Active Travel England - Boardman

rareposter
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Re: Active Travel England

Post by rareposter »

MikeF wrote: 8 Apr 2023, 9:44pm More millions wasted in the pretence of doing something. Note that £32 million isn't being used for actually implementing anything.
It is, it's putting in place active travel experts.

The problem with the UK is we keep tinkering around the edges, working off an inherently car-based narrative (to the extent that many councils/traffic planners etc know nothing about cycling in spite of guidance like LTN 1/20).

They're terrified of taking away any space from cars, terrified of upsetting the status quo, unsure of how to combat the "what about..." brigade that pop up every time a single cycle lane is painted on a bit of pavement...

And it urgently needs qualified, appointed professionals to counter that. Not just some stereotypical cycle lobby bloke on TV in his bright yellow jacket and helmet, not some former pro bike racer*... People can't relate to those.

An actual network of qualified professionals in active travel planning and implementation.

Otherwise we'll continue to end up with halfarsed hare-brained schemes that squander public money and produce poor quality "cycle lanes" that no-one then uses because they're inconvenient, dangerous, indirect etc.

And £32m to Government is a drop in the ocean. Buys you about 3 sq ft of motorway.

* The exception being Chris Boardman who is excellent but there's only one of him!
MikeF
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Re: Active Travel England - Boardman

Post by MikeF »

The main essentials are in LTN1/20.
Many towns have LCIPs and professionals are usually involved with these
What is needed funding for implementation, but unfortunately councils always seem to divert/squander any funding away from doing anything useful.
"It takes a genius to spot the obvious" - my old physics master.
I don't peddle bikes.
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mjr
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Re: Active Travel England - Boardman

Post by mjr »

MikeF wrote: 9 Apr 2023, 10:03am The main essentials are in LTN1/20.
Many towns have LCIPs and professionals are usually involved with these
What is needed funding for implementation, but unfortunately councils always seem to divert/squander any funding away from doing anything useful.
Getting knowledgeable professionals in place is part of avoiding those diversions and squanderings. If £32m can do that, it'll be money well spent.

Norfolk County Council last year publicly committed to implementing LTN 1/20 in its future works. There is, as yet, no sign of it in most projects, with exceptions to LTN 1/20 being excused by saying that their safety audit team are fine with 2m-long crossing islands (too short for a tandem or bike+trailer) and generally any loopholes in LTN 1/20 (or its Design Manual for Roads and Bridges equivalent) being exploited in full (such as painting advisory cycle lanes and installing speed cushions on a school street with feral parking and proposing nothing to reduce parking or car traffic volume).

Norfolk County Council scored 2 out of 4 in the latest Active Travel England assessment. To be fair, that's still possible so far with pretty plans (and Norfolk has long been good at fine words supporting cycling) and nothing practical. I hope that ATE put more weight on actually building stuff in future.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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ratherbeintobago
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Re: Active Travel England - Boardman

Post by ratherbeintobago »

Yes, agreed - if ATE becomes a centre of expertise that’s then cascaded to highways depts then it’s money well spent.

Far too much stuff is still being built badly with no apparently realisation that basic, avoidable mistakes are being made - see, for example the Deansgate horror in Manchester, which swaps sides twice in a few hundred metres, for no apparent reason.
Jdsk
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Active Travel

Post by Jdsk »

Jdsk wrote: 10 Oct 2022, 11:24am "Bloomberg Philanthropies Launches New Initiative to Build Ambitious Cycling Infrastructure Projects Around the World":
https://www.bloomberg.org/press/bloombe ... the-world/

Guardian coverage:
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2022 ... ycle-lanes
The winners:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... -announced

Jonathan
Jdsk
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Active Travel

Post by Jdsk »

Travel Action Network: "Stop the cuts to walking and cycling":
https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/stop- ... d-cycling/

"In March 2023, ministers cut two-thirds of England’s dedicated funding for walking, wheeling and cycling, the cheapest and most effective forms of local travel in a cost of living crisis. Days later, ministers published an updated climate plan, showing the UK is set to miss its 2030 target due to carbon emissions from road transport. Do you think this makes sense? Well we at Transport Action Network don’t and hope you can help us challenge the decision by taking the Government to court. We need your support to to start the process off. Please contribute and share this page if you can help!"

"Ministers face legal challenge over cuts to walking and cycling investment in England":
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... in-england

Jonathan
Jdsk
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Active Travel in England

Post by Jdsk »

New report from the National Audit Office:
https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/active-t ... n-england/

Jonathan
Jdsk
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Re: Active Travel in England

Post by Jdsk »

Jdsk wrote: 7 Jun 2023, 9:29am New report from the National Audit Office:
https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/active-t ... n-england/
Cycling UK on the NAO report:
https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/natio ... scale-cuts

Jonathan
Jdsk
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Active Travel

Post by Jdsk »

"London’s Tory mayoral candidate is pedalling backwards on cycling policy":
https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... susan-hall

Jonathan
ratherbeintobago
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Re: Active Travel

Post by ratherbeintobago »

Jdsk wrote: 20 Jul 2023, 12:36pm "London’s Tory mayoral candidate is pedalling backwards on cycling policy":
https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... susan-hall

Jonathan
Is she really likely to get elected, though?
djnotts
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Re: Active Travel England - Boardman

Post by djnotts »

Normality returns after short interlude of sanity.

"Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has ordered a review of low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), saying that he is on the side of drivers.

He told the Sunday Telegraph he was supporting people to "use their cars to do all the things that matter to them"."
(BBC News.)
mattheus
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Re: Active Travel England - Boardman

Post by mattheus »

djnotts wrote: 30 Jul 2023, 7:52am Normality returns after short interlude of sanity.

"Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has ordered a review of low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), saying that he is on the side of drivers.

He told the Sunday Telegraph he was supporting people to "use their cars to do all the things that matter to them"."
(BBC News.)
I hope he is also on the side of helicopter users. Without his help, I might have to start looking at those "train" things now I've stopped driving ...
Jdsk
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Active Travel

Post by Jdsk »

It's a Sun article but it appears to be the Prime Minister's announcement of national policy:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/2420874 ... ed-scheme/

Jonathan
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squeaker
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Re: Active Travel

Post by squeaker »

Jdsk wrote: 30 Sep 2023, 10:53am It's a Sun article but it appears to be the Prime Minister's announcement of national policy:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/2420874 ... ed-scheme/

Jonathan
The tone in
The help for motorists comes on the eve of the annual Conservative Party conference - the PM’s first since seizing the keys to No10 last October.
(My bold) says all you need to know :roll:
"42"
Jdsk
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Active Travel

Post by Jdsk »

Jdsk wrote: 30 Sep 2023, 10:53am It's a Sun article but it appears to be the Prime Minister's announcement of national policy:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/2420874 ... ed-scheme/
Response from several organisations, including Cycling UK:

"Government is denying people the choice on how they travel":
https://www.cyclinguk.org/press-release ... hey-travel

...

I'm surprised that they chose choice rather than health or harm reduction for the headline.

Jonathan
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