Tube strike yesterday so dusted off the road bike for my Herts>Nth London commute. Quicker than driving, almost twice as fast as public transport. Really highlights the folly of forced car dependency.

Image of a planter used as a modal filter on a street. The planter has a large green sign on it which says "Road Open to" followed by symbols of pedestrians, a scooter rider, a wheelchair user and a bicycle.

This signage has become popular in the UK.

From Barcelona to Paris, cities thrive with women in charge. It’s all about sharing public space | Melissa and Chris Bruntlett Female mayors have had notable successes in making transport in urban areas benefit everyone, write Melissa and Chris Bruntlett, co-authors of Women Changing Cities

‘a minority of elected officials have demonstrated that opposition rarely reflects the true popularity of more inclusive urban transformation measures. In many cases, female leaders are spearheading change.’

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

From Barcelona to Paris, cities thrive with women in charge. It’s all about sharing public space | Melissa and Chris Bruntlett Female mayors have had notable successes in making transport in urban areas benefit everyone, write Melissa and Chris Bruntlett, co-authors of Women Changing Cities

“These success stories are a result of trailblazers seeking to meet the needs of everyone, not just those with the greatest means or loudest voices.”
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Rise in Speeding Fines Linked to More Drivers Breaking the Limit Speeding fines and convictions have risen sharply across the UK in recent years, with new figures indicating that more motorists are exceeding limits and more of them are being caught. Consumer expert...

Insightful reporting from the BBC here.

Rise in Speeding Fines Linked to More Drivers Breaking the Limit - BBC share.google/lf7lLRVmZCtA...

As ever @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social is spot on.

Can you imagine expecting a defect preventing people in cars from using a road having a standard 28 day wait to fix it?

If we are serious about inclusion, then our streets must work for children, older and disabled people all the time.

Parking is a huge problem and not because it's inadequate and costs too much: 'Abundant parking does not solve a transport problem; it creates one. Every space generates demand, spreads destinations further apart, and makes the alternatives - walking, cycling, and public transport - less viable".

The 15-minute city is often presented as convenience. It is, in fact, about access.

Access to jobs, services, and opportunity, especially for those who have the least.

If inclusion is not at the core, proximity alone is not progress.

Thank you UN-Habitat for sharing this image

I used a bike rack this weekend that exists because I complained about it not existing.

You can make things better, even just a little.

My article with a couple of photos of a destroyed dropped kerb, one showing it made safe with barriers, but unusable. If you need a plain text version, please let me know.

In the April edition of #HighwaysMagazine, I ponder a move to "maintaining accessibility" as being a better approach to faults within walking and wheeling space rather than "making safe".

So much of our language reflects
the common “car first” bias around our streets, & we should never forget that much of that language was the result of deliberate campaigns to specifically re-write our perspective of streets as “for cars only.” This is one of the more subtle, but important, examples.

The 2 new LTN areas in #Oxford have measurably reduced road casualties, including those on boundary roads.
By now, benefits are 100 fewer casualties and an economic benefit of over £7 million.
cohsat.org.uk/east-oxford-...

"They were so lucky I was looking"

Ummm no. Stopping in time for a child running onto the street is not heroic/lucky, it is your goddamn obligation as a driver. Cost of entry. Kids are allowed to be unpredictable, you are not.

This is our moment, we're on the cusp of a BIG win for pedestrians in England We know pavement parking is not only an irritation for many, but outrightly dangerous to wheelchair users, visually impaired people and parents walking their children to school. Write to your MP toda...

Call for action.

We all hate pavement parkers don't we as they're selfish morons.
Well here is a chance to influence action. There's a vote on Tuesday by MPs.
Please use this link to email you mp and ask them to vote for the amendment.
Shy bairns get nowt!
act.livingstreets.org.uk/page/189938/...

A graph showing the rise in citations for our 2023 motonormativity paper, up to 101 in total today

Given the considerable lags in the academic publishing process, I'm surprised and gratified by how rapidly motonormativity is becoming a thing in the literature

On The Level This week's post is inspired by a tweet by Brenda Puech about the difficulties faced by wheelchair users in negotiating footways which hav...

