Exploring public discourse about new cycle lanes and low-traffic neighbourhoods using Twitter/X data

Abstract

While sustainable transport initiatives generally enjoy broad public support, new cycle lanes and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) often face strong opposition from local campaign groups, particularly on social media. This study examined public sentiment towards these measures and how it evolved in response to the UK Government’s Emergency Active Travel Fund, using social media data from Twitter (now “X”). A total of 36,696 UK-based tweets related to cycle lanes and LTNs were analysed over a four-year period, spanning two years before and two years after the fund’s announcement in May 2020 (1 March 2018 to 30 June 2022). Sentiment analysis revealed that while most tweets were positive, negative sentiment increased after the fund was announced. Structural Topic Modelling (STM) identified 13 key discussion topics, including cycle lane design, road user behaviour, and experiences using cycling infrastructure. Notably, discussions rarely addressed broader benefits of active travel, such as climate change mitigation or public health improvements. The findings indicate that new cycling infrastructure is generally well-received, but that public sentiment fluctuates over time. Criticism tends to focus on poorly designed or unsafe infrastructure and concerns around their implementation. This research demonstrates the value of social media analysis to understand the content and dynamics of public opinion on transport infrastructure changes, as well as the use of sentiment analysis and STM in analysing large text datasets.