Editorial
This week’s ruling that pollution was a factor in the death of a nine-year-old Londoner, Ella Kissi-Debrah, must be a watershed
Thu 17 Dec 2020
Air pollution in British cities must urgently be reduced. The public, and particularly people who have asthma – or other conditions that place them at increased risk from breathing particulate matter or gases including nitrogen dioxide – must be much better informed about the threat to their health.(–––––)
The government must now go further. Supporting schemes to make the roads outside schools car-free is one thing; confronting the motor industry and getting serious about the kinds of shifts in behaviour, culture and technology that are needed to substantially reduce congestion and pollution is another. Increasing the cost of driving relative to other forms of transport, and giving more space to people on foot and on bicycles, is not universally popular. But, as the photographs shared by Ella Kissi-Debrah’s family of their smiling, bright-eyed girl remind us, air pollution kills.
Climate change: Law used as stick to beat government – BBC News
19 hours ago By Roger Harrabin
Environmentalists are using the law to hound the government to force infrastructure plans into line with its climate change commitments.
Ministers are facing a fusillade of legal challenges on airports, energy and roads.
And now they have been threatened with new legal action unless their airports strategy reflects the drive towards a zero-emissions economy.
A separate legal challenge to the government’s road building strategy from campaign group Transport Action Network is already under way.
Earlier this week, campaigners won a battle to force ministers to review their energy policy statement so it reflects climate concerns.
Air pollution verdict shines political light on UK’s invisible killer | The Guardian
Analysis: death of Ella Kissi-Debrah means MPs can no longer ignore dangers of dirty air
Politicians have been told for many years that dirty air kills but have ducked the decisions needed amid the noisy honking of the motoring lobby. The coroner’s conclusion that air pollution was a cause of Ella’s death means those politicians can no longer pretend that illegal levels of pollution are a victimless crime.
I breathe the same polluted air that Ella Kissi-Debrah did. Change must be her legacy | The Guardian
Anjali Raman-Middleton – Thu 17 Dec 2020
I live less than five minutes from the road that killed Ella Kissi-Debrah. Like so many in our community, I spend much of my life near the South Circular, a major road that runs through south London, whether I’m walking to the train station or catching a bus, and I can often hear the traffic. In a landmark ruling, Ella has now become the first person in the UK to have air pollution officially recognised by a coroner as a cause of death.
Cycling Injury Risk in London: Impacts of Road Characteristics and Infrastructure | Transport Findings
Thomas Adams / Rachel Aldred December 15, 2020
Abstract
This study of cycling injury risk in London examines impacts of road characteristics and environment, including different types of cycling infrastructure. It controlled for exposure by using a case-crossover method alongside an algorithm developed by Transport for London to predict cyclist routes. When compared to no infrastructure, this study found that protected cycle infrastructure reduced odds of injury by 40-65% in the morning commute, whereas advisory lanes increased injury odds by 34%. Junctions were found to increase injury odds threefold; higher pedestrian density also increased injury odds. This study supports growing evidence of a ‘safety in numbers’ effect.
Comment: how bike share schemes can help drive gender parity in cycling – Cycle Industry News
Mark Sutton17 December, 2020
Emily Brooke, founder and chair of Beryl, writes on how further roll out of bike share schemes could help drive gender parity in cycling and ultimately create a new wave of custom for bike shops…
Rightly or wrongly, cyclists in this country have a stereotype. Frequently, cyclists are perceived as predominantly male, white and middle aged. In places, the data seems to support this, the proportion of women cycling in London is described by Transport for London as “relatively low” – 27% on most routes – while Sustrans figures show that women make up just 33% of cyclists in Greater Manchester.
New module on modifying transport behaviour (20th January) – Active Travel Academy
Following the earlier post about our new module, we can now share the draft handbook, which provides more detail on what will be covered and the guest speakers who will be providing expert insights throughout the course.
Modifying Transport Behaviour – module handbook 2020-21 draft
There is limited space for people to take the module as “stand-alone study” so, if you’re keen, please write to activetravelacademy@westminster.ac.uk, including a brief CV and a short statement (<200 words) explaining your interest in the course. Feel free to send any questions you may have about the course to the same address and we’ll try to answer them.
Ella Kissi-Debrah: how a mother’s fight for justice may help prevent other air pollution deaths | Environment | The Guardian
Landmark ruling that toxic fumes killed nine-year-old Londoner follows long campaign for truth
Sandra Saville Wed 16 Dec 2020
Until now, the statistics on air pollution deaths have been presented in black and white – numbers on a page that estimate between 28,000 and 36,000 people will die as a result of toxic air pollution every year in the UK.
But the life and death of nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah is in full colour: from the pictures of her wearing her gymnastics leotard hung with medals, to the image of her mother and siblings holding aloft her photograph, when they no longer had her to hold on to, as they campaigned for the truth.
As Prof Sir Stephen Holgate told the coroner, behind the often-quoted statistics lie individuals whose lives have been cut short. “Every single number that goes into these studies is a single person dying,” he said.
Air pollution a cause in girl’s death, coroner rules in landmark case | The Guardian
:excerptstartSandra Saville Wed 16 Dec 2020 13.23 GMT A coroner has made legal history by ruling that air pollution was a cause of the death of a nine-year-old girl.Philip Barlow, the inner south London coroner, said Ella Kissi-Debrah’s death in February 2013 was caused by acute respiratory failure, severe asthma and air pollution exposure.He said she was exposed… [Read More]
Hard-won London cycleway opens on Friday – but Kensington gap deprives cyclists of safe route all the way into city centre | road.cc
Simon MacMichael Sun, Dec 13, 2020
Opening of key route along Chiswick High Road delayed while traffic lights put in place
A temporary (but eventually permanent) segregated cycleway on a major road in London will open on Friday. But the removal last week of a pop-up cycle lane on Kensington High Street by the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea will deprive cyclists in the west of the capital of a safe route all the way into the city centre and beyond.
The route being opened in the coming days forms part of what, when it was announced more than a decade ago, was billed as Cycle Superhighway 9, and runs along Chiswick High Road.
Due to opposition from Conservative councillors in Chiswick, which lies in the south east corner of the London Borough of Hounslow, even before the coronavirus pandemic struck, it had been one of the most bitterly fought-over pieces of planned cycling infrastructure in the capital.