Author name: Steven Edwards

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Calming the backlash – TransportXtra

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Roadspace reallocation schemes spark tensions that need to be resolved using engagement and conversation

The reassessment of how urban roadspace is allocated and used has been one of the few positive side effects of the pandemic. Across the UK, the need to alleviate pressure on public transport in the light of social distancing has seen an increase in the number of people walking and cycling to work, shops, schools, for exercise and for leisure. Local authorities have thus banned cars from high streets, widened pavements with barriers and created temporary, or ‘pop-up’, bike lanes.

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Motorists who cause death by speeding could face life sentence | The Guardian

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Law change will ensure dangerous drivers face full force of law, says minister

Jamie GriersonMon 14 Sep 2020 00.01 BST
Drivers who cause death by speeding, racing or using a mobile phone could face life sentences under a overhaul of sentencing to be unveiled this week.
The changes follow concerns from families and campaigners, as well as some judges, that the 14-year maximum fails to reflect the severity of the crime.
Offenders who cause loss of life by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs could also face life in prison.

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Extinction Rebellion is showing Britain what real democracy could look like | George Monbiot | The Guardian

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George MonbiotWed 16 Sep 2020It’s good entertainment, but that’s all it is. Seeing Boris Johnson ritually dismembered in parliament might make us feel better, but nothing changes. He still has an 80-seat majority, though less than 30% of the electorate voted for the Conservatives. We are reduced, for five long years, to spectators.Our system allows the victorious government a mandate to do what it likes between elections, without further reference to the peopAs we have seen, this can include breaking international law, suspending parliament, curtailing the judiciary, politicising the civil service, attacking the Electoral Commission and invoking royal prerogative powers to make policy without anyone’s consent. This is not democracy, but a parody of democracy

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A Code for the road? – TransportXtra

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Keeping the UK’s roads safe for active travel and vulnerable users involves using a patchwork of regulation, guidance, codes, orders and powers. As the Highway Code is finally reviewed this autumn, can we create a clearly understood and easily enforceable ‘hierarchy of responsibilities’ that all can get behind? Juliana O’Rourke talked to Ruth Cadbury MP

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Low Traffic in My Neighbourhood – Young Fabians

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Alexander Naile
Posted on 12 September, 2020My street has recently been swarmed by flyers declaring “Say no to road closures!” zip-tied to lampposts and anywhere else they’ll go. There’s anger at Lambeth’s putting in a Low Traffic Neighbourhood, or LTN, and it’s loud, misplaced and from a minority of the population.

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How e-cargo bikes can deliver change | BikeBiz

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9th September 2020

Rebecca Morley examines how changing travel habits and online shopping trends will impact demand for e-cargo bike.

Demand for deliveries in 2020 is high – many people have been working from home and shopping online during COVID-19 and there’s potential for this trend to continue in the coming months.
And one option that might help, particularly in our cities, is the e-cargo bike. Even pre-COVID, their use had been growing rapidly as businesses looked for zero-emissions delivery solutions that can travel through congested streets faster than other vehicles. And earlier this year, funding was awarded to 18 local authorities from the £2 million eCargo Bike Grant Fund, funded by the DfT and delivered by Energy Saving Trust.

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