Steer Davies Gleave helps Kingston with cycling project
Transport consultancy Steer Davies Gleave has helped the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames secure £30 million in funding as part of a wider scheme to boost the cycling landscape. The firm helped the borough with the bid and proposed schemes, and is currently involved with the implementation phase.
Founded in 1978, Steer Davies Gleave is an international transport consulting firm that offers its clients a range of transport planning and advisory services. The firm, headquartered in London, has more than 350 consultants working from 16 offices around the globe.
The mini-Holland programme
The mini-Holland programme, launched by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson in 2013, pushes for a transformation of cycling in outer London. To facilitate the scheme, which aims at making the boroughs of outer London as cycle-friendly as the Netherlands – regarded by many as the globe's cycling haven – Johnson has made £100 million available in funding.
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, also known as Kingston, saw the mini-Holland scheme as a potential way to unlock its cycling potential through the implementation of cycle infrastructure improvements. The borough already has the second highest cycling share in outer London and looking ahead, Kingston foresees additional pressure on the local transport network as its population continues to grow.
To help it bid for a share of the £100 million scheme, Kingston hired Steer Davies Gleave to help it prepare its ‘Expression of Interest’ and subsequent bid for a portion of the mini-Holland funding. The London-based consultancy prepared a package of schemes aimed at encouraging people from all age groups and backgrounds to boost cycling as a means of transport and leisure.
Last year the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames unveiled that the bid was successful, with £30 million in funding secured. Since, the project has entered the execution phase, and Steer Davies Gleave has continued to stay involved, working closely with Kingston towards the 2018 implementation deadline.
Sales of new bikes
A recent analysis by Consultancy.uk shows that Europeans buy 20 million bikes a year, of which the UK is the third largest market. Sales currently stand at 3.6 million, comparable to the level in 2010, yet significantly higher than in 2008 (+300,000 bicycles).