Author name: Steven Edwards

The simple idea of ‘putting stuff closer together so it’s easier to get to the stuff’ is driving the popularity of 15 – 20 minute centres. But as the new Planning Bill is introduced, should we know more about the implications of narrowing travel patterns, the potential for inequality, impacts on travel demand and the big picture for infrastructure investment?

Compact centres are back on the agenda. They may be described as 15 minute neighbourhoods or cities – and, as ever, the more popular the concept gets, the more variants are proposed and discussed.
The common idea is to create a locality in which basic day-to-day needs can be met within a 15 minute walk or cycle from home – and with good transport connectivity, public transport options and digital links as part of the mix. With Paris currently leading the way, cities around the world have been enticed by this model for resilient communities.
Melbourne, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Ottawa and Seattle are among those working on similar plans, but have a range of differnt approaches to  tackling the challenges. 

Peter Walker

I’ve been something of a sceptic about technological bike gizmos over the years, add-ons that too often seem to represent a solution in search of a problem, an attempt to reinvent something – the bicycle – that was not far short of perfect anyway.
I’m no luddite. New developments make cycling even more enjoyable and useful, not least near-puncture proof tyres and tiny, retina-searing lights. Plus, of course, there’s the amazing world of electric-assist bikes, or e-bikes.
There’s not space to fully get into why e-bikes can be a cycling gamechanger, but they are increasingly common, even in the UK, whirring along with a passenger, or cargo of kids and shopping.
If I have an issue with e-bikes, it’s that some can be slightly … overengineered. Once you clamp a battery and motor on to a bike, weight becomes a slightly moot point, and the motors on modern e-bikes are so powerful they can easily get riders up to the 15mph maximum-powered speed allowed.

See those potholes? Not good for your suspension, are they? To cyclists, they’re not just inconvenient; they’re lethal. The cyclist up ahead might be in the middle of the road for a few seconds in order to avoid a big gash in the ground. Cyclists are expert pothole – spotters. Use this inside knowledge to prevent costly damage to your car’s suspension.

Official data shows that weekday traffic has reached 104 per cent of that before the pandemic. At the weekend, relative traffic levels are even higher, and on June 6 reached 113 per cent of the pre-pandemic total.
Analysis by the Transport Technology Forum, a research group, found that the rise was driven by new working, commuting and shopping habits in the past 15 months, saying there was a “clear change to the make-up of the traffic”.
It said that vans and trucks account for a greater proportion of vehicle journeys than before the pandemic, reflecting the rise in the delivery of food,

A forum topic posted on road.cc last week that posed the question, “Know of someone who’s packed in UK road cycling due to safety concerns?” has prompted readers to share their own stories, including one who this weekend just gone sold his final road bike – one he had built himself, to boot – and who says he will ride exclusively off-road from now on, and another who described the stress brought on by “constant low-level bullying.”
The topic was begun by road.cc reader Shades, who said he had heard about a member of his cycling circle who had taken early retirement but “was really frustrated with the Covid restrictions as he has a small holiday flat in Germany and can’t pursue his various plans.
“My comment was why hadn’t he gone out on some long rides etc; then I was told he’d stopped, because he was sick of UK roads (safety), and was just going to cycle when he’s out in Germany (which he always raves about),” Shades continued.
He said he was “initially bemused,” but after reflecting on some near misses he had experienced, “I kind of sympathised.”
“The roads are like the Wild West post-lockdown”

Norfolk County Council’s cabinet and full council agreed to submit the business case for the 3.9 mile road, which would connect the Northern Distributor Road to the A47, at meetings on Monday.
But Baroness Bennett, ex-leader of the national Green Party visited woodland near Ringland, which would make way for the road, on Friday.
She said: “The eye-watering costs associated with this project – some £50m per mile of road  – not to mention the damage done to nature, mean that this project should be abandoned, and the funds redirected into projects that will benefit our planet and which future generations will be proud of.”

Talking Heads’ singer David Byrne, a keen cyclist, is among the judges of competition seeking to find more aesthetically pleasing ways of protecting cyclists and pedestrians on busy roads.
The competition has been launched by the Construction Industry Cycling Commission (CICC). The competition has been inspired by the London Festival of Architecture (LFA), whose theme for 2021 is “care”.
The light segregation of cyclists and pedestrians from car traffic become increasingly common in recent years, and accelerated by responses to COVID-19. London alone has installed some 100km of bike lanes in the capital as part of the Mayor’s Streetspace programme.

The council has also promised to implement a series of “quick fix” measures to improve traffic flow in congested locations including better signage and changes to traffic signal timings.
A dedicated project board will be created to oversee future phases, including the continued development of travel plans to encourage walking and cycling to school, as well as a full public consultation on new designs.

In an opinion piece for road.cc Sylvia Gauthereau, who is a trustee of London Cycling Campaign and co-chairs its policy forum, outlines why she uses “that pavement and that crossing at that location consciously, deliberately, and regularly, for my own and my children’s safety,” and highlights that “The real issue here is the complete lack of safe cycling provision on the A5 and the lack of connectivity to the side streets.”