Author name: Steven Edwards

News from Elsewhere

Let’s all welcome low-traffic neighbourhoods | Evening Standard

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1 day ago

Matthew Pencharz

A bitter row is raging over Low Traffic Neighbourhoods — or LTNs — as they are being brought into force across the capital. Since the Government gave councils £250 million of new “active travel” funding in May, barriers have been put up in many residential areas to prevent motorists cutting through side streets (while allowing residents access in their cars). This change has not been welcomed by all.

News from Elsewhere

Hackney proposes low traffic neighbourhoods in every area – TransportXtra

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2/10/20
The London Borough of Hackney has published plans for low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) traffic restrictions across every residential neighbourhood in the borough. Hackney has already introduced numerous LTN schemes that prevent through traffic passing along residential streets. The proposals to implement LTNs across the borough feature in an emergency transport plan considered by councillors this week.
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Bicycles And Buses Will Be Future’s Dominant Modes Of Urban Mobility, Predict 346 Transport Experts – Forbes

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Carlton Reid

A significant new report supported by the World Economic Forum argues there must be a “transport transformation” if the planet is to benefit from the Paris Agreement’s decarbonization commitments, signed in 2016.


The Transport for Under Two Degrees project published a report on October 8 arguing that governments around the world should stop subsidizing motoring and must, instead, build cycleways and wider sidewalks to anticipate the likely future of “active transport” in cities.

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Traffic and aircraft noise linked to bigger bellies – NHS

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“Living near a main road causes people to gain weight with the risk of obesity,” is the slightly dubious claim in The Daily Telegraph. While a Swedish study did find an association between noise pollution and obesity, cause and effect has not been proved.The study involved more than 5,000 adults. It looked at the traffic noise exposure where participants lived and whether they were obese according to measurements such as their body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference. The researchers also looked at exposure to road, rail and aircraft noise.

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Covid-19 lockdowns have improved global air quality, data shows | The Guardian

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Huge drops in pollution recorded around world

Gary FullerThu 8 Oct 2020 21.30 BST

Around the world, Covid lockdowns have led to improvements in air pollution. In northern India, the Himalayas were visible in the distance for the first time in a generation. And during the first nine weeks of the UK lockdown, nitrogen dioxide along London’s roads decreased by an average of 31% compared with the pre-lockdown period.

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Smashing the tyranny of the status quo: 10 of Britain’s historic hidden-gem LTNs – Zag

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Chances are, if you were asked six months ago what a low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) was, you would have shrugged your shoulders and said, with rising intonation: “The Netherlands?”That’s probably not the case now. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced government and local authorities to rethink the way we get around. With many people preferring to avoid public transport, LTNs are among measures designed to prevent a rush to private cars (and ensuing gridlock) by providing safe routes for walking, cycling and scooting – and they’ve become Big News around the country. However, LTNs have been around for much, much longer – and the world hasn’t ended

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Press Release: Pollution From Tyre Wear 1,000 Times Worse Than Exhaust Emissions — Emissions Analytics

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• Tight regulation of exhaust emissions by the EU has meant that new cars emit very little particle pollution

• But tyre wear pollution is unregulated and can be 1,000 times worse, finds independent real-world testing experts Emissions Analytics

• Increased popularity of SUVs, larger and heavier than standard vehicles, exacerbates this problem – as does growing sales of heavy EVs and widespread use of budget tyres
• Fitting only high-quality tyres and lowering vehicle weight are routes to reducing these ‘non-exhaust emissions’
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(Belgian consumer association e-scooter tests & recommendation) Test Aankoop bezorgd over veiligheid elektrische steps: “Wij raden ze af” | VRT NWS: nieuws

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Belgian consumer association tested 11 e-scooters, its recommendation? Get a bike.

De consumentenorganisatie kocht online 11 verschillende steps die het door een onafhankelijk labo uitgebreid liet testen. Jens Van Herp van Test Aankoop in “De inspecteur” op Radio 2: “In het labo werd enerzijds een testsimulatie gedaan van alledaags gebruik. Versnellingen, vertragingen, heuvel op en heuvel af. Daarnaast werden ook de technische aspecten van de elektrische steps doorgelicht. Dat gaat dan om remafstand, vering en batterijkwaliteit.” 

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Build sustainable transport into recovery, business leaders and public urge – Cycle Industry News

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Mark Sutton6 October, 2020Local authorities have been urged by business leaders and individuals alike to deliver on sustainable transport provision and micromobility, according to a new study of public and private sector attitudes.The call comes on the back of research carried out by global design and consultancy firm Arcadis, which polled the thoughts of 1,700 organisations and individuals this summer. Investment in ‘green infrastructure’ now ranks in the top three spend priorities in the minds of those businesses and individuals polled. Just 5% believe no action is required here

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Air pollution particles in young brains linked to Alzheimer’s damage | The Guardian

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Exclusive: if discovery is confirmed it will have global implications as 90% of people breathe dirty airLast modified on Tue 6 Oct 2020

Tiny air pollution particles have been revealed in the brain stems of young people and are intimately associated with molecular damage linked to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease
If the groundbreaking discovery is confirmed by future research, it would have worldwide implications because 90% of the global population live with unsafe air. Medical experts are cautious about the findings and said that while the nanoparticles are a likely cause of the damage, whether this leads to disease later in life remains to be seen.

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