Laura Laker and Adam Tranter are joined by London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, Will Norman, to assess progress so far and interrogate whether the ambition matches delivery. We explore falling casualty rates, the expansion of cycle infrastructure, and the role of 20mph limits and vehicle safety standards, while asking tougher questions about enforcement, policing, and political headwinds.

The conversation also tackles some of the more contentious issues shaping London’s streets today, from SUVs and side-road zebras to the future of cycling in central London and the balance between different road users.

You can read more about London's Vision Zero Action Plan 2 here: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/protecting-our-network/road-safety/vision-zero-for-london

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In early 2025 Laura interviewed women on the London Cycling Campaign’s Women’s Freedom Ride, a mass ride, after dark, to highlight the safety concerns women face when cycling in London - and how some of the capital’s routes just don’t feel that safe at night.

At the time the Women's Network had just launched a report that showed almost a quarter, 24%, of the city’s cycle routes did not feel safe at night. This meant routes that were isolated, and in some cases poorly lit. The Network’s previous research found that a third of women stop cycling in winter because of safety issues. It also revealed the shocking levels of harassment some women experience on the streets.

Unfortunately some of the audio from that ride was unusable because of the challenges of cycling while recording - so undeterred, a year later Laura went out to gather more recordings and find out what has happened for women's safety in the last year. 

In January 2026, Laura went along to the opening of an almost-finished cycle lane and two junction redesigns at one of London’s worst collision hotspots, at Lambeth Bridge. 

This was sadly the site of a fatal collision in which art designer Moira Gemmill, was killed while cycling in 2015, when a distracted lorry driver turned into her path.

This episode Laura spoke to:

Kate Bartlett, the mastermind behind the London Cycling Campaign’s Women’s Network’s on-the-ground research around the social safety of London’s cycle infrastructure

Zoe Garbett, Green London Assembly Member 

Kerena Fussell, London Cycling Campaign Women’s Network 

Deborah from Leytonstone, LCC Women’s Network

Natalie Lyndsey, on the Board of Trustees of the London Cycling Campaign

Helen Cansick, head of safe and healthy streets investment planning for Transport for London

Will Norman, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner

Coverage of the LCC Women's Network's first report from 2024 https://nla.london/news/what-stops-women-cycling-in-london

The London Cycling Campaign’s Women’s Network report, Women’s Freedom After Dark, 2025: https://lcc.org.uk/news/womens-freedom-after-dark/

Moira Gemmill’s death at the hands of a distracted lorry driver: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-39027676

Work to improve Lambeth Bridge for cycling https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2025/january/tfl-begins-next-phase-of-work-to-improve-safety-at-lambeth-bridge

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And with the political landscape more fractured than ever, active travel is on the political agenda again. The fractures caused by budget cuts can show up as U-turns on cycling and walking policy and sudden losses of confidence in local authorities in the face of public challenge. Can local authorities in the UK learn from politicians steps and missteps, and can campaigners help steel them for the road ahead?

Ned's adventures in India: https://shows.acast.com/never-strays-far/episodes/never-strays-raj-a-cycling-passage-to-india

Laura's Substack post on the Newham mayoral elections: https://substack.com/home/post/p-185413267

And the news last month that Tower Hamlets mayor, Lutfur Rahman's bid to remove Low Traffic Neighbourhoods would be unlawful https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3kkven14no

That clip of Zohran Mamdani fixing a bike lane on the Williamsburg Bridge: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7F8ZVOfjS2o

One Telegraph columnist's recent take on 15-minutes cities as a 'Stalinist plot': https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/f337a3f300adace0

And finally, if you want to ask Ned, Adam and Laura questions for a forthcoming episode, find us on social media or email us on streetsahead@fusion-media.co.uk.

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The government recently ended a consultation on CWIS3 but, frustratingly, the proposals lacked any investment or much strategy. There were no SMART targets, or any outputs, i.e. routes; simply the unachievable outcome that by 2035 walking, wheeling and cycling will be "a safe, easy and accessible option for everyone". Road Investment Strategies, by contrast, focus heavily on routes and infrastructure, so why do we treat walking, wheeling and cycling differently?

Xavier Brice has been CEO of the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust since 2016. In 2007 Brice led the development of a new walking and cycling strategy for London, with Transport for London.

This month Adam, Laura and Xavier Brice coordinated an open letter to the Secretary of State supporting a better CWIS3. That letter was signed by more than 50 organisations across health, active travel and beyond. It asked that central government maps a true national network of routes by 2030, and sets targets to deliver that network to a proper, accessible standard by 2050.

You can read the letter here: https://bsky.app/profile/adamtranter.bsky.social/post/3m7fv3vhyks2r

The letter was covered in the Guardian by Peter Walker: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/dec/12/drivers-cyclists-transport-policy-conservatives-culture-wars-road-safety 

Shortly after that, Walker interviewed transport minister, Lilian Greenwood, about the importance of 'creating a system that works for everyone': https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/dec/12/drivers-cyclists-transport-policy-conservatives-culture-wars-road-safety

Laura’s Freedom of Information requests to English local authorities found just 2 per cent had used legal powers to purchase land - something that's done routinely for roads https://substack.com/home/post/p-178788505

And her article on CWIS3: https://lauralaker.substack.com/p/a-cycling-and-walking-strategy-walks

The Walk, Wheel Cycle Trust has been improving the National Cycle Network (NCN). In 2023/24 1.7km of an off-road muddy track connecting the residential area of Newton, in West Doncaster, to Danum retail park, was widened (on NCN62), with seven barriers removed or redesigned, along with improved wayfinding and signage. Estimated annual usage rose by 196% according to the Walk, Wheel Cycle Trust, from 150,000 trips in 2022 to 450,000 in 2024. Pedestrian and cycling trips increased by 191% and 192% respectively, while other users increased by 270%. Another path improvement project in Redcar and Cleveland saw ten barriers removed on NCN1 and NCN68. Wheelchair user trips increased four-fold, from 200 to 800, with 100% of disabled users saying they now use the route as the most convenient option.

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Despite cross party, and public support, no decisions have been made by any of the intervening four prime ministers’ governments.

In the meantime local authorities in Scotland began enforcing its pavement parking law, passed in 2019, with some success. There, drivers can be fined £100 for these parking behaviours; reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days.

To discuss what went wrong in England, we have Tanya Braun, Living Streets’ Director of External Affairs and Fundraising. Living Streets has long campaigned to ban pavement parking; for decades, in fact - see March 2025's episode, interviewing veteran walking campaigner Terence Bendixson.

Ned, Laura and Adam discuss with Tanya the way forward - and the impact of the hiatus on action, which hits very close to home for Ned.

Living Streets has produced a map of ‘pavement parking hotspots’, which people can add problem locations to. More than 1500 people have added photos of vehicles left parked on pavements in a new campaign organised by the charity. Manchester and Oxford are among the worst offenders, with nearly 200 pins across Greater Manchester, they say. Their campaign is here: https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/get-involved/end-pavement-parking-in-england/ 

Those worst affected by pavement parking are people with disabilities - wheelchair users who might not be able to get past a parked vehicle, and those with visual impairments, who can’t see if it’s safe to step out into the road. People with children, buggies, mobility aids, elderly people, are just some of the vulnerable road users hampered by blocked pavements. Some people might choose not to leave their house. 21% of the population identify as having a disability

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This time, Adam and Laura were in Lisbon, Adam’s new home, to look into some of the transport challenges ahead of the upcoming mayoral elections. 

