Definition: “A Cycling Highway is a ‘segregated’ cycle facility which provides a spacious and non-stop ride in order to cover medium and long (peri-)urban distances in a fast, safe and comfortable way for cyclist types.”
Cycling is increasingly being implemented as a viable option for sustainable mobility in transport master plans from the local to the regional and even national level. However, when the implementation of actual measures is nearing the... more
Cycling is increasingly being implemented as a viable option for sustainable mobility in transport master plans from the local to the regional and even national level. However, when the implementation of actual measures is nearing the final stage, often mental barriers of decision-makers surface. These mental barriers refer to the resistance to innovation adoption, a phenomenon well documented in the social sciences. In our policy debate we use a list of factors that dissuade people from cycling from the literature to derive a classification of mental barriers in legislation, planning and infrastructure. Mental barriers have an influence on out-turn cycling levels and we provide exemplary evidence from Austria. The nature of these barriers, including the ‘vicious cycle of mental barrier construction', is explored, before identifying two possible approaches to reduce, or even eliminate mental barriers. These approaches are: social pressure upon and self-experience by decision-makers.
