Old op snap footage? Send it in!

It does feel like I’m at the extent of what I need in a phone now, so will sit on this device and just replace the battery as needed. Until a software update renders the device unusable.

It’s funny Charli called it The Moment, because judging by the box office, that’s about how long it’ll be in cinemas.

Exceptional hardship plea wanker.

This Substack post from @lauralaker.bsky.social on Google Maps cycling infrastructure has brought the digitisation of our streets to the forefront of my mind. It is now becoming an everyday reliance for people driving - both personally and professionally.

I'm currently writing up a PhD research proposal that fits this topic EXACTLY. But I'm on my honeymoon during this conference. 😬

🚨 Better Streets Call to Action! ⏰ Our ask: 1️⃣ Take a look through the list of scenarios we need to film 2️⃣ Take a portrait/upright* camera footage for around 10 seconds 3️⃣ Submit to our form by 28th February 2026 🔗 List of scenarios and submission forms: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1...

Niche point but it baffles me that the new Camp Hill Stations got built using a wayfinding system that neither meets the West Midlands standards or uses Rail Alphabet 2 font. And nobody in the process has done anything about it.

We have a fairly recent dropped kerb crossing for walking and wheeling access between our new estate and the bus stop and convenience shop. Except that it’s between a controlled junction and roundabout that produce a near constant stream of traffic with gaps rarely synchronised. 🤠

Any help with this would be much appreciated. You can take a ward or two and just maintain it in the Google Sheet. ❤️

So... transport funding until 2032. What's what? It's still a bit blurry and complicated, but we've got a long list now. Further news to come in autumn.

Sort of big news in the West Midlands today. We’ve got a (mostly) publicly available long list of transport schemes that need funding. £5.6bn of demand on a £2.4bn pot. Further prioritisation to be done and the capital programme tries to work beyond funding periods.

Pleased to report that the council aren’t increasing approved premises registrar charges so it’s just the £900 for having one pop five minutes down the road to officiate our wedding…

Interesting tidbit from new Birmingham cabinet papers - 3.6% of vehicles entering the Clean Air Zone last quarter were non-compliant. Down from 4.7% in April 2024 and 15.2% at the point of introduction.

Ahhhh the inconvenience of trying to scan your mobile train ticket as your regular sized phone is too big for the scanner.

Some nice things in here - super crossings, separated cycle lanes, making modal filters permanent. Struggling to understand how it feeds into the winder cycle network. Also Aston University appears to have a cycling ban through parts of the campus.

From a report to Birmingham City Council last week… Successes or some terrifying symptoms of our road safety emergency while wasting public money to clear up the aftermath?

Police in Birmingham held a roads policing operation, supported by volunteer Special Constables. In one evening on one road, they pulled over 166 vehicles and took action in a staggering 1 in 3 stops. Imagine if Roads Policing was properly funded!

🚨 New @betterstreetsforbirmingham.org podcast looking at the year ahead for transport in Birmingham. Apple: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/b... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0AIr... Acast: shows.acast.com/695c4cbbe190... YouTube: youtu.be/8binFGnsRBM?...

Lol

Don’t let the flag shagging tell you otherwise, Weoley Castle is woke!

168 projects competing for £2.4bn is precisely why I struggle to take the introductions to DfT’s recent strategies seriously. ‘No dedicated funding for this strategy, but look at the cocktail of cash going out to authorities and mayors! Anyway, here’s another set of outcomes for that money...’

Good news. Just need Lime to flood the city with vehicles - being pragmatic with parking and cover - and be proactive for event transport.

always excited to participate in #TranspoBINGO! feb 5–12, 2026. if you've never played, essentially you treat non-car travel like a game. walk, bike, roll, ride transit, and enjoy public spaces, marking board squares as you play across the city. boards go live feb 5. 👉🏽 🌐 www.transpobingo.com

Passport expiry date is a bit inconvenient for honeymoon. I don’t particularly want a decade with a mismatching name, so am going to get a post-dated passport over the summer. This service journey is not digitised and involves two forms as well as printed photos. 🥹

Hidden away in a news item on BCC’s website is their best public explainer of the bin dispute so far. There isn’t a way forward that can reinstate the £8k bloated pay enjoyed by *some* as a result of 2017 dispute negotiations, without giving everyone at the council an £8k or % equivalent pay rise.

Unexpected flytipped fridge in the shared path. Could just about get by to the right-hand side.

What’s most frustrating about emerging parties and groups for local elections is their inability to deal with wicked/complex/system problems. Candidates talk in simple problems with straightforward solutions. This cuts through to most who don’t involve themselves or have experience in public orgs.

Yeah but why aren’t we teaching kids the green cross code 🦔

Almost a century later and we’re in the same position with that same argument. 🤠 When you travel by *bus/tram* you avoid and relieve traffic congestion.

Drivers do not associate their vehicles and trips with wearing down the road surface faster and leaving the Council to catch up. So I’ve connected the dots at the end of the article. (Headline not my quote!)

Drivers do not associate their vehicles and trips with wearing down the road surface faster and leaving the Council to catch up. So I’ve connected the dots at the end of the article. (Headline not my quote!)

🎙️ We're doing a podcast! Huge thank you to Kevin for getting this started. Please do give a listen and subscribe.

Thoughts and prayers to the highways bods who now have to assess the... avalanche... of new grit bin requests coming from both residents and political candidates.

Good case study for UK bus operators to read 👍

"Some of you may die but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make."

We are in blizzard conditions. Facebook is full of eejits merrily trying to drive everywhere. Read a weather forecast and a weather warning ffs.

New statement on pavement parking today. Progress?

Birmingham continues to be in a road safety emergency with someone killed on the city’s roads every fortnight and several people seriously injured every day.

This rain is a continuity nightmare! #TheTraitors

The Road Safety Strategy lacks clear leadership on reducing speeds, fails to significantly improve safety for those outside of motor vehicles, or make pavements safe to use all year round. transportactionnetwork.org.uk/road-safety-...

The Road Safety Strategy is an opportunity to address the dangers pedestrians face every day, but the vision should be for zero people to lose their lives. We should not accept that a certain number of people will die on our roads. livingstreets.org.uk/RSScomment

Critically, we also need the public to support actions that enable older people to live great lives without having to drive for when they fail the eye tests. So the public need to get onboard with no pavement parking, pedestrian priority, denser housing, fewer out-of-town shopping centres, etc etc

Disappointing that this three-author article doesn't once mention the equal pay dispute that the changes resolve.

We live in hope. We anticipate some disappointment. #RoadSafetyStrategy

It continues to irk me that the bin dispute and equal pay gets separated. They’re linked. And somehow former leader John Clancy has escaped much scrutiny on his 2017 backroom deal that went on to cost the city hundreds of millions of pounds.

Happy New Year!

Back in my home shire. Tried to drive to a New Year’s Day Parkrun. Slid on ice and crashed into a parked car. Parkrun cancelled anyway. Happy 2026.

Ah shit I’m getting married this year

What was delivered in 2025 and what's in store for 2026? Our Chair, @mrmjprice.bsky.social, takes a moment to summarise what's going on with Birmingham's transport plans. #Birmingham #Transport #Bus #Train #Tram #Cycling #Walking #ActiveTravel #BirminghamCityCouncil #WMCA #TfWM #WestMidlands