Portugal has one of western Europe's worst road safety records and its roads are at least twice as lethal as Spain's. Portuguese cities disproportionately feature in fatal collisions (57%) compared to the European average (38%).

Ahead of Lisbon’s mayoral elections, there's a divide between the main candidates: the socialist party's (PS) Alexandra Leitão, who Streets Ahead interviewed, who rather ambitiously wants to eliminate all road traffic deaths in just five years, up against incumbent Carlos Moedas (PSD), on the right of centre. We also spoke to campaigners and those running for office, headlining road safety in their campaigns. 

Three quarters of Lisbon’s cycle network requires improvement, according to Portugal’s motoring association ACP: https://www.acp.pt/o-clube/revista-acp/noticias-do-clube/detalhe/mais-de-75-da-rede-ciclavel-de-lisboa-exige-melhorias 

Air pollution in Portugal has increased and the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the country failed to fulfil its obligations to tackle this https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:62022CJ0220.

Some comparisons between Portugal and the rest of Europe in road collision injuries and death https://road-safety.transport.ec.europa.eu/document/download/489f6875-12a4-421a-93fd-eb05acc2f589_en?filename=erso-country-overview-2023-portugal_0.pdf 

In this episode, we spoke to:

Alexandra Leitão, mayoral candidate https://viverlisboa2025.pt/ (Viver Coalition)

Francisco Costa and Pedro Franco (Livre Party, part of Viver Coalition); local campaigners who want less traffic and slower speeds to improve pollution and safety

And Mário Alves, Secretary General, International Federation of Pedestrians; a leading member of MUBi, the Portuguese association for urban mobility; and a transport and mobility specialist.

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All of our interviewees Laura collared at the Velo-City conference in Gdansk in June. Show notes are below for each of them.

Mark Ostrow from Seattle on expanding his efforts from creating one safe street to joining a citywide campaign, Seattle Neighbourhood Greenways. Mark credits advocate Cathy Tuttle, Senator Emily Alvarado, and legislator Julia Reed for backing him and his ideas. Seattle greenways aren’t what you’d think they might be…www.seattlegreenways.org

Henna Palosaari - Norway, cycle tourism expert, bike adventurer and content creator focusing on sustainable tourism and adventure marketing. Henna tells her story of the journey from novice bikepacker to advocate for mapping off-road adventure routes at a national level. https://www.velo-city-conference.com/en/programme/speakers/henna-palosaari/

Carolina Cominotti - Barcelona, Spain. Citizen engagement officer at the European Institute of Innovation and Technology for Urban Mobility. Her project TandEM Women in Cycling https://engage.eiturbanmobility.eu/processes/tandemwomen?locale=en. Carolina talks of her work empowering women to cycle more and breaking down barriers to cycling access for women, from community to infrastructure and the life-changing power of this work.

Anke Schȁffner - Chief Policy Officer for the German cycle industry Zweirad Industrie Verband (Bicycle Industry Association) speaks about the transformation of e-bikes' reputation and popularity in Germany, why bikes serve women so poorly and the untapped, and unmeasured, power of cycle tourism for the economy. https://www.ziv-zweirad.de/

Anuradha Shrestha, an educator and advocate in Nepal, working with NGO Cycle City Network Nepal (CCNN) for the past decade, which trains women to cycle and to train other women. Anuradha speaks of the culture of celebration in Nepal and the need to train the trainers to maintain sustainable cycling growth - as well as the importance of community in fostering that growth. https://cyclecity.org.np/

The book, Bikes and Bloomers, uncovers the Victorian women who invented clothing to cycle https://bikesandbloomers.com/book/

More about the conference, which is held in Rimini, Italy, 16-19 June 2026 https://www.velo-city-conference.com/

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Streets aren't only about transport, of course. Importantly, they're about climate, equity, social life, and how we experience a city day-to-day.

To explore this expanded view, we’ve put together four conversations with global thought-leaders shaping the future of our streets:

• Maria Vassilakou: The former Green Vice Mayor of Vienna, who led a decade of transformation in public space, mobility, and citizen participation. Under her leadership, Vienna became a model for affordable, accessible public transport.
• Demetrio Scopelliti: Architect and Director of Urban Planning and Public Space at Milan’s AMAT agency, working on the front lines of environmental and spatial transformation in one of Europe’s major cities.
• Agustina Martire: Architect, Reader at Queen’s University Belfast, specialised in the study of everyday streets, their fabric, histories and experiences, through the StreetSpace project. She is especially interested in the way people experience the built environment and how design can enable a more inclusive and just urban space.
• David Sim: Architect and author of Soft City: Building Density for Everyday Life. David brings a human-scale lens to urban design and planning. David talks about designing for comfort, connection, and how good cities make us feel.

More about the conference: thefuturedesignofstreets.eu

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Melissa is an urbanist, author, and founder of Modacity, an urban mobility consultancy - and one half of urbanist power couple, Chris and Melissa Bruntlett. 

Melissa and Chris have authored two books to date, Building the Cycling City, and Curbing Traffic. Their social media posts from around the world feature positive examples of change, and inspiration for other cities and advocates. Originally from Canada, the couple have settled in the Netherlands, and often share experiential learning from one of the world’s greatest cycling nations.  

The book's narrative begins with pandemic street changes, and asks what was going on, beyond the public health emergency, that allowed the urban landscape to change? Why can cities do things differently at certain points in time, and how are women a part of that. The Bruntletts argue it's about listening and being humble, and taking that listening and humility with you into streetspace solutions. There are stories from leadership in Paris, Barcelona, Montreal and Bogota. There is also a grassroots angle, looking at a groundswell from young people in Manila, that spurred bike lanes in the city.

The book: Women Changing Cities: Global Stories of Urban Transformation, by Melissa and Chris Bruntlett, is out in October 2025: https://www.ribabooks.com/Women-Changing-Cities-Global-stories-of-urban-transformation_9781915722409

Melissa's project, Modacity Creative: https://modacitycreative.com/

Melissa and Chris' work: https://www.modacitylife.com/

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Links from the show:

The Robert Frost poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42891/stopping-by-woods-on-a-snowy-evening

Cycling superstar, Cat Ferguson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Ferguson

The Spending Review: https://transportactionnetwork.org.uk/spending-review-cuts-active-travel-funding-by-40/

Transport for New Homes' research on car dependency in new housing. https://www.transportfornewhomes.org.uk/the-project/building-car-dependency/ and its award for the Bath Riverside housing development: https://www.transportfornewhomes.org.uk/transport-for-new-homes-award-bath-riverside/

And the recent e-bike report, by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Walking and Cycling, authored by Laura Laker: https://appgcw.org/resources/inquiries/unregulated-and-unsafe-the-threat-of-illegal-e-bikes/

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Active travel is sometimes associated with busy urban bike lanes and bustling city pavements. But rural areas’ transport needs are as, if not more acute. With fewer buses or rail services, and longer distances to travel along fast-moving country roads, people in small towns and villages tend to have few alternatives to the car. Rural car-dependence is high, rural transport poverty is higher. And while inter-urban paths connecting nearby settlements could offer transport independence from youth to old age, funding and delivering such connections can be fiendishly hard. 

