort to pursue sustained engagement by London’s academic community on this topic. Sign the letter and tick the ‘I’d like to be kept informed’ option for updates, or get in touch if you’d like to be involved in the next steps.
Additional signatures from institutions and individuals can be added here.
