Supermarket shopping by bike. Why don't more people do it?

Four years ago I wrote about using a bicycle for supermarket shopping. I argued the lack of segregated bike lanes was a barrier to people biking to the supermarket. In that 4 year period the council put in one piece of infrastructure on the route I take to the supermarket.

Has it helped to encourage more people to cycle to the supermarket?

Let's take a look at this infrastructure. 

It's a cycle lane painted onto a existing pavement. It takes about ten seconds to cycle from one end of the lane to the other. It's tiny and did not involve any changes to the road layout. 

Cycle lane on Redford Road

It's on the  B701, Redford Road, in Colinton, Edinburgh.

I understand the intention was to give cyclists a safe route to avoid the roundabout. 

I would be very surprised if this has had any impact on increasing the number of people using a bicycle on this road. That's because:

• it's an island of infrastructure. There's no cycling infrastructure, not even a painted bike lane, connecting it at either end. The only way you can get to it is to cycle along a main road.
• the riskiest part of the roundabout is actually on the other side, with the junction to the city bypass. This new lane is on the safest side of the roundabout. It's at the city bypass junction where the roundabout needs to be made safer for cycling. 
• I have seen very few people use it. I've been cycling Redford Road to reach the Aldi on Oxgangs Road  for 4 years. I am almost always the only person on a bike. This new piece of infrastructure has not changed that.
• I do not use it. My route is to come off Redford Road to get to the quieter Oxgangs Farm Drive. I find it is safer to come off Redford Road via the access road to the Cairdean nursing home. There are always parked vehicles outside the home. That means pulling further out into the road to clear these vehicles to reach this cycle lane. Doing so increases the risk of a close pass.

Maybe people do not need cycling infrastructure to get to the supermarket

The supermarket has 4 bicycle racks. In the 4 years I have been doing my shopping here I have seen no more than 2 bicycles (including mine) parked at a time. 

On the streets around the supermarket it is rare to see someone cycling. Oxgangs Road is a busy road with no cycling infrastructure.

If it is not the lack of cycling infrastructure then what is stopping people biking to the supermarket?

Maybe there's too much shopping to carry on a bike

Someone commented on my previous post that it was unrealistic for a family of 4 to do their shopping by bike. Indeed, it does not work for everyone.

But when I look at what people are buying in this supermarket it is not always a 'weekly shop'. There are plenty of people with a few items, sometimes just one thing. They get into a car. For trips where you only need a few things do you need a car? 

What I am getting at is making it as easy to access a supermarket by bike as it is by car. To give people a realistic choice about how they travel there. That means segregated bike lanes. That gives people who want to cycle the choice to do so. That's how you start to reduce car journeys. And that makes the roads less congested, so that those who do not want to or cannot cycle are not stuck in traffic.

The Scottish Government set a target to reduce car kilometres travelled in Scotland by 20% by 2030.​

Did COP26 make a difference?

​The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) took place in Glasgow in 2021. It sparked debates about the changes we need to make to our behaviours to tackle climate change. There was a wave of optimism about how individuals could make a difference.

Many people wanted to change their travel habits. But as soon as they look at a busy road they will think, "no way am I cycling on that." ​

The close pass

Some people believe that you have to accept the risk of cycling on a road. You have to be brave if you want to cycle on a road. This may work for a minority of people, but most would rather not take that risk. When a vehicle overtakes you too close it can be enough to stop you ever cycling again. It is a frightening experience. 

The Highway Code states you should leave at least 1.5 metres when overtaking cyclists at speeds of up to 30mph. You should give them more space when overtaking at higher speeds.

The reality is there's no guarantee that every driver will give you that amount of space. There is also the possibility of getting hit. It took me years to get confident enough to take that risk. I know that if I cycle to the supermarket at least half, if not more, of drivers will close pass me. 

The answer to this problem is not driver education. That only goes so far. The answer is segregated cycle lanes. But those lanes need to be useful and take people to where they need to go. School. The swimming pool. College. The supermarket. 

But cycle lanes cost money

Councils have budgets for cycling infrastructure. In Edinburgh there's been record numbers of people cycling on the Leith Walk cycle lane. Paris made a huge investment in cycling infrastructure. Now more journeys are by bike than car in the centre of Paris.

Cycling infrastructure has a wider benefit to society. It's not about stopping people from driving. It's about giving people a choice about how they travel. It's about looking at the bigger picture. Issues like road congestion, rising obesity levels and climate change. Prioritising cars over all other forms of transport is not sustainable. 

Conclusion

I am disappointed by the cycling infrastructure on my supermarket route. It's made no difference to the number of people biking to this supermarket.

Edinburgh has invested a lot in cycling infrastructure. There's the Leith Walk cycle lane and the City Centre West to East link. But when you look at what other cities are doing, like Paris and London, it is not enough.

If we are to meet the targets for reducing car miles we need to do more. Cycling infrastructure that helps people do those everyday journeys, like supermarket shopping, will make a huge difference.