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• To submit your views by 1 October 2021.
Forget Low Traffic Neighborhoods, Planet Needs No Traffic Neighborhoods – Forbes
Carlton Reid 8/9/21
Let’s ban cars. Not just internal combustion-engined cars—that should happen within eight years anyway—but all of them. Sorry, Elon, even electric cars.
Too radical? OK, let’s keep some cars but instead dismantle all auto-centric roads installed since the 1920s. This isn’t as far-fetched as you might think. Plenty of places have demolished flyovers and have not seen any increase in congestion. The poster child of the “freeway removal” movement is the transformation of an elevated highway in the Cheonggyecheon district of Seoul, South Korea, successfully turned into a linear urban park in 2006.
There are many other examples, such as the removal in 2014 of the Belgrave Road flyover in Leicester and the dismantling of San Francisco’s double-decked Embarcadero Freeway following the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989.
Removing these roads didn’t result in any short- or long-term congestion. Predicted jams never materialized. Academics call this “traffic evaporation.” Just as building more roads leads to more use of those roads—induced demand has been well understood since 1866—removing them leads to a reduction in use.
Can direct action change transport – the largest source of emissions in Devon? – West Country Bylines
Caspar Hughes – 09/09/2021
There is a rich history of direct action targeting transport in the UK. Transport Action Network (TAN) evolved from the activists that took direct action to help stop the road building programme in the 90s.
Recently, I was in the unenviable position of organising two ‘die-ins’ in two cities. Maria Perez-Gonzalez and Dr Marta Krawiec were both killed whilst cycling by drivers in Exeter and London respectively. People in Exeter hadn’t organised or seen a protest like this previously, Stop Killing Cyclists has been organising them in London since 2013. I got involved at the die-in for Ying Tao in 2016, when thousands of people lay down and filled Bank Junction in the heart of the financial centre of the world.
Do You Really Need A Car? | Why E Bikes Could Be The Future Of Personal Transport – YouTube
New Thames tunnel will make London pollution worse, warn climate activists | The Guardian
Campaigners say Sadiq Khan’s support for a four-lane road under the river is at odds with his environmental aims
Harriet Sherwood 11/9/21
Burrowing deep under the Thames, Silvertown tunnel is scheduled as the first new road link across the capital’s river for 30 years. But, the four-lane highway, due to be completed in 2025, is about to become the focus of environmental protests in the lead-up to the Cop26 global climate summit in Glasgow in November.
Preliminary construction work has begun and tunnelling is due to begin next spring, but campaigners insist it is not too late to halt the £1bn-plus engineering project and are planning protests at both ends of the tunnel later this month.
First Impressions: Life With a Blix Packa Genie E-Cargo Bike – TreeHugger
Spoiler: It does not disappoint.
When I first wrote about my life with a Blix Aveny e-bike, I spent almost as much time talking about the basket on the front, the luggage rack on the back, and the in-built lights that literally never run out of charge as I did the very capable electric motor. And that was for good reason. While the presence of electric assist is a huge, ahem, boost—especially in car-centric traffic—I am also a big believer in bikes that are built for practical, day-to-day jobs.
I was excited, then, when Blix reached out to see if I’d review the Blix Packa Genie—a beast of a cargo bike that we previewed a few weeks back. Before I get into my experiences with this monster, here are some highlighted features:
Extinction Rebellion UK on Instagram: “IT’S HAPPENING NOW (sound on)
Over the last month we’ve seen major cities flooded, we’ve seen famine caused by rising temperatures…”
IT’S HAPPENING NOW (sound on)
Over the last month we’ve seen major cities flooded, we’ve seen famine caused by rising temperatures, species have continued to go extinct, and extreme weather events have disrupted communities.
WE’RE IN A CLIMATE EMERGENCY
Over the last weeks thousands of people from all across the UK have come together to take mass nonviolent civil disobedience, to pressure the government to act now to stop the harm, starting with ending all new fossil fuel investments, and to invite a citizens’ assembly to come to the table. We need a group that is representative of the UK to decide the policies and protections we need now as we face code red warnings from scientists, health experts, industry, and international government panels.
CHANGE IS NOW #ActNow #ComeToTheTable #ExtinctionRebellion
Rebel For Life Extinction Rebellion Links in bio for how to join us
2019) Earth at 2° hotter will be horrific. Now here’s what 4° will look like. | David Wallace-Wells – YouTube
Earth at 2° hotter will be horrific. Now here’s what 4° will look like. | David Wallace-Wells
eCargo Bike Grant Fund information – Energy Saving Trust
The eCargo Bike Grant Fund 2021/22 is open for applications. Apply here.
£400,000 has been made available by the DfT in 2021/22 for the purchase of ecargo bikes, to support businesses switching to a sustainable transport solution.
For more information please see the Eligibility Criteria and Code of Practice.
The application deadline is 14 December 2021. The claim deadline is 14 February 2022. eCargo bikes do not need to have been delivered for the grant to be paid.
One in five Europeans exposed to harmful noise pollution – study | Health | The Guardian
Fiona Harvey
Excessive noise can cause physical and mental illness, and is associated with higher levels of heart disease, stress and sleeplessness. About 12,000 premature deaths are caused by noise in Europe each year, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA), while noise contributes to about 48,000 cases of ischaemic heart disease.
Wildlife is also affected: a study last year showed noise hampers birds’ ability to communicate, and can stop them from mating.
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