Modeled on a Cambridge ordinance that mandates protected bicycle infrastructure citywide, the District’s approach to taming traffic deaths is being closely watched.

In September 2020, Washington, D.C., lawmakers unanimously passed the Vision Zero Enhancement Omnibus Amendment Act of 2019, a bill that scales up a novel approach to building protected bike lanes that was first taken in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2019. The law, which went into effect at the end of December, promises to change the underlying DNA of the District’s streets with an ambitious, conditional if/then statement: If a road segment undergoing construction has been pre-identified as a candidate for a protected bike lane, bus-only lane or private-vehicle-free corridor, then it must be rebuilt with that new feature.

Peter Walker 6/2/2021
There were times during the sunny lockdown last spring when you might have mistaken my local park for some sort of idealised Victorian sanatorium, filled with joggers, skippers, stretchers and barbell-raisers. On the deserted roads nearby, families cycled in liberated gaggles. Inside living rooms, children started the day by doing star-jumps with their parents. It felt like a new start.
There was only one problem: it was a mirage. Subsequent research by Sport England found that overall activity levels fell dramatically for both adults and children. During the pandemic, an ongoing crisis became even worse.

The Transport Secretary says the government “want half of all journeys in towns and cities to be cycled or walked by 2030.” But targets are useless if you don’t have a plan to make them happen.
In 1996 — 25 years ago this July — a tired Conservative government, wounded from a broad backlash against its road building programme and fearing a rejuvenated Labour party promising progressive transport policies, launched the National Cycling Strategy (NCS). It set a target for mode share: 10% of journeys in the UK would be cycled by 2012.
Perhaps the most appealing thing about this policy was that it didn’t need the government to do anything.

Yesterday the under Secretary of State Rachel Maclean said similar in a written answer, claiming the government had a “vision for half of all journeys in towns and cities to be cycled or walked by 2030.”
At the launch of the government’s Gear Change strategy, fronted in July last year by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, this goal was among many in the “revolutionary” £2 billion plan to increase cycling and walking.
“We want to see a future where half of all journeys in towns and cities are cycled or walked,” said the plan, with everyday transportation cyclist Johnson promising to “kick off the most radical change to our cities since the arrival of mass motoring.”
Meanwhile, the government is pressing ahead with its £27 billion road building program leading many active-travel advocates to express doubts that car use will be reduced any time soon.

The event, organised by walking and cycling charity Sustrans, will this year include active travel around the pupil’s local area, supervised by a parent or guardian and 30 minutes of physical activity completed at home. Resources can be downloaded by teachers and shared online with pupils, said Sustrans.
Big Pedal 2021 will run from 19 to 30 April 2021 with young people across the UK competing to make the most journeys by cycling, walking, scooting or using a wheelchair.
The theme of this year’s event will be ‘Amazing Journeys’ to encourage pupils to see their local areas from a different perspective and learn about the benefits of active travel. 
The competition, now in its eleventh year, is fronted by Dame Sarah Storey, multiple Paralympic gold medal winner in cycling and swimming and Active Travel Commissioner for the Sheffield City Region.

A string of streets within the inner ring road were closed to car traffic under emergency legislation brought in by the government last year to allow people more room to social distance.
Now a number of city centre councillors are pushing for a review to examine whether the closures can be made permanent.
Piccadilly ward councillor Jon-Connor Lyons is set to raise the issue with the council’s transport boss Angeliki Stogia at today’s (WEDS) full council meeting.
“Over the summer last year, we saw parts of the city centre pedestrianised to encourage people to travel safely and actively, whilst supporting Manchester’s small businesses and ensuring accessibility,” Cllr Lyons will say.
“Will the executive member be commissioning a report that looks at the viability of these schemes into the future?”
City centre councillors are keen to capitalise on an increase in public support for quieter roads during lockdowns before the emergency legislation expires on 30 April.

Natalie Grover

Traffic noise distracts female crickets from listening to the courtship song of the opposite sex and could lead to them selecting a lower quality male to mate with, research suggests. Photograph: Dr Adam Bent/PA
Working from home during Covid-19 has brought noise pollution close to home, whether it’s your partner making calls within earshot or grinding coffee during your Zoom interview. Now research suggests the animal kingdom is also disturbed by the noise of humans and our gadgets.