Laura also spoke to Joaquim Muntane, Technical Lead (Movement and Place) at Oxfordshire County Council about their plans to deliver a network of greenways linking 60 settlements with the city of Oxford.

PJA’s vision is to create better places through great design. They bring together place-led transport planning, civil engineering and environmental solutions, partnering with developers, landowners and national and local government to enable good growth in urban and rural places. You can find out more: https://pja.co.uk/ 

Some issues we covered in this week's episode:

Lives will be lost without better routes, say MPs: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1elnwn09vno; from a Parliamentary debate on rural cycling: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2024-12-10/debates/C12E8986-6FA2-4C57-98B8-2FC6F289C627/RuralCyclingInfrastructure

Faversham's town-wide 20mph: https://pja.co.uk/2020/07/01/pja_faversham_20mph/

English cycle route standards, LTN 1/20: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycle-infrastructure-design-ltn-120

The planning and Infrastructure Bill https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-planning-and-infrastructure-bill/guide-to-the-planning-and-infrastructure-bill

Oxfordshire's Greenways Plan https://letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxford-greenways

Cambridgeshire Greenways plan https://www.greatercambridge.org.uk/sustainable-transport-programme/active-travel-projects/greater-cambridge-greenways 

The decade-long B4044 path campaign https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/24718917.cycle-lane-oxford-step-closer-10-year-campaign/

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In countries around the world white stripes, painted on the roads where side streets meet main roads, give pedestrians confidence, and drivers a reminder, that pavement users have the priority. However, in the UK any 'zebra crossing' as we call them, needs a flashing orange beacon and zig-zag lines at either side, to be legal on the roads. While 40 times cheaper to deliver, and tried and tested worldwide, 'side road zebras' without the lights or extra lines have been rattling around the pinball machine of British transport legislation for around eight years, so far without an outcome. While they exist in supermarket car parks without incident, the public roads are a different matter.

Chris Boardman, England's walking and cycling commissioner, talks to Adam and Laura about the idea, which he's backed for some time, first working in Manchester as active travel commissioner, and now, in the national role. While he says caution in transport policy helps stop stupid things happening, he believes it is now the time to move forward. For context, we've had six transport ministers in the time it's taken to mull this issue.

Adam and Laura also spoke to Westminster City Council's Cabinet Member for Streets, Max Sullivan. Max is overseeing trials of ten side road zebras in the heart of London, including outside the Houses of Parliament and the Department for Transport's HQ, which he says is a coincidence.

A whopping 29% of pedestrians have been hit or nearly hit by a driver at a side road. Trials in Greater Manchester found drivers give way at side roads 30% more when there's a side road zebra. Additional polling found 76 per cent of parents of 4-11-year-olds would feel safer about their child walking to school (or allowing them to walk independently) if there were zebra crossings on side roads.

We also visit the issue of pedestrianisation of Oxford Street by the mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, against Westminster City Council's wishes.

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Foley, a London-based journalist, founded the Pedestrians Association in 1929, when motor vehicles were proliferating; he was concerned about the dangers they posed. In 1939 Evelyn Waugh described Piccadilly Circus as 'still as a photograph, broken and undisturbed'.

In its early years the charity shaped road safety law, including the introduction of the first Highway Code and the driving test, 30mph speed limits and pedestrian crossings. Post-war 'The Peds' were involved in the first zebra crossings and the new offence of drink driving As TransportXtra reports.

Terence Bendixson was part of the hugely successful Homes before Roads movement, as told by Steve Chambers, of Transport for New Homes https://planningtransport.co.uk/2020-03-08-homes-before-roads.html. Bendixson's book, Instead of Cars, is 50 this year:

On Living Streets’ pavement parking campaign; on CEO Catherine Woodhead being appointed in April 2024.

Ben Plowden joined in the late 90s; he and Bendixson applied to the Esmee Fairburn Trust for £69,000, which paid for premises, staff and a rebrand. Plowden became CEO of CPRE in 2025.

Dr Amit Patel: https://www.dramit.uk/; On removal of the Leicester flyover .

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The Government has announced that growth is its key priority and followed up with its backing of major transport projects, such as the expansion of Heathrow Airport. We ask: do big transport projects always lead to growth, and at what cost?

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While some riders favour the flexibility of the work, more than half of gig economy workers earn less than the minimum wage, and the per-job rate on app-based delivery work can vary by 45% - and this exploitative scenario is worsening. Meanwhile the law backs the app firms, by classifying riders as self-employed, and as such they don’t qualify for sick pay, holiday pay or even a minimum wage.

The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain fought for six years to have Deliveroo riders classified as workers, before losing the case in the supreme court in November 2023.

Laura, Ned and Adam talk to Callum Cant, a British author, researcher and labour rights advocate Cant wrote about his time as a delivery rider in his book Riding for Deliveroo: Resistance in the New Economy. Laura also meets a delivery rider who seems happy with his work, despite earning far less than the minimum wage.

Links:

You can buy Callum's book here https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/riding-for-deliveroo-resistance-in-the-new-economy-cant/1684228

'Opaque' algorithms' impact on working lives: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/20/food-delivery-apps-ubereats-deliveroo-justeat-urged-to-reveal-how-algorithms-affect-uk-courierss-work and https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/21/its-a-nightmare-couriers-mystified-by-the-algorithms-that-control-their-jobs

Half of gig economy workers earn less than minimum wage https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/may/11/half-of-uk-gig-economy-workers-earn-below-minimum-wage-study-reveals 

Spanish riders' law ends 'false freelancers': https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/03/delivery-app-glovo-bends-to-spains-riders-law-will-hire-thousands-of-couriers/

An AI system used by the UK government incorrectly singles out certain groups for benefit fraud investigations: https://ti-insight.com/briefs/delivery-drivers-set-to-gain-more-rights-under-new-eu-law/

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A bike bus is simply a group ride to school, with both adults and kids joining at different points on set days, similar to a school bus. Except everyone pedals, or wheels their way together. Some bike buses are weekly, some fortnightly, some monthly. The idea is to make the cycle, wheel or scoot to school safe and fun - and to spread the word that cycling to school is possible.

Bike buses began in earnest in 2019, with a handful of pioneers riding to school in groups. Our own Adam Tranter ran a bike bus with his wife and kids after fellow parents expressed an interest in their cargo bike commute: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2019/10/11/pr-company-bosses-lead-20-child-pedal-posse-to-show-council-that-cycling-to-school-is-unsafe/

As pandemic-era school streets were introduced by more and more councils in the UK, restricting motor traffic at the school gates for the start and end of the academic day, more streets felt safe for cycling, and more families formed their own bike buses. There are now an estimated 70 of them - at least those that are publicly advertised.

Because a bike bus is simply people riding to school together, not all of them publicise their activities. They can be as informal as a few parents or carers and their kids getting together.

Some bike buses are registered on www.bikebus.org - there are an estimated 50 of these, for inspiration.

Thank you to Hamish Belding, for his advice for this episode. You can follow Hamish's adventures here: https://bsky.app/profile/bikewalkscoot.bsky.social

FRideDays Bike Bus is hosted by active travel charity Sustrans, and offers support for organisers, with materials like marshal tabards and a free guide. Find out more here: https://www.sustrans.org.uk/campaigns/fridedays-bike-bus/. There are around 20 of these bike buses. Hamish says Cardiff x 8, Swansea, Caerphilly, Pembroke, Plymouth, Cheshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Dorset, Reading, London and Edinburgh. There are more Bike Buses in pipeline to be launched during Spring/Summer term – potentially in London, Wolverhampton, Tonbridge and Cardiff.

