An open letter to the Prime Minister states that more support for active travel will reduce the UK’s vulnerability to volatile energy markets.

Not a minor point IMO. share.google/EmE314z3TY7A... . In 1986 I worked for London Strategic Policy Unit (under governance of @camdencouncil.bsky.social ) and received...20p per mile cycle allowance for work trips by bike. That would be 60p now due to inflation! I'm not saying the allowance 1/.

May is National Walking Month Since I became a trustee of @livingstreets.bsky.social in 2011, I’ve celebrated the fact with a long Walk to Work, posting photos of what I see as I go. Now I’m Chair of the charity, this year’s walk (on Tuesday 26th) will be a first in three ways…

The Strand looking amazing. #LongWalk

This is not supply chain excellence. This is dangerous. #ocado

Compare and contrast with what the relevant authorities are doing to protect students at the school nearest you.

A new report shows neglected pavements and too few public toilets are stopping older people from staying active. It echoes our Slips, Trips and Falls report, which found there may be up to 1 million outdoor falls a year among over‑65s. Read our response: https://bitly.livingstreets.org.uk/3RqETu7

We've joined @bettertransport and 15 others in calling on the Prime Minister to invest in cycling, walking, wheeling & public transport, giving people affordable alternatives to driving and reducing reliance on volatile fuel prices. Open letter 👇

TfL "voices concern". They are the transport authority for London. They should be able to ban it. www.ft.com/content/e84a...

The Euston Road. Classified by Transport for London's Roads Task Force as a "City Boulevard", but a "stinking, dangerous traffic sewer" by everyone else. #LongWalk

The Bricklayer's Arms junction. A 1960s legacy of London's road building. The shops here are all closed at this end of the Old Kent Road. #LongWalk

Still one of the best. “You’re not stuck in traffic. You ARE traffic.” Put it on repeat. #UrbanTruth

Gor blimey guv'nor if I ain't started my #LongWalk on the Whitechapel Road.

Please read our trustee John's thread and support his #BigWalk on 26 May. www.justgiving.com/page/john-da...

Wow! The Beckon Corridor in Newham is looking great💚 It's making walking, wheeling & cycling safer & more accessible for everyone. Work include new paths & lighting from Beckton DLR to Beckton Park - connecting local communities to green spaces in the area. @NewhamLondon @tfl

I am really NOT KEEN on these clankers.

It's @livingstreets.bsky.social National Walking Month and so to mark the occasion, I shall be embarking on my 3rd #LongWalk in London tomorrow morning where I'll be starting somewhere quite early. I'll post interesting photos along the way and I am sure you'll work out the theme. 1/2

Walk to School Week is now underway! Thousands of pupils across the UK are now taking part in operation Mission Move 🔎 exploring the many benefits of walking or wheeling to school. Is your school taking part in Walk To School Week? Share your journeys with us! 👣

Crucial word here: 'filtered'. Not the 'pretty please' signage-only 'quiet lanes' that failed everywhere they've be tried.

Interesting article from @bankfieldbecky.bsky.social distinguishing what a council can do to tackle the climate crisis (quite a bit) vs what it has to (very little). Part of why Local Gov Association (amongst others) argues for a statutory net zero duty for local areas with linked funding+powers.

I spy with my little eye ... new kerbs on our Streatham Hill scheme. The A23 here has a terrible safety record. Tragically, 3 people have been killed. There were over 70 collisions over 3 yrs. This scheme will make it safer for everyone with new bike lanes & ped crossings.

Looks like Marcus Aurelius would understand how to interpret your typical LTN / active travel consultation

We have protected children from motor vehicles by surrendering children’s independent mobility and turning streets over to motor vehicles. In “One False Move,” Hillman, Adams, and Whitelegg document the trend in England and consider the implications for the wellbeing of children and their families.

The Welsh 20mph default is arguably the most successful road safety initiative this century. Winning international road safety awards, reducing casualties by 26% and insurance premiums. Yes, more should have been spent on engagement, but its a winning policy. www.20splenty.org/wales-pma-20mph

More motornormativity at work. We should not be putting cables in conduits across footways. Come a cold wet dark night some won't bother with the faff. It'll just increase the territorialism of onstreet parking which is already pressured by too many cars www.brightonandhovenews.org/2026/05/15/p...

Whenever I'm like "active & public transport are underfunded to the detriment mainly of poor people" people are like "how are you going to fund it?" but when it's subsidising driving (already far more heavily subsidised, with massive negative externalities) it's "we can't expect poor people to pay."

So much about this has me screaming into my motonormativity cushion. Why further subsidise all the wealthy people who drive? Why NOT subsidise the poorer people who don't drive?

Well said @adamtranter.bsky.social. Longstanding, evidence-based policy has seemingly been abandoned for no apparent reason. Birmingham’s road safety emergency will not be resolved through enforcement alone.

Imagine living in a street without cars in front of the door, but benches, parked bicycles, flower boxes and exuberant greenery against the lovely facades. 😍😍

Pedestrians almost never collide with cars🤔 Drivers in cars crash into people, kill people😱 Here's a sign of the times - when a council verge maintenance budget only considers motorists

This is bad economic policy, because it will cost the government billions in lost tax income.. ..bad progressive policy, because the richest 10% of households will benefit three times as much from the freeze as the poorest 10%.. ..and terrible climate policy: www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-fue...

Who’d have thought that reallocating a bit of car parking & road space would help a local pub thrive 🤓. This is the sort of quick & scalable intervention newly elected councillors can do to support the local economy and make neighbourhoods more people friendly 🙏 Kudos @islington-council.bsky.social

"Nightingale Park Crescent" on Blenkