Author name: Steven Edwards

A Dutch cycling policy adviser has proposed London mirrors Amsterdam in adopting a young “bicycle mayor” to help improve safety.
Officials in Holland say young cycling campaigners should be encouraged to get involved with urban policy to improve safety, along with adding practical solutions such as removing traffic lights to promote respect between cyclists and pedestrians, more eye contact between road users and putting countdown screens at bike crossings.
It comes after the appointment of Amsterdam’s first Junior Bicycle Mayor, eight-year-old Lotta Crok, who was selected from a group of “bicycle heroes” who campaign in schools to improve cycling. The city’s safety measures also include bike classes for children after they first learn to ride aged four, and give-way road markings for cyclists.

Almost every London school is in an area where air pollution levels exceed World Health Organization limits, City Hall analysis suggests.
Figures show 98% of schools are in areas with toxic air quality, compared with 24% outside the capital.
Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah whose nine-year-old daughter died from pollution said “it was like lessons had not been learned”.
Across England 3.1m schoolchildren are affected.
Excessive levels of air pollution can stunt lung growth and worsen chronic diseases.
The analysis is based on figures from 2019, before the pandemic struck the UK.
City Hall said it shows the average concentration of particulate matter was a third higher at schools in London than in the rest of England.
Of the 30 local authorities with the highest particulate matter at schools, all but two were London boroughs.

A new social media campaign seeks to highlight to motorists that each cyclist is a person rather than a piece of street furniture.
It is raising awareness of the risks to those on bikes as more cars return to the roads after lockdown.
Joanne Ness, from Birmingham, launched the “More than a Cyclist” message after a fatal crash involving a friend.
An experienced cyclist herself, Ms Ness said his loss left her too frightened to enjoy the sport for months.
Last year, 140 cyclists died on Britain’s roads.
The latest government figures show there has been a 4% decrease in the number of cyclists killed in the past year, which the Department for Transport associates with a reduction of traffic during the pandemic.
“Cycling has always been a bit dangerous,” Ms Ness said. “In lockdown one, things were quiet, but ever since, the roads have got really bad.

A driver has been fined almost £400 and given nine points on his licence for a ‘careless’ close pass on a group of cyclists.
The impatient motorist was trying to get past the riders as they approached a traffic island.
One of the cyclists even had to swerve to avoid being hit as the driver sped by on the A4054 in Pontypridd, Wales. 
GoSafe, which aims to ensure safety on Welsh roads, said the manoeuvre ‘severely increased the risk to the safety of the cyclists involved’.
The motorist pleaded guilty to driving without due care at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court, where he received a fine of £386 and was given the maximum amount of points you can receive for that offence.

Lauren Wise
A driver who mowed down and killed a 15-year-old boy riding his bike has been jailed.
Leo Meek ‘took out’ Jack Jones while driving a Volkswagen Tiguan on Manor Drive at around 9.40pm on April 26 this year.
The 15-year-old from Moreton had been cycling the familiar route to his aunt’s house after spending the evening watching a film with his little brother.
Meek, 22, left Jack with fatal head and neck injuries while speeding at between 53 and 55mph on a 30mph residential road.
He then fled the scene, and didn’t even apply his brakes, ditching his friend’s dad’s car and getting a taxi home, where he went to bed.

Gary Nunn
One of the world’s most feted pieces of transport infrastructure currently lets down an increasingly popular mode of transport: the bicycle.
Currently, the 2,000 cyclists who cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge’s dedicated cycleway daily must dismount and battle 55 steps on the north side. The number of cyclists struggling on the stairs looks only set to grow: cycling in Sydney’s inner city has doubled in the last two years.

A memorial to the 10 men known to have died during construction of the Queensbury tunnel has been installed.
Work on the now disused 1.4-mile (2.3km) railway tunnel between Bradford and Halifax began in 1874 and was completed in July 1878.
Now campaigners hoping to reopen the disused tunnel as a cycle route have remembered the navvies who built it.
Two rows of wooden railway sleepers stand either side of the path and each is dedicated to a man who died.
The tunnel was delayed by two years despite a 600-strong workforce, with dozens of injuries, many of them life-changing, and 10 deaths, said the Queensbury Tunnel Society.

Spend  on active travel initiatives in Scotland is set to more than treble to nearly £60 per person per year – an unprecedented sum for anywhere in the United Kingdom – within the next two years following the publication today of the draft shared policy programme by the SNP and the Green Party
The SNP won 64 of the 129 seats contested in May’s elections to te Scottish Parliament, one short of an overall majority, while the Green Party won eight seats.

Of course, there is always enough space if we are willing to be radical, but for lots of reasons, a road may still be needed to move motor traffic and making wider network changes may be way beyond a project scope or funding. It would be better to be working to detailed plans, but we have to be pragmatic. 

A sleek, shiny car breezes along an open road, zipping easily through narrow city streets. Its paintwork is pristine, its electric engine is clean and silent. When it arrives there is parking right outside the front door. 
So much for the advert. In reality, traffic in the UK is often slow and the roads can be clogged. A 60-mile (96km) journey on 60mph roads is reckoned to take 85 minutes – an average speed of 42mph (67km/h).
Drivers already own 32 million cars – that’s up 28% since 2001, during which time the population has only risen by 13%. And by 2050 there will be 44 million cars in the UK – so start looking for that parking space now. 
Last year, the government announced a £2.8bn package to encourage drivers to switch to greener vehicles. This included a £1.3bn investment in charging infrastructure as well as discounts of up to £2,500 on low emission vehicles costing under £30,000.