The government plans to roll out Mini Holland schemes similar to those found in three London boroughs to English towns and cities outside the capital.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has reportedly made £239 million available for around 12 such initiatives across the country.
Local authorities interested in bidding for a share of the money were invited to do so in a letter sent to them last week by DfT deputy director Rupert Furness inviting applications for grants from the government’s Active Travel Fund.
In the letter, excerpts of which were quoted on Forbes.com by transport author and journalist Carlton Reid, Furness made it clear that schemes would need to include proper segregation in accordance with the LTN 1/20 standard, and that cycle lanes demarcated solely by paint would be rejected.
Furness told local authorities: “Mini Hollands involve intensive spending on local roads and streetscapes to make them, over time, as cycle and pedestrian-friendly as their Dutch equivalents.”

A High Court judge has today rejected a legal challenge to low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) introduced last year in the London Borough of Lambeth, ruling that the council acted in line with regulations governing their implementation and that they did not discriminate against people with disabilities.
The case had been brought, with the backing of the anti-LTN group One Lambeth, by a disabled resident of the borough, Sofia Shaekh, who lives close to the boundary of the Railton LTN in Brixton, and who relies heavily on using her car for transport.

The Court of Appeal has overturned a ruling that Transport for London (TfL) initiatives aimed at promoting active travel and making roads safer for cyclists and pedestrians were unlawful.

The Streetspace programme is designed to promote active travel after the Covid-19 pandemic hit and aimed at giving more space to cyclists and pedestrians.
In January, High Court judge Mrs Justice Lang ruled that TfL’s programme was unlawful after taxi drivers launched a legal action complaining…

First, it swallowed a car. A few hours later, two terraced buildings. At 9pm on January 20, a crater measuring 4 sq metres appeared in Walmer Street, Manchester. Another sinkhole shocked local Scottish walkers, swallowing a section of coastal path between Dysart and West Wemyss on February 4. And, in early March, a sinkhole in Cumbria opened up beneath a farmer riding a quad bike. He was rescued by firefighters and taken to hospital.
These are only recent examples from the UK. The ground opening up and engulfing whatever lies in its path is a pretty common occurrence. Globally, for every 0.1℃ rise in temperature, the number of sinkholes increases by 1%-3%.

Careful evidence and rational arguments alone seldom change the direction of transport policy, and that’s why protest movements exist, writes Steve Melia

Protests are a waste of time; they never change anything. I read comments like that online as protestors in tunnels obstructed the HS2 works earlier this year. I have heard similar views expressed many times in the past, usually from people who disagree with protestors. Does the evidence support those views?
Since the late 1980s transport has provided several test cases. Over three years, 52 interviews and thousands of documents, I set out to find some answers. The result was two research articles and a paperback book, Roads Runways and Resistance. 
The short answer is that protest movements have influenced the course of events, although it is difficult to predict success or failure in advance. Researching the project led me in unexpected directions; I did not expect to be writing a crime or spy story, which is what it became in parts.
One way protest movements can influence events is by shifting the ‘Overton Window’, the range of ideas discussed in the mainstream media and considered legitimate by politicians and public
What makes policy change?

All new road-building projects in Wales are being frozen while the Welsh government conducts a review.

It means plans for the Deeside “Red Route”, the Llandeilo bypass, and a third Anglesey crossing will be put on hold.
Ministers say it is a necessary part of Wales’ effort to reduce carbon emissions.
But the Conservatives warned the decision was a “significant blow” for the economic recovery.
Meanwhile Plaid Cymru said the review cannot mean communities “are left behind”.
Deputy Climate Change Minister Lee Waters announced the review in the Welsh Parliament on Tuesday afternoon.
Projects that already have diggers in the ground, such as the Heads of the Valleys Road, will continue.