Cycle lanes grow in popularity once they are installed, study finds – but policymakers warned that “paternalistic” promotion of active travel schemes heightens opposition

The public acceptance of cycle lanes and other active travel infrastructure tends to grow once they’re installed, a new study examining the success of cycling and walking schemes from a behavioural science perspective has found. However, government officials and policymakers have been warned that informing the public and anti-active travel opponents that they will grow to like cycling and walking schemes runs the risk of them sounding “paternalistic” or even “deluded”.

The report, published by the Economic and Social Research Institute in Ireland and titled ‘Active travel infrastructure design and implementation: Insights from behavioural science’, reviews the local and international research on the effects of and reaction to installing cycle lanes and similar schemes throughout Europe, and their positive impact on cycling and walking rates, food and retail businesses, and traffic congestion.

However, with this positive impact apparently only becoming clear after the infrastructure has been implemented, the researchers have advised active travel planners to challenge the status quo to increase support for new initiatives.

Status-quo bias key to bike lane opposition

“Replacing car travel with walking and cycling is at the core of the shift to healthier and more sustainable societies,” the report says.

“Implementing dedicated infrastructure is a common measure to achieve this aim. But policymakers in multiple countries regularly contend with two obstacles: designing infrastructure that people will make use of and securing public support for implementation.”

Chief among the psychological obstacles to securing public support, the study says, is the public’s “status quo bias”, described as “the preference for things to remain the same even if change is beneficial”, an opposition to change – a variant of which includes ‘Not in my back yard’, or NIMBY, attitudes – that “can be particularly influential for opinion formation”.

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The report also acknowledges that once these opinions have been formed regarding certain infrastructure projects, they can be difficult to shift, with members of the public likely to attach too much weight to the first piece of information they encounter about the scheme, known as a “primacy effect”, or judge it based on who it comes from (the “messenger effect”).

Therefore, under this “collective illusion”, supporters of cycling schemes believe they are in the minority.

Opponents of cycle lanes, meanwhile, often report feeling that they have no voice or control over the changes being made to their area to facilitate active travel, and complain of a lack of meaningful consultation, something the researchers say is key to garnering public support for initiatives.

While the report notes that cyclists can be seen to belong to a “stigmatised social identity, with characteristics that manifest themselves in ways similar to other minority groups”, much of the opposition to cycle lanes is based on doubts about their lack of effectiveness.

Joining the dots

The researchers highlighted that, despite evidence of reduced emissions, better air quality, and improved public health, a “disconnect” between active travel projects and environmental schemes means people don’t “join the dots” and view cycling infrastructure as part of a wider climate action, instead viewing these changes as a “a mere redistribution of resources between transport users”.

“There is a disconnect between public attitudes to climate action and public adoption of climate action initiatives,” David Storey of Fingal County Council, one of the local authorities who commissioned the research, said this week.

“Mass modal shift to active travel is necessary to achieve meaningful climate action and we are already using this research to help us make design and communication choices that will close that gap between understanding and behaviour.”

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The researchers noted that “while negative attitudes toward cyclists may play a role, the perceived effectiveness of active travel schemes remains a primary factor” in determining public support for the schemes.

“People are more willing to support something that they think will work,” the report says. “This finding arises in a context where the overwhelming conclusion from international research into active travel initiatives is that they are, in fact, effective.

“Multiple individual studies and systematic reviews show strong evidence that implementing active travel infrastructure is likely to increase rates of active travel. Planning and design decisions determine the scale of effectiveness. There is strong evidence that connectivity, proximity, and safety should be prioritised over other design elements.

“Improving perceived safety is likely to increase uptake by all sociodemographic groups, but especially women, older adults and children,” the report continues, placing emphasis on the safety of junctions and the accessibility of cycle lanes for residents, while noting that protected infrastructure is key to boosting real and perceived safety for cyclists and pedestrians.

“These benefits are greater when initiatives are accompanied by traffic-calming measures, such as reduced speed limits and raised crossings at intersections,” the report added.

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It continued: “The implications of this research suggest a need for continued efforts to communicate the supportive evidence and specific measured benefits of active travel schemes. Where initiatives are successful these can be used as demonstration projects in order to reduce uncertainty about effects of future plans.”

The report also noted that the knock-on effects of cycle lane schemes on local food and retail businesses tend to be positive or neutral, while they can also reduce traffic congestion.

Pre-bunking cycle lane misconceptions

However, the researchers argued that, despite the success of these schemes once they’re installed, policymakers and officials still face a minefield when it comes to communicating about the future benefits of new projects, and the public’s perception of them.

“This is tricky territory for policymakers, as asserting to the public that they will grow to like a scheme that they presently dislike may come across as paternalistic, or even deluded,” the report says.

“A commitment to a trial period, where this is feasible, may be a useful solution. Stakeholders and planners would also benefit from gathering data on public perceptions and expectations of active travel plans in order to pre-bunk common misconceptions before they have cemented.

“Once opinions have formed, they can be resistant to new information that challenges them. Early, clear communication from trusted sources is likely to be the best way to inoculate against misperceptions.”

“Opposition to traffic policy changes is not unique to Ireland,” Dr Shane Timmons, senior research officer with the ESRI’s Behavioural Research Unit, said in a statement.

“However, in multiple countries, research finds that people become more positive about changes once they are implemented. Open and fair consultations with communities to address concerns about traffic, local businesses and safety are helpful. Policy can benefit from more targeted research on how communities anticipate and respond to change.”