I wrote about this over a decade ago where I recounted learning from my principal engineer about how to do this right (and which stuck with me). Hilariously, I worked for one of Essex County Council's contracted districts at the time.

5/5

therantyhighwayman.blogspot.com/2015/05/on-l...

A YouGov survey of 2,099 UK adults, conducted on March 31 and April 1, indicated that driving less and increasing walking or cycling was more common than all other responses to the Iran oil crisis.

An image of a person with a pushchair down a residential street near inconsiderately parked cars. The person is wearing striped clothing and walking past a black car. The setting includes brick buildings and a view of houses on a hill in the background.

It's happening! 📢

On Tuesday, MPs will consider an amendment to enable local leaders to ban pavement parking in their area. We need you to help us get this amendment on to the Bill.

Ask your MP to agree to Amendment 265 when it's considered on Tuesday: https://bitly.livingstreets.org.uk/4tMU2Uq

Nearly 160,000 uninsured cars seized on UK roads Seizure numbers hit a 17-year high as an estimated 300,000 uninsured vehicles are driven each day.

Uninsured driving isn’t victimless. Offenders are 6–7x more likely to be in a fatal crash, and over half are linked to wider criminality—reflecting risk-taking, disregard for the law, or deception. It pushes up costs for honest drivers. Tackling it protects communities.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Districts with the most protected cycle lane access have more than three times as many women cycling to work as those with the least protected cycle lane access.

And districts with the most women who cycle to work have nearly six times as much protected cycle lane access as those with the fewest.

Thanks Exeter, good suggestions for St Albans City and District in this short thread.

Great thread, diving into the data on how wealthier people drive more (except London) and how we're not helping the poorest if we assume they drive

Antique photo of a man wearing a bowtie and knickers standing with a bicycle.

Author Henry James learned to ride the bicycle at age 52, and rode whenever he visited the countryside. He was a bit self-conscious due to his age and lack of prowess, however. He once wrote to a friend, "I too – deride me not – do it".

Happy #BicycleBirthday, Henry!
April 15 (1843-1916)

Bullshit Asymmetry Principle “Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.” - George Bernard Shaw.  Shaw’s warning seems more pertinent than ever, as we face growing amounts of misinform...

“The Bullshit Asymmetry Principle, also known as Brandolini’s Law, states that the amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it.”

Useful article. As we look at solutions though, our priority is demanding upstream leadership. #UrbanTruth

A bicycle towing a two-wheeled trailer viewed from behind. The combination just fits between the kerb of a road and the first of three speed cushions. If this was cycled out from the kerb, the cyclist would clatter over the speed cushion.

Here's why speed cushions should be outlawed.

Free public transport in the whole country!
Luxembourg not the UK.

This makes so much sense with fuel scarcity and rising prices.

Luxembourg has had free transport for 6 years!

Come on UK, do the right thing. #BeatTheFuelCrisis

www.luxembourgexpats.lu/stories/educ...

Grateful to see the concept of the 15-minute city highlighted by UN-Habitat.

This recognition reinforces the importance of proximity, equity, and sustainability in shaping more livable and inclusive urban environments.

Thankful to UN-Habitat for clearly illustrating the vision of the 15-minute city.

A city of proximity, where essential needs such as work, education, healthcare, and leisure are accessible within a short distance, represents a powerful model for more equitable and sustainable urban living.

Welsh Senedd reports huge success on 20mph roll-out Latest figures on the Welsh 20mph roll-out for restricted roads show huge reductions in collisions and casualties, with progress far outstripping England and Scotland on comparable networks.

Good to see Highways Magazine reporting on the success of the life-enhancing 20mph urban/village default in Wales that's proving to be one of the most effective road safety initiatives this century.

SUVs are making Britain’s potholes worse, say scientists Engineers link reduced lifespan of roads to shift to heavier cars, some bought to navigate damaged surfaces

The Institution of Civil Engineers says heavier vehicles are a factor in pothole formation and reducing the lifespan of roads.

😮 A record £18.6bn of #taxpayermoney now funds road repairs.

💪 Our #streetsforkids campaign pushes for fairer parking tariffs to discourage #carspreading

bit.ly/4vudtTK