Thank you to Better Streets for Newham for the photo of Ned in action: https://bsky.app/profile/betterstsnewham.bsky.social

Thank you for tuning in for 2024! We appreciate all of our listeners and supporters and look forward to more adventures in 2025.

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Laura and Adam spoke to Jane Harris, spokesperson for Save Our Safer Streets and Ricardo Gama, senior associate solicitor at Leigh Day.

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With UK prisons full to bursting, people like Stef, along with prison staff themselves, try to break the cycle of reoffending that sees an estimated 55% of those released going on to re-offend. That figure is halved if someone has a job to go to – but it’s not an easy journey. Pentonville Prison houses those on remand, often awaiting sentencing decisions or hearings. A rehabilitation programme is challenging in this transitory population, but the team behind XO Bikes, including ex-prison officer, Paul, have defied expectations and are working with people as they return to regular life, to try to give them a fresh start.  

Ned and Laura meet a prisoner working towards a brighter future, and talk with the XO team about the power of bikes to give people a second chance in life. It’s an experience Ned and Laura won’t forget, and they hope you won’t either.

Find out more about XO Bikes here: https://xobikes.com/

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We discuss how the story happened, what it means for active travel - and why the wider media picked up on it so extensively. Helping us navigate this is Henry Zeffman, the BBC's Chief Political Correspondent and contributor to BBC Newscast.

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What followed, within two years, was the rollout of an impressive 34 miles of routes that met, campaigners say, 90% of the brief given to city officials. Even previously reluctant boroughs, they say, were persuaded to do their part. In addition, 20,000 new cycle parking spaces, many but not all temporary, were introduced. Some cycleways are shared bus lanes, but for the most part what's been built is dedicated cycle lanes.

We would like to thank Paris en Selle's Corentin Roudaut, who used his lunch break from his day job to give Streets Ahead listeners a tour of the rapid transformation over the last two years.

Find out more about Paris en Selle's advocacy work: https://parisenselle.fr. The campaign group even produced their own guide to help Games visitors get around during the Olympics https://parisenselle.fr/2024/07/17/cycle-around-paris-during-the-olympics/

Read Laura's CityLab piece about Paris' Olympic cycling transformation: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-24/paris-summer-olympics-2024-cycling-at-the-games-bike-lanes-parking-sharing

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John Simmerman, of the Active Towns podcast and YouTube channel, joins Adam and Laura at the start of a two month European odyssey, to talk about his work promoting active lives in the US.

John spent the first 15 years of his career promoting healthy living among employees in the corporate world, before shifting his focus to the built environment and its impact on health. In the USA, roads and motor traffic dominate public space, and interstate freeways divide and segregate communities, often along racial and socioeconomic lines. John's videos and podcast promote the benefits of walkable, bikeable costs both in terms of health and beyond, to quality of life and community vibrancy.

Links:

You can find out more about Active Towns, and John's work, here: https://www.activetowns.org; and his YouTube channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/activetowns

Euclid, it turns out, is a US village where zoning powers were first established by a local government.

And Adam shared that Simpsons clip on Twitter a while back: https://twitter.com/i/status/1347530929816932353

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Potholes and Pavements: A Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network is the story of the UK's fitful, sometimes painful transformation from a car-dependent nation of villages, towns and cities into a connected, bikeable network of communities.

It's out on 9th May at all good bookstores. Go and get a copy!

Buy: https://linktr.ee/lauralakerpotholesandpavements

For in-person events, head to laura-laker.com/book.

-

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You can read the Low Traffic Neighbourhood review here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/low-traffic-neighbourhood-review

In the episode, Adam mentioned there wasn't reference to air quality on boundary roads. The report actually said the view is mixed: "LTNs have succeeded in improving air quality on internal roads but this benefit has not always been shared with boundary locations which show a mix of minimal reductions, no reductions and some increases in emissions of air pollutants."

The fourth location for the LTN review was Wigan, in addition to London, Birmingham and York.

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Thanks to Chris from the Thames Explorer Trust for being our guide.

There’s also some extra bonus content on our new Patreon. That’s right - if you want ad-free listening, behind-the-scenes and bonus content and to help support the podcast - head to (https://www.patreon.com/StreetsAheadPodcast). We’ll even send you some stickers! 

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In this episode Laura travels to north London for a celebration of possibly the UK's first on-street dedicated secure cargo bike parking, joining about 50 other cargo bike fans. She talks to wanna-be cargo bike parents, disabled cyclists and those behind the new cycle hangar, to discuss why cities need more of this kind of thing - and what happens when it's not there.

There’s also some extra bonus content on our new Patreon. That’s right - if you want ad-free listening, behind-the-scenes and bonus content and to help support the podcast - head to (https://www.patreon.com/StreetsAheadPodcast). We’ll even send you some stickers! 

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There’s also some extra bonus content on our new Patreon. That’s right - if you want ad-free listening, behind-the-scenes and bonus content and to help support the podcast - head to (https://www.patreon.com/StreetsAheadPodcast). We’ll even send you some stickers! 

In late 2023 Laura travelled to Barcelona by train from London. She was curious about the superblocks programme which involved some of the city’s streets being pedestrianised, leaving others as thoroughfares for motor traffic, and introducing things like greenspace and seating to the inner roads. Starting in 2022, streets in the Eixample district were transformed for walking and cycling, with a focus on cutting air pollution, overheating in summer and improving accessibility.

On those streets, people can still drive in and out, but through traffic is discouraged. While I was there I met Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, a researcher and professor in urban and transport planning, environment and health, and Director of the Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative, and Head of the Climate, Air Pollution, Nature and Urban Health at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health. Mark has quantified, in his research, the toll poor urban and transport planning has on the environment and health - and some of it is pretty scary. Mark was a delight to interview and I’m excited to share this episode with you.

You can find some of Mark Nieuwenhuijsen’s research here:

Street pedestrianization in urban districts: Economic impacts in Spanish cities https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S026427512100367X  

Superblocks’ impact on health, local climate and economy https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019315223?via%3Dihub 

PASTA research https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/6/1/e009924

Mark's current research can be found here https://ubdpolicy.eu/

About the current Superblocks https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/superilles/es/content/asi-seran-las-nuevas-plaza-y-ejes-verdes-eixample 

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>> Oh, and we're on Patreon! If you'd like to support Streets Ahead, get ad-free listening, behind-the-scenes content AND receive wonderful stickers, please head to:

https://www.patreon.com/StreetsAheadPodcast <<

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For the past decade Cllr Loakes has led his borough's transformation for walking and cycling. Waltham Forest is very much no longer a forest, in North-East London, but has become world famous for its Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, people-friendly high streets and for pioneering high-quality cycle lanes and transforming massive car-dominated junctions in outer London for active travel.

During the podcast we talk about political courage, and what the borough has achieved since Clyde's team won an unprecedented £27m from Transport for London back in 2013 for its 'Mini Holland' programme. We discuss how ultimately this kind of transformation, while hard, is possible - even in the most car-centric of places. We discuss the role of a range of players, from campaigners on the outside, to the political and officer support within the council - and the importance of listening to genuine concerns from the public.

