Updated values would reveal the true cost of building a tunnel under Stonehenge, says Phil Goodwin. He urges National Highways to think again
Stonehenge is one of our most important monuments, and a much-loved iconic image of our history. Thoughtlessly, its wonderfully skilled builders placed it in an awkward position, obstructing plans for a big road project, whose need, National Highways argue, is demonstrated by their cost benefit study. A tunnel would protect the monument from traffic, and it would fit into the road builders’ plan to increase speeds, section by section, on the present road.
The problem is that tunnels are very expensive to build, and the money value of the projected time savings would not nearly cover the cost.
‘Beauty’ alone won’t solve the climate crisis – Transport for New Homes
May 24, 2021
This guest blog by Cycling UK’s policy director Roger Geffen argues that the Government’s draft National Planning Policy Framework makes it commendably easy for councils to reject planning applications which aren’t ‘beautiful’, but creates massive hurdles for councils wishing to reject developments that would entrench car-dependence. The blog was first published on the Cycling UK website.
“The Government is strongly in favour of ‘beauty’. And who wouldn’t be? I certainly am. It’s one of those motherhood-and-apple-pie things that surely everyone agrees with.
BBC Radio 4 – A Point of View, Car Hatred – Will Self
:excerptstart Car Hatred 29/10/21 A Point of ViewWill Self argues that the car is anything but a source of freedom. While drivers think it gives them the ability to go anywhere, in truth ‘they’re shackled to a grotesque and Sisyphean go-round: they have to make the money, to pay for the car, to sit in the traffic jam, to make the money… [Read More]
If We’re Not Protecting The Planet, We’re Not Protecting Our Patients, Say Healthcare Professionals Cycling To COP26 – Forbes
Carlton Reid05:11pm EDT
“We know what the problems are,” said Dr. Mark Hayden. “We know what the solutions are; what’s missing is the will.”
Dr. Hayden, like many others, is hoping that the political leaders now arriving at COP26 in Glasgow will finally take meaningful steps to fix the climate crisis.
He was speaking from the saddle of his electric bike on day six of a group cycle ride from London to Glasgow. Riders—mostly children’s healthcare professionals—were strung out along the muddy country lanes of the Tyne Valley in Northumberland following a route plotted some months earlier by Dr. Hayden and other organizers of the Ride for Their Lives rolling demo.
Greta Thunberg joins climate protest in London ahead of Cop26 | The Guardian
Weronika Strzyżyńska Fri 29/10/21
“We want to commemorate and commiserate the homes and lives lost to the climate crisis,”
one Extinction Rebellion member said on Friday.
I dislike the term “Low Traffic Neighbourhood”. It’s inaccurate – @ActiveTravelNet Twitter
Active Travel Neighbourhoods @ActiveTravelNet
I dislike the term “Low Traffic Neighbourhood”. It’s inaccurate. Walking & Cycling are forms of traffic and, ideally, we want to see them increase. The optimum is a higher volume of walking & cycling traffic. A high traffic neighbourhood of active travel. An ATN.
English city regions to get £7bn for public transport – TransportXtra
Chancellor will support train, tram, bus and cycle projects in Budget
Nearly £7bn will be allocated to urban transport around England in next week’s Autumn Budget and Spending Review.
England’s city regions will receive a total of about £5.7bn in sustainable transport funding, with a further £1.2bn being invested in bus services.
However, only about £1.5bn of the transport funding appears to be new money. Some £4.2bn was previously announced in 2019 for cities, while the bus grants will be coming from a £3bn fund promised by prime minister Boris Johnson last year.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “Great cities need great transport and that is why we’re investing billions to improve connections in our city regions as we level up opportunities across the country.
The bikelash paradox: how cycle lanes enrage some but win votes | Janette Sadik-Khan and Seth Solomonow | The Guardian
Every politician knows the word “bikelash”. From Milan to London, from Sydney to Vancouver, reallocating public space from motor vehicles for people to walk and cycle will inevitably send some residents into paroxysms of anger.
But a persistent theme is that voters have time and again reelected the mayors responsible for ambitious road reclamations, often with overwhelming majorities. Although many presume these policies are toxic, projects that make cities more liveable have been shown to be good urban policy and good politics.
Slow down when driving into the sun, urges Cycling UK | road.cc
In the past week alone two drivers convicted of killing cyclists have cited low sun as an excuse
With the clocks going back this weekend, Cycling UK is urging motorists to slow down when they are driving towards the sun.
The national cycling charity says that “dazzling sun” was cited as a contributory factor in the deaths of 17 cyclists in 2020, compared to four the previous year.
Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK’s head of campaigns said: “A four-fold increase in deaths with a contributory factor of ‘dazzling sun’ is alarming and could be avoided by driving more carefully.
“Cycling UK would encourage anyone dazzled by the sun to drop your speed, and where appropriate and safe to do so, stop until they have clear visibility of the road again.
Hundreds apply to exchange cars for mobility credits – BBC News
5 days ago
Nearly 300 people in Coventry have expressed an interest in giving up their cars in exchange for Mobility Credits.
Each can claim credits worth up to £3,000, to spend on public transport, taxis, bike share or a car club.
TfWM has also crushed 70 of the cars given up so far.
It has made £1m of Mobility Credits available, after getting £22m from the government to work on a number of pollution-tackling schemes such as on-demand buses, cycle hire and driverless cars.
It started the car-surrender scheme in March 2021 and said 71 people had been accepted by October.
The trial is due to run for two years and TfWM said it is looking for 280 participants in total.
It said the aim of the trial was “to see if mobility credits are an effective way of changing travel behaviour”.