Chris BoardmanFri 13 Nov 2020 13.42 GMT
Hadfield Avenue is where I learned to ride a bike, where I proudly removed the stabilisers before hurtling off with the others to the next road, and then the next. The whole neighbourhood was our playground. It was a perfectly normal thing to do on a British street in the 1970s.
Today, the majority of parents must deny their children this first, simple freedom because the space outside our homes is no longer safe. Instead, we pop the kids in the car and drive them around to protect them from other people in cars. That’s how we lost our street playgrounds, without even realising what was happening.
Walking and Cycling Alliance welcomes government funding and addresses LTN myths | Living Streets
In May, the government announced a £225m emergency active travel fund for councils in England to encourage people to adopt healthier travel habits, help social distancing and prevent traffic congestion. Funding was also made available by the Scottish and Welsh Governments to councils to implement walking and cycling measures.
Speaking on behalf of the Walking and Cycling Alliance, Mary Creagh, CEO, Living Streets said:
“Everyone should feel safe to walk, cycle, wheel or scoot on our streets, but that is not the case in too many towns and cities. Across the country, there is a silent majority in favour of more people-friendly streets, but all too often their voices are drowned out by a vocal minority.
“It’s vital more people start walking and cycling for local journeys, to reduce congestion, improve air quality and tackle the twin epidemics of loneliness and obesity.
“We hope this report will support councillors to build back better after the pandemic.”
As gridlock looms, UK plc promotes cleaner cars over active – Transport Xtra
About turn! From ‘meaningfully altering the status quo on the road’ to ‘balancing the needs of cyclists and pedestrians with the needs of other road-users, including motorists’, is active travel policy taking a new direction?As Cycling UK and a group of leading transport experts warn that Britain’s cities are in danger of being overrun by traffic congestion, the UK has introduced several new multi-million pound trade and research programmes aimed at promoting cleaner motor vehicles and fuels and to boost electric vehicle supply chains. Cleaner cars, yes, but still cars (oh, and plus a few zero emission buses).In a letter to transport authorities this October, Transport Minister Grant Shapps warned that active travel schemes ‘must balance the needs of cyclists and pedestrians with the needs of other road-users, including motorists and local businesses. Only authorities which have passed these key tests will receive the funding they have asked for’.
“I welcome consultation because this is something people want” says Chris Boardman as Government issues new bike lane guidance to councils | road.cc
“If you asked people 10 years ago, ‘Is it okay if we put 30% more traffic down your road?’ there’d be incandescent rage – but that consultation never took place”Greater Manchester’s Cycling and Walking Commissioner Chris Boardman has welcomed the Government’s “tough new conditions” to ensure cycle schemes are consulted on. “People want the change,” he told Radio 4’s Today programme.The government yesterday released another £175m from the £250m Active Travel Fund, allocating it to local authorities in England to make streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians.
If guys with guns are talking about collapse, why can’t we? – Professor Jem Bendell
7 hours ago
Thanks to Hollywood, we have all seen stories of near apocalyptic futures, where people descend into violence and depravity. We have also seen sensationalist, even racist, TV news reporting on looting after natural disasters. It seems the mass media is not always a good channel for hearing about the solidarity and cooperation that emerges between so many of us in times of crisis. It takes authors like Rutger Bregman to remind us of the better sides of human nature. Or Rebecca Solnit to show how human solidarity has always been a powerful resource during crises. Unfortunately, such views don’t get as much airtime when it comes to dis1cussing the possibility for societal disruption and collapse.
Which is what I do. Because hundreds of scientists and scholars have been warning us that we face “global systemic collapse” due to the pressures we are putting on the planet.
Largest UK docked e-bike hire scheme to open in Leicester – Transport Xtra
Santander Cycles Leicester will see 500 electric bikes available to hire from 50 locations across Leicester city centre. The public launch is currently planned for spring next year
The £600,000 project is being funded by a partnership made up of Leicester City Council – following the council’s successful bid to the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities fund – with sponsorship from Santander UK and additional investment from the operator, Ride On, and their delivery partner Enzen Global
Leicester City Council has announced that specialist e-bike hire provider Ride On will be providing the city’s e-bike share scheme. Known as Santander Cycles Leicester, the scheme will see 500 electric bikes available to hire from 50 locations across Leicester city centre.
This will make Santander Cycles Leicester the largest docked e-bike hire scheme in the UK.
Work is getting under way to create the docking stations where the bikes will charge up, ahead of a public launch currently planned for spring next year.
Reap what you sow – Wet, cold and angry
jon November 13, 2020
Governments urged to go beyond net zero climate targets | The Guardian
Leading scientists and campaigners say cutting emissions alone is not enough
Leading scientists, academics and campaigners have called on governments and businesses to go beyond “net zero” in their efforts to tackle the escalating climate and ecological crisis.
The former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and the leading climate scientist Michael Mann are among a group of prominent environmentalists calling for the “restoration of the climate” by removing “huge amounts of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere”.
Economies benefit as cycle tourism sets records in European countries – Cycle Industry News
Mark Sutton 13 November, 2020
Addressing the virtual Cycle Summit 2020 the European Cyclists Federation’s Jesús Freire pointed to data from both France and Hungary.
In Hungary The Centre For Development of Active and Ecotourism alongside road maintenance firm Magyar Közút delivered a study that revealed that 2020 “shattered” prior records as people took to bicycles in the absence of international travel. As part of the surge it was noted that development of new routes prompted a wave of tourism.
Hurdles arise as Government releases £175 million for active travel – Cycle Industry News
Mark Sutton13 November, 2020
The UK Government will today issue the £175 million second tranche of Emergency Active Travel funding.
Further to the MPs and motoring orgs rubbishing active travel efforts, Shapps himself signed off a letter to local authority transport leaders last week with “no one should be in doubt about our support for motorists.”