In a speech in 2018, Cllr Loakes said: ‘I spent years talking about encouraging a shift to bikes and walking without actually doing the things that make a difference. If I am honest - I was tinkering with parking schemes and pandering to car owners. I was not delivering for our community. Then I got a chance to do something extraordinary. We won our Better Waltham Forest mini-Holland bid with low traffic neighbourhoods and protected bike lanes . We had signed up to deliver a huge public health implementation at pace.’ He added: ‘For too long we, in fact I, as a councillor had been focused on maintaining a status quo that did nothing for anyone. But now we have done something extraordinary, a radical intervention that puts people first.’

Thank you to Dan at the Wanstead Tap, to everyone who turned out on a rainy Monday night in December, to join us live, and to Pedal Me who cycled our equipment across London.

The Healthy Streets Scorecard, which ranks London boroughs based on people-friendly measures, can be found here: https://www.healthystreetsscorecard.london/

*That* coffin picture is here: https://twitter.com/mthrel/status/1402221590167838722

Clyde Loakes is on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Labourstone

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Shayoni Lynn is founder of Lynn Group, a ‘communications consultancy, powered by behavioural science’. They specialise in helping organisations avoid their work being the subject of disinformation, including those involved in vaccine rollout and mental health services. She authored an article on why sometimes, engaging with disinformation online is the last thing we should be doing, and explains to Streets Ahead other ways of ensuring measures to improve our health and reduce our impact on the environment, aren't foundered by falsehoods.

Lynn Global has worked with the Welsh government on the rollout of default 20mph speed limits in built-up areas, the biggest policy the Senedd has enacted so far, and one not without its share of disinformation. Shayoni Lynn explains how our very nature as humans make us susceptible to misinformation and what we can do about it as individuals, as organisations and as nations.

This blog discusses why sometimes, engaging with disinformation online is the last thing you want to do: https://lynn.global/the-dangers-of-debating-misinformation/

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Working for the law firm Hugh James, Polly represented the family of Frankie Jules-Hough, a pregnant mother-of-two who was killed by a speeding driver who filmed himself driving in excess of 100mph, in May.

In 2022 judges were given the power to hand greater sentences to those convicted of causing death by dangerous driving. With the powers coming into effect in summer 2023, Frankie’s tragic death was widely seen as a test. 

Despite Adil Iqbal’s driving being described by the judge as "the worst case of bad driving any of us can recall", Iqbal initially received a 12 year sentence. This was overturned at the court of appeal in October, as unduly lenient, following a campaign by the family, and extended to 15 years. 

Ms Jules-Hough’s partner, Calvin Buckley, asked how bad driving would need to be to warrant the full sentence. Iqbal had been driving at 123mph, while filming himself undertaking and swerving along the M66 in Bury in May. Ms Jules-Hough had broken down and was waiting in the vehicle with her two children and a nephew when Iqbal lost control while undertaking a motorbike rider, and hit her at more than 90mph.

The news of Iqbal's sentencing, and the appeal, were covered nationally, including here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-67099209. Calvin Buckley continues to bravely speak up for a culture change among young people, to foster respect on the roads.

In September the All Party Parliamentary Walking and Cycling Group released a Road Justice Report, with ten recommendations, including an end to exceptional hardship, removal of tolerances in speeding cases that allow drivers to exceed the limit without penalty, treating road crash victims as victims of crime, and appointing a commissioner for road danger reduction. You can read the report here: https://allpartycycling.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/APPGCW-Road-Justice-Report-2023.pdf

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In the first of a two-part miniseries on the topic, Adam, Ned and Laura talk to Amil Khan, founder of Valent, a company that “deals with disinformation by understanding who is behind it, what methods they use and who they seek to manipulate”. 

Amil Khan was a Reuters and BBC journalist who first encountered disinformation campaigns around the Arab Spring in the 2010s. He began investigating the topic for Chatham House and the government and, in 2020, with a government COVID loan, he founded his own company, Valent. There, he and his team investigates the mechanics of disinformation, including on social media platforms.

Amil says the company is ‘content agnostic’ - but as well as paid projects it investigates topics of interest to staff… which led to an investigation into anti-ULEZ sentiment online. What it found was one of the most advanced manipulation efforts they have seen in nearly four years of examining such activity in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. An estimated £168,000 had been spent, via ‘spreader accounts’ amplifying genuine anti-ULEZ voices. While against social media company rules, this automated manipulation happens, thanks to a number of companies selling such services under vaguely concealed euphemisms.

Amil talks us through the mechanics of dis- and misinformation online, how it happens, how to tackle it, and the consequences for active travel, and indeed democracy.

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Joining Streets Ahead to discuss the issue is Mat MacDonald, who founded Better Streets for Birmingham earlier this year, and is also the coordinator of Safe Streets Now, and Sarah Chaundler, a video journalist who interviews fellow parents concerned about dangerous driving on Birmingham streets. 

There are 15 actions in 13 towns and cities at the time of writing. To find out more about the protests, and to see if there's one near you, visit: https://safestreetsnow.co.uk/

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Lee Waters is Wales’ Deputy Minister for Climate Change. He works in a department that brings together society's most polluting sectors and seeks to reduce their carbon emissions, not least for the sake of future generations.

In February 2023, following a Roads Review, the Welsh Senedd announced it wouldn’t be investing in new roads unless they contribute to a modal shift towards public transport and/or active travel. While this announcement was spun as a 'ban' on all new roads, it in fact simply raised the bar for roadbuilding. Lee Waters talks to Streets Ahead about the thinking behind the move, the challenges, and why giving people clean transport options - and genuine alternatives to driving - is not a party political issue.

You can read more about Wales' roads review, and the report on the future of Welsh roadbuilding, here: https://www.gov.wales/future-road-investment-wales. As the chair of the roads review panel, Lyn Sloman, put it: "The challenge of our time is to achieve a prosperous economy and a fairer society whilst protecting and enhancing the environment, for our own well-being and that of future generations."

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All cyclists start somewhere - whether it’s wobbling along with stabilisers, or without. In the UK, because we often end up sharing the roads with motor traffic, many of us will also have received training from a professional at some point - under the Bikeability standard, or Cycling Proficiency as it was once known. 

In recent years cycle instructors have increasingly voiced concerns over pay stagnation and working conditions and this summer London instructors are striking for the first time ever, after what they describe as a 14-year pay freeze. The freeze, they say, amounts to a 50% real-terms pay cut. Each week, on average, one cycling instructor quits - and numbers have halved since the pandemic. Nationwide we need 1000 more instructors to meet government targets to train every child to the Bikeability standard, but recruitment is proving tough.

With the most common reason for not cycling being 'fear of riding with traffic', cycle instructors are a pivotal part of the transition to green transport - we can't build all the safe cycle routes we need immediately, so confidence riding on the roads is key to helping people cycle for more journeys. It's also the kind of green job politicians say we need for the future.

Our two guests are instructors from the Independent Workers union of Great Britain (IWGB): Suami Rocha (Hosha), chair of the Cycling Instructors Branch of the IWGB, and Ben House, its co-secretary. With them Laura and Adam discuss what it's like to do a skilled job where people assume you're a volunteer, the complexities of the cause and what would help stem the tide of cycle instructor loss.

You can read more about the strike here: https://iwgb.org.uk/en/post/cycling-instructors-set-for-first-ever-strike-after-14-year-pay-freeze/

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Streets Ahead wanders around the remains of the City of London's Roman walls to find out why a quirk of 1960's public realm design became a dead-end in pedestrian provision...almost. Come along for a journey through the good, the bad and the ugly of the intermittent trend of "getting people out of the way of cars" - and a new, improved addition to the Pedways that nods to the future.

Alderman Alison Gowman is the elected official for the City of London's Dowgate Ward. She is the chair of the London Road Safety Council and author of a book The City of London: Who, What, Why? https://shop.cityoflondon.gov.uk/products/the-city-of-london-who-what-why

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For this special episode Laura Laker chairs a live podcast recording from the annual London Walking and Cycling Conference.

The London Walking and cycling conference, for those of you who don’t know, is an annual get-together where London gets to be smug and show off a bit. It started life as the Hackney walking and cycling conference in 2017 and has gone from strength to strength, attracting speakers from all over the world.

This year’s theme is: ‘taking walking and cycling to the next level: the path to climate neutrality’. We all know active travel has a huge role to play in cutting carbon emissions, for shorter trips as well as potentially part of longer journeys along with public transport. 

According to Transport for London active travel is up 40% on pre-pandemic levels, against an 11% rise across the rest of the UK - of course the whole of the UK is a diverse place and there are pockets of higher growth, but we’re here to ask, what is London doing right, and what can the rest of the UK learn from it?

By law the UK needs to cut its emissions by 2050. Transport is 27% of emissions, and electric vehicles aren’t going to get us there. In short, we aren’t going fast enough. What do we need to do to reach climate neutrality?

With her to discuss the topic 'what can the rest of the UK learn from London' are:

Councillor Mete Coban, in charge of energy, waste, transport, and the environment for Hackney Council - so you get emails about dog poo, parking and bins - the full trifecta 

Liz Clements - Birmingham Council’s cabinet member for transport 

Phil Jones - technical advisor to the Walking and Cycling commissioner for the West Midlands, Adam Tranter

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Cycling and walking contributed £36.5bn to the UK economy in 2021, according to Sustrans. 

Ned, Laura and Adam convene to discuss what's happening and the impact it'll have.

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Stef left his ad agency to set up XO bikes, to train, employ and inspire people and support them to change their lives, become bike mechanics, and it’s a gateway to the cycling industry. They take donated bikes, and donations. Police give thousands of bikes, which they refurbish and sell.

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Almost exactly ten years ago, nine-year-old Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah died following an asthma attack, later becoming the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death. Ella lived near the South Circular Road in Lewisham. 

In 2017 Jemima and a group of fellow mums, on parental leave in south London, decided to act after noticing how poor the air quality was as they walked with their babies. Research suggests kids experience 60% of their pollution exposure on their journey to, and in school. Early exposure to air pollution increases the risk of asthma and lung infections and can be fatal.

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Episode edited by Clare Mansell

Image courtesy AirQualityNews.com

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We discuss: listening to resident concerns, Mini Hollands, road pricing, the abuse some Councillors face and more.

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All this and more, in this special episode of Streets Ahead.

Thanks to Adam Bronkhorst at campaign group Shoreham-by-Cycle, and to Mark Strong, of transport consultancy Transport Initiatives, for taking the time to show Laura round and sharing their considerable expertise.

Here's some background to the Upper Shoreham Road story, which road.cc covered from the start: https://road.cc/show/tags/upper-shoreham-road/189511

And more recently, the Argus:

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/19877352.council-acted-illegally-removing-upper-shoreham-road-cycle-lane/

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/20293658.upper-shoreham-road-cycle-lane-not-ruled-out/

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This episode was recorded before the UK Government Autumn Statement on 17/11/22 but talks generally about active travel's impact on the economy and the importance of cheap transport during a cost of living crisis.

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Our guest Professor Sarah Marie Hall is a geographer with a focus on geographical feminist political economy. She describes this as "understanding how socio-economic processes are shaped by gender relations, lived experience and social difference". Sarah Marie tells us how the impact of transport cuts adds to other growing pressures on people's lives - but the solutions have huge benefits too, both for broad topics such as sustainability, to intimate ones like our personal relationships.

You can find out more about Professor Hall's work here: https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/sarah.m.hall.html

You can read Laura's recent article on the cost of living crisis and access to transport, featuring Professor Hall, here (login to read, it's free): https://www.smarttransport.org.uk/insight-and-policy/finance-and-funding/transport-poverty-is-poor-reflection-on-british-society

If you happen to be in Manchester on Tuesday 8 November 2022, Professor Hall and her colleague, Professor Karen Lucas, will discuss transport poverty at the local level, at the Mechanics Institute. Book your place here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/transport-poverty-and-economic-austerity-an-open-discussion-tickets-431559073807

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You can check out the Possible Parklet Plotter here: https://wearepossible.github.io/parklet-plotter/

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Is it something to do with the university, or is it an ingrained cycling culture? Is it because for decades they’ve filtered through traffic on minor roads? Is it because it costs £35 to park a car for 24 hours? 

In this episode, we'll be exploring Oxford’s new Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and how they have struck a nerve - but we’ll also look at older filters that are the staple of Oxford’s cycling network, and often go unnoticed. 

We’ll also confront the slightly awkward truth that Oxford doesn’t have very good cycle lanes (and shows that perhaps they’re not always needed if you filter through traffic).

We’ll talk to Councillor Emily Kerr (Green Party), who will take us on a short tour of the city's new LTNs.

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As well as pondering the many uses of bollards, not least in creating quiet routes, the Streets Ahead trio discuss the challenges, and solutions, of finding your way by bike, away from the main roads, from paint to decent signage - and the role of private companies in helping create modal shift.

Tom Putnam, the cofounder of Beeline, joins Streets Ahead to discuss these issues, and explain how Beeline works to provide quiet routes for people cycling. Beeline's routing is based on Open Street Map, with user feedback helping to constantly improve information around which streets work for cycling, and which ones don't, using simple plus and minus buttons on the routing app or widget. Lighting, low traffic volumes, hilliness and cycle lanes are among the things the algorithm uses to define 'good' routes.

The Beeline Velo 2 is the latest widget iteration, and the Beeline routing software is also available via a phone app. You can find out more here: https://global.beeline.co/

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Andy is on a mission to drive a culture change around roads policing and road danger, having this week revealed, via the Times, a major shakeup in how police record contributory factors in road collisions, which revealed speeding as the number one cause of crashes, contributing to three times more collisions in Manchester and London where a pilot took place. He's pushing data-led policing, taken from his time investigating murders, having targeted the most dangerous roads and drivers in his time as head of Vision Zero in London's Metropolitan Police, and is having a huge impact in his goal of tackling what he insists we call road crime.

Andy's challenge is all about raising funds for a charity that does a huge amount of good with not a lot of funding. He's hoping to raise double - or more - than last year, at least £100,000, and police forces around the country are taking part in their own challenges to help the charity help even more people whose lives are changed by road crime.

From a clifftop near Lands End, having just fallen waist deep into a nettle-covered rock crevice with a half-eaten cheese sandwich, Laura introduces us to Andy's challenge - while Ned's somewhere in Italy covering the Giro d'Italia, and Adam's working away on the West Midlands' cycling and walking transformation.

You can donate money to Andy's challenge here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/andycoxchallenge2022

You can read about his shakeup of how contributory factors are recorded, in the Times (paywall) here: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/8959cbb4-d3a3-11ec-b39a-dd0cbc8c6f6d

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The Streets Ahead trio reveals the topic, if not the title, of Laura's forthcoming book, and a street that's being named after her late dad, as well as discussing e-scooters, e-bikes, the strop that got Ned his own bike racks at City Airport (sort of) and how Adam's dad once broke his arm doing a flying leap and yelling 'who's the daddy'. There is also some minor aircraft trivia, Ned's new book about football, a real-life trip to Paris to see just how many people are velo-ing on its new cycle lanes - and nobody falls in the river.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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Some links:

http://tacticalurbanismguide.com/

Adam's van made the news https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-57569344 

Possible's campaign to enable more community parklets nationwide https://www.wearepossible.org/actions-blog/get-parklets-on-your-streets

London Parklets Campaign: https://londonparkletscampaign.wordpress.com/people-parking-day/ 

The story of Brenda Puech's People Parking Bay: https://www.peopleparkingbay.com/

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

We’re on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsahead

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Their aim is to make the pedestrian network the top priority when it’s often the lowest.

View Footways’ Google map layer: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1djPyfTHyWyHfqVNNIqStpRbvXZ7yabk0&ll=51.51235318211866%2C-0.13645850981252927&z=14 

Read Laura’s CityLab article on Footways: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-27/mapping-london-s-best-walking-streets 

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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Naturally, some people have taken the news very badly with strange headlines and talk radio stations going into overdrive.

What do the changes mean and what difference will they make?

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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Plus: Adam has a new job. Ned and Laura quiz him on being the new West Midlands Cycling & Walking Commissioner.

Thank you for your support this year and we look forward to bringing you new episodes in 2022!

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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CORRECTION: In this episode, we stated that the Cowley LTN in Oxford had been made permanent. In fact, Oxfordshire County Council agreed to an ETRO of 3 further LTNs in East Oxford. This is on top of the 3 Cowley LTNs which have been in place for nearly a year. The decision as to whether the Cowley LTNs will be made permanent will be made in February.

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We also follow in the footsteps of the Prime Minister, 18 months on from his Gear Change announcement - visiting the bike shop he launched the strategy in - to see how things are going.

Thanks also to Scootfit for their help in keeping us safe on scooters and pointing out Adam has weird knees.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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Want to support the hub? The fundraiser is here (until 23 November): https://www.spacehive.com/continue-chrisp-street-community-cycles

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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Ahead of COP26, it’s an interesting look to active travel’s importance on the world stage - and how we can work together as a global community to communicate best practices to reduce emissions and improve health. 

In the episode, Baldwin says: "Somehow we've allowed the bike to be seen as an agent of the liberal metropolitan elite. How can that be that we seem to be losing that argument? When in the town I live in, 50% of the households don't have access to a car - and spoiler alert - it's not the richer 50%!"

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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In this episode, sponsored by Superpedestrian, Adam heads to Lisbon to try out their Link scooters and we put some tricky questions to the company's Policy Director for the UK & Ireland, Jean Andrews.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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Are Driverless Cars, Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, or AVs, a solution to a problem, or are they just tech for tech’s sake?

The UK is betting big on AVs. The Government wants to make the UK a hub for this technology and has invested £200m into Research and Development already. 

Our thanks to this episode's interviewees: Balazs Csuvar - Head of Delivery at DG Cities; Stephen Kyberd, Field Engineering Lead at Oxbotica; Niranjan Thiyagarajan, Management consultant advising the car industry on AVs; Krishnan Jayaraj Menon, Project Manager at Oxbotica - and last but not least our driver, Tristan, and co-driver, Dan.

You can watch a video of the car in action here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZNIE_ABGf0&t=26s; and see their vision for the future here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUCSnrWUBc0 you can even order your own VR headset from the Endeavour Project here, to experience the vids in 3D: https://www.projectendeavour.uk/vr-registration

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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In the UK surface transport is the single largest contributor of greenhouse gases, producing 23% of our emissions, and we’ve made no significant in-roads to cutting that contribution, in a decade. So what needs to change, and are we (and our policymakers) capable of doing it?

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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Thanks to Raleigh for having us at the launch of their new Stride cargo bike range at the Olympic Park in London.

Are we on the cusp of a cargo bike boom in the UK? What do we need to consider to take cargo bikes to the masses?

For the record, Amazon are trialling cargo bike deliveries in London.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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Dr Gemma Briggs’ research found mobile phone conversations, as opposed to conversations with a passenger, encourage a driver to create mental images - using the same cognitive resources we need for accurate visual perception of the driving environment. This means competition in drivers’ brains for limited resources.

It’s not just the responsibility of individual drivers to change, argues Gemma, it’s about changing public acceptability of mobile phone use. She says mobile phone legislation has been inadequate from its inception, despite the evidence that hands-free is as dangerous as handheld phone use. This, she says, is partly due to pressure from fleet operators to keep drivers available by phone, and motor vehicle manufacturers aren’t helping matters with in-car entertainment and interactivity.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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Ned pops for a coffee with Alexei to talk about his cycling history, his return to bike riding in the capital and - of course - Low Traffic Neighbourhoods.

You can listen to Alexei Sayle's new podcast here: https://audioboom.com/channels/5038428 - and his YouTube videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDNNsx1x7YDiV8JEysO3DmA

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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We're not going to review the candidates' ambitions - you can get that elsewhere and should read the Manifestos of the candidates where you live - but we will explain how it all works and some of the big battles taking place.

Update: Ned managed to get a proxy vote after all - hooray! Find out where to vote here: https://www.gov.uk/how-to-vote

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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This week we have Leo Murray from climate action charity Possible. Leo is one of the people behind Badvertising, a campaign to put a stop to the promotion of highly polluting Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs).

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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Why are disabled people seemingly ignored when it comes to some consultations? What needs to change? Is that status quo a better option? These are all questions you'll get the answers to in our latest episode.

You can read Transport For All's report, Pave The Way, here.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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It turns out being nice can be effective. London has built nearly 100 miles of protected cycle lanes in the last year alone with 4% of Londoners also now living within a Low Traffic Neighbourhood.

But it hasn't all been plain sailing. We chat to Will about bikelash, the importance of consultation, e-scooters and, of course, the Kensington High Street debacle. Adam also humblebrags about the time he cycled up Holland Park Avenue at "up to 9mph".

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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Laura's interview with Isabelle explores the importance of cycling for all and some of the barriers society puts in the way that prevents access for many disabled people.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

We’re on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsahead

If you're reading this, please can you take 1 minute to give us a rating and write a review? It helps us more than you probably think.

Thanks for listening!

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We compare how our two nations are faring in terms of active travel. Who is better at failing, or succeeding, when it comes to cycling and walking? Is the grass always greener on the other side?

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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Thanks for listening!

PS: You should definitely go and listen to The War on Cars podcast if you haven't already.

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We're joined by renowned urban planner Brian Deegan, who is Chris Boardman's technical advisor in Greater Manchester, to review 2020 and what interesting things we have to look forward to in active travel in 2021.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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PS: Here's what a Cyclops junction looks like.

