Damian Carrington
Road-traffic noise significantly slows the development of crucial memory and attention skills in primary school children, research has found.
The study of almost 2,700 children aged between seven and 10 in 38 schools in Barcelona, Spain, is the first to assess the impact of traffic noise on child cognitive development over time and to determine the impact of peaks in noise.
Hey, SUV monsters – get off our roads! – Sussex Bylines
Walk down a busy street in most urban areas, particularly the more affluent parts, and you may feel somewhat besieged. Indeed, in many public spaces people are being displaced by an occupying force that grows more numerous by the year. I’m talking not about US military bases or extra-terrestrial colonisers, but a homegrown menace: so-called Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs).
Over the past decade, these gargantuan monstrosities have greatly increased their market share of new car sales – of which most people are all too aware. Why? It’s hardly as if roads have suddenly become unnavigable in ordinary saloon cars, or that more people are going for picnics in peat bogs. Well, like many ostentatious consumer trends, it’s a triumph of aggressive marketing.
LTNs only part of solution to cutting car use, says think tank – Transport Xtra
Although Low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) benefit local streets, they are not enough on their own to cut reliance on private cars, states a new report by Centre for London. They also do little to cut traffic on main roads and, in some cases, cause more traffic outside the schemes, adds the think tank.
The report, Street Shift: The Future of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, looked at the roll-out of LTNs by London boroughs in recent years. It found that LTNs reduce car traffic, increase walking and cycling, and make roads safer for all users. But the report argues that LTNs should be introduced alongside complementary measures including promoting cycle training, new public transport options, and a denser network of bike and scooter hire and car clubs.
UN Warns of ‘Total Societal Collapse’ Due to Breaching of Planetary Boundaries – Byline Times
A landmark report by the United Nations concludes that ‘global collapse’ is becoming more likely. But was it watered-down before being published?
When the United Nations published its 2022 ‘Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction’ (GAR2022) in May, the world’s attention was on its grim verdict that the world was experiencing an accelerating trend of natural disasters and economic crises. But not a single media outlet picked up the biggest issue: the increasing probability of civilisational collapse.
Low-traffic neighbourhoods make roads safer but need a rebrand – report | Road safety | The Guardian
Peter Walker
Low-traffic neighbourhoods boost cycling, reduce car use and make roads safer, but councils could do more to make the schemes more palatable and comprehensible to local people, the most thorough study yet of the concept has concluded.
The report by the Centre for London thinktank about the interventions, which use planters or other filters to stop through-traffic by motor vehicles on smaller residential streets, also found no evidence they disproportionately benefited richer people.
You’ve let the planet down, so we’re letting your tyres down – Sunday Times
Nicholas Hellen, Transport Editor 4/6/22
A young man in a mask crouches down by the back wheel of a Mercedes G-class, fiddles with the valve, inserts a single dried bean into the cap and pushes down. A few seconds later, as the air hisses out, he is walking nonchalantly away from the scene.
The G-class, or G-Wagon, which is 6ft 5in high, weighs 2½ tons and does only 26 miles to the gallon of diesel, is the brashest of SUVs . Even here, at midnight in Hampstead, where the streets are thick with Range Rovers, Land Rover Discoverys, Audi Q8s and BMW X5s, it is a trophy for those bent on making it socially unacceptable to own these vehicles in urban areas.
2021) Bigger vehicles are directly resulting in more deaths of people walking – Smart Growth America
Steve Davis April 12, 2021
You don’t need to read a research paper to know that more people are driving trucks and SUVs (sport utility vehicles) compared to 20 years ago, that today’s trucks and SUVs are significantly bigger than they were 10-20 years ago, or that they’re more dangerous for people walking, biking, or getting around with an assistive device. It’s intuitive.
1.5 million cycle commuters put off by lack of secure workplace storage
New research suggests that as many as 1.5 million cycle commuters are deterred by the lack of bike storage facilities at their workplace.
The research, carried out by Direct Line Cycling Insurance, reveals that commuters are being increasingly discouraged from cycling into work by a number of factors, with those who do ride to work often facing a dilemma regarding where to store their bike. The problem is indeed pronounced enough for business models to appear solely focused on alleviating the concern.
Car blocking a bike lane? You might be able to report it and make some money soon. – Austin Monitor
Thursday, June 9, 2022 by Samuel Stark
In an effort to help city employees cite vehicles for illegally blocking bike lanes, the Urban Transportation Commission unanimously approved a “bike lane bounty” program at its meeting Tuesday night.
The program, inspired by one in New York City, would allow Austinites to use the 311 mobile application to report photo evidence of cars obstructing bike lanes. The person reporting the infraction would then receive 25 percent of the revenue collected by the city for the citation.
Dott highlight the space-saving potential of e-bikes – Cycle Industry News
Simon Cox Wednesday, 1 June 2022
In the lead up to World Bike Day, a specially created ‘car frame’ was driven on Dott e-bikes around London, Paris and Brussels to highlight the space saving potential of e-bikes.
In London, if less than 1% switched from driving to cycling, over 88km of roads could be saved – more than the lengths of the North & South circulars combined.
In a press release The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, revealed the cost of traffic congestion to the capital:
• Traffic on London’s roads cost London’s economy £5.1bn a year, or £1,211 per driver
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