Cycletopia
About the campaign
In 2012, Cycling UK dreamt of the ideal cycle-friendly town and called it Cycletopia.
Cycletopia, vibrantly illustrated by Peter Welleman, epitomised cycle friendliness through its infrastructure, culture, policies and leadership.
This is what made our imaginary town so special:
- Cycle-only routes and cut-throughs, with a motor traffic-free town centre and lorries kept out for most of the time
- Wide cycle lanes segregating people on bikes from busy, fast motor-traffic
- 20 mph limits in places where people like to walk, cycle, shop, play and work
- Cycle parking in the right spots – outside the local café, by the town hall and so on
- Ramps instead of steps to access a bridge
- Schools welcoming cycling
- Bikeability training for children
- Cycling-related industry
- Cycle shop
- Bike co-op (social enterprise)
- Opportunities to chill-out somewhere green and pleasant with your bike (a ride and then a short snooze by Cycletopia’s river)
- Trains inviting people to travel with their cycles, plus a rail station boasting a cycle hub and storage
- Public bike hire
- A town-hall proud to support and plan for cycling
- A welcome for cyclists of all ages and abilities, and for all kinds of cycle – commuter, racing, cargo, BMX, e-cycles, touring, child carrying, tandems
Although Cycletopia was fictional, each of its individual elements existed somewhere at the time, and not just in The Netherlands
Although Cycletopia was fictional, each of its individual elements existed somewhere at the time, and not just in The Netherlands.
They cropped up in the UK too, and have continued to crop up ever since, but we wanted – and still want – to see them replicated and combined far more widely because all too many councils keep managing to entrench car dependency instead of offering their citizens active travel alternatives and ensuring that conditions are right for them.
Cycletopian themes still thread through Cycling UK’s campaigning, lobbying, engagement and development work on, for example, cycle-friendly planning, rural and off-road cycling, cycle training, integration with public transport, inclusive cycling and more.
And – good news – we’ve since welcomed new guidance on cycle infrastructure design that, if followed, should make a positive difference.
Local campaigners, though, are in the best place to call for changes to suit their neighbourhoods, so have a look at our Cycle Advocacy Network (CAN) for how you can plug yourself into the hub and help make Cycletopia live on (and on).