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Ned, Laura and Adam discuss the weirdest things they've carried on their bicycles - and we speak to some experts: Ben Knowles, co-founder of cargo bike logistics firm Pedal Me and Jim Blakemore, CEO at community interest company Bikeworks.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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If you want to get the low down on the latest £175m announcement, Laura, Adam and Ned have all the info you need.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

We’re on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsahead

If you're reading this, please can you take 1 minute to give us a rating and a review? It helps us hugely.

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We also reflect on a week where the guidelines were somewhat misrepresented in some media outlets, and talk about the time that Ned quit his newspaper column in protest.

You can read and respond to the consultation on the guidelines at: www.rc-rg.com

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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Laura, Adam and Ned discuss the importance of local campaigning along with guests (also known locally as "Cycle Mad Morons") Dan Brothwell (Bike Worcester) and Cllr Matthew Jenkins (Green Party). There's also bonus content from Ned on how to successfully grow a basil bush.

You can read the Tweets and articles we refer to here: https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/15996184.letter-day-make-cycling-better-experience/ + https://twitter.com/thejeremyvine/status/1293112820524036096 + https://road.cc/content/news/extension-cycling-ban-worcester-embarrassment-277387

You can find out more about Bike Worcester here: https://bikeworcester.org.uk/

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

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Thanks for listening!

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Laura, Adam and Ned discuss the politics at play and the battle between local authorities and the government. Ned does so from a 12th century castle in Kent and explains how he and Chris Boardman have had their daily commutes hindered by grounds staff.

You can read the articles we refer to here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/09/05/councils-must-stop-abusing-green-roads-cash/ + https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/09/05/grant-shapps-tells-councils-stop-abusing-250m-fund-meant-green/

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

We’re on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsahead

If you're reading this, please can you take 1 minute to give us a 5-star rating and a review? It helps us hugely. If you leave your name on a review, we'll give you a shout out!

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Because Peter explained the flaws of free hospital parking so wisely and succinctly, we spent the rest of the podcast talking about the politics of cycling, which we hope you find interesting.

Peter's New book, The Miracle Pill: Why A Sedentary World Is Getting It All Wrong, is out Jan 21: http://bit.ly/29xs4sa

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

We’re on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsahead 

If you're reading this, please can you take 1 minute to give us a 5-star rating and a review? It helps us hugely. If you leave your name on a review, we'll give you a shout out!

(Apologies for Adam's sound quality at the end, he had a mic fail)

Thanks for listening!

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If you can hear birds chirping in the background, it's Ned showing off that he's back at work, commentating bike races in Italy.

If you wanted to nominate and vote for Streets Ahead at the Active Travel Awards, please head here: http://blog.westminster.ac.uk/ata/events/media-awards-2020/

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

We’re on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsahead 

If you're reading this, please can you take 1 minute to give us a 5-star rating and a review? It helps us hugely.

Thanks for listening!

From Adam, Laura and Ned

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

We’re on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsahead 

If you're reading this, please can you take 1 minute to give us a 5-star rating and a review? It helps us hugely.

Thanks for listening!

From Adam, Laura and Ned

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

We’re on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsahead 

If you're reading this, please can you take 1 minute to give us a 5-star rating and a review? It helps us hugely.

Thanks for listening!

From Adam, Laura and Ned

PS: We said we'd share a picture of Manchester's "Cyclops" junction here, so here it is: https://twitter.com/ManCityCouncil/status/1279444984853389313/photo/1

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

We’re on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsahead 

If you're reading this, please can you take 1 minute to give us a 5-star rating and a review? It helps us hugely.

Thanks for listening!

From Adam, Laura and Ned

Legal disclaimer: Do not use an angle grinder or other power tools to adapt or adjust cycling infrastructure that does not meet the requirements for use by riders of non-standard bicycles.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

We’re on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsahead 

If you're reading this, please can you take 1 minute to give us a 5-star rating and a review? It helps us hugely.

Thanks for listening!

From Adam, Laura and Ned

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

King has recently called for the government to reconsider its £28.8bn road building programme, backed temporary walking and cycling infrastructure and called for "park and cycle" hubs outside cities to encourage active travel for longer journeys. It's not exactly what you'd expect from a motoring lobbyist. That said, in the interest of balance, we did go down a "cyclists could do themselves a favour by not always alienating drivers" rabbit hole, to even things out a bit.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

We’re on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsahead 

Please rate and review us too!

Thanks for listening!

From Adam, Laura and Ned

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Cycling advocates know that if you build it, they will come, but are councils building things quick enough? We'll explore a variety of things that need to happen very quickly if we are to realise the UK's golden age for cycling, speaking with Phillip Darnton, Chair of The Bicycle Association, Cllr Adam Clarke, Deputy Mayor of Leicester and Dr Jonathan Kelly from St Bart's NHS Trust. Ned also, for one day only, pretended he had a job and commuted into central London, bringing us with him.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.

We’re on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsahead 

Please rate and review us too!

Thanks for listening!

From Adam, Laura and Ned

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That Government Announcement

A lot can happen in a week, but the challenge in front of us will be the decider of whether cycling and walking reach their potential in Britain, or whether we'll just continue to drive everywhere. We don't have long to make a difference, so we're discussing what the government's latest announcement means for active travel. Spoiler: £2bn isn't enough and it's old money, split over five years. But there are some positives too.

In this episode, we look at the local and national picture for active travel and explore behind-the-scenes of why there is a newfound

impetus to get people on bikes and out of their cars. Is this Boris Johnson doing his thing?

We also talk to one of active travel's newest advocates, sports broadcaster Jacqui Oatley, and ask: Is she perhaps a better ambassador for getting the nation cycling than Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome?

We’re on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsahead 

Please rate and review us too!

Thanks for listening!

From Adam, Laura and Ned

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Cycling and Walking Commissioners

We wanted to find out more about the increasing number of Cycling and Walking Commissioners across the UK, and who better to speak to than Chris Boardman? Chris has travelled from his first job in carpentry in Tranmere to revolutionising cycling and walking in Manchester, with an Olympic Gold in Barcelona in between. Chris is hesitant to use the words "career", but we discuss the latest in his project; the only one that's kept him up at night in twenty years.

In this episode, we explore what's required of a Cycling and Walking Commissioner, discuss Chris' frustrations over Zebra crossings and whether he'd consider a job in politics. In addition, Ned makes a colossal faux pas, Adam struggles to speak in full sentences and Laura does her best not to follow remote podcasting etiquette.

We’re on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsahead 

Please rate and review us too!

Thanks for listening!

From Adam, Laura and Ned

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Behaviour Change

Streets Ahead welcomes our first guest, Dr Ian Walker, Environmental Psychologist at the University of Bath. Ian is most famous for dressing up as a woman and impersonating a Police officer, all in the name of research on driving habits.

In this episode, we explore what is required to change people's behaviour, during normal times and currently during the pandemic. How can we use this to get more people cycling and walking? We also explore if we're addicted to cars and what might be required to overcome that. Meanwhile, Ned drops the bombshell that he showers outdoors, Laura name drops her new best mate Greta Thunberg and Adam reveals his interest in car fetishes.

We’re on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsahead 

Please rate and review us too!

Thanks for listening!

From Adam, Laura and Ned

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