Author name: Steven Edwards

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How Urban Highway Removal Is Changing Our Cities – lincolninst.edu


Kathleen McCormick, April 14, 2020
lincolninst.edu
With the interstate highway system in its seventh decade, the condition of many urban highways in the United States has deteriorated. Crumbling viaducts and other unsafe conditions call for an urgent fix. But rebuilding is complicated by rising construction costs, higher engineering and safety standards, scant funding, and other factors.

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Angry residents on ‘rat race’ South London road demand 10mph speed limit mylondon.news


mylondon.news Robert Firth
Clapham residents living on “rat run” streets fear someone will get killed unless the speed limit is dropped to 10mph. Locals on Lynette Avenue and Klea Avenue have suffered years of nuisance from motorists who use their one lane streets as a short-cut to avoid traffic on main roads.
Drivers cut down their roads to get onto Clapham Common South Side – a main route into central London. The shortcut lets them avoid going through a congested junction with three sets of traffic lights. 

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Families given option to trade in car for bicycles under new pilot scheme – independent.co.uk


A city council in England is to give residents the power to trade in their family car for bicycles, under a new pilot scheme.
The programme, launched by Coventry City Council and Transport for West Midlands, is the first of its kind in the country and aims to cut air pollution by helping people travel more sustainably.
Under the scheme, which is open to people in the worst-polluted parts of Coventry, families are given a pre-loaded £3,000 cashcard if they give up their car for scrap.

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Nottingham is setting a revolution in motion – transportxtra.com


The Workplace Parking Levy enables Nottingham to invest in its future economic and environmental health, says Cllr Rosemary Healy 08 February 2022
Those who know Nottingham and its history will not be surprised that it is the first city in the country to introduce a workplace parking levy (WPL), and that tackling climate change and improving air quality are central to the council’s vision.
Over many years, Nottingham City Council has taken seriously tackling climate change and improving air quality. The workplace parking levy and wider public transport policy have been central to that journey.

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Slow-down in UK population growth raises questions for transport plans – transportxtra.com


Deniz Huseyin 31 January 2022
There is a growing number of older people in the UK
The UK’s population is growing at a slower rate than previously forecast, reveals a new report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The information will raise questions over transport planning decisions, for example in terms of demand forecasts and housing plans.
ONS National Population Projections point to a slower growth than in the 2018-based projections, 600,000 lower in mid-2030 and 1.8 million lower in mid-2045.
The population of the UK is projected to increase by 3.2% in the first 10 years of the projections, from an estimated 67.1 million in mid-2020 to 69.2 million in mid-2030.

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2021) New research on emissions strengthens case for a 20mph default urban speed limit – 20splenty.org


Rod King Oct 06, 2021
New research[1] from engineering consultants, Skyrad, models the impact of capping speeds at 20mph vs. 30mph. This “real life” modelling that takes account of the stop/start nature of urban traffic yields a very different result from traditional steady-state models. It shows significant and substantial reductions in emissions: CO2 lower by 26% and NOx 28% lower. With UK hosting COP26, campaigners are calling on governments to set 20mph or 30km/h limits as national urban/village defaults.
Although the auto industry is fully aware of the impact of acceleration on vehicle emissions, it does not publish the results. Basic physics means that 2.25 times more energy is required to reach 30mph than 20mph. When this is repeated in the real-world environment, where we slow down at junctions, crossings, congestion points and other hazards, acceleration becomes the dominant factor in overall journey emissions.

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Transport to blame for almost a quarter of UK’s emissions in 2020 – transportxtra.com


Juliana O’Rourke 02 February 

Transport emissions are biggest threat to UK net zero as figures show huge drop during lockdowns. Campaigners say £27bn on new roads threatens progress after such lockdown lows
Net territorial UK greenhouse gas emissions by NC sector, 2020 (%)
Figure 7 shows how the volume of traffic on the roads has changed over time in Great Britain, which reflects the trend seen for the UK as a whole
Coronavirus lockdowns left Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions 9.5% lower in 2020 compared to the year before, new official figures show — but fears have been expressed that rising transport pollution could threaten net zero targets. 

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We need to talk about road pricing – transportxtra.com


Zero emission vehicles should not mean zero tax revenue, says Transport Committee
07 February 2022
The UK faces a future of under-resourced and congested roads unless the government acts urgently to reform motoring taxation, warns the House of Commons Transport Committee. The MPs argue that a road pricing system, based on miles travelled and vehicle type, would enable the government to maintain the existing link between motoring taxation and road usage. In its new report, Road Pricing, the committee warns that it has not yet seen a viable alternative to a road charging system based on technology which measures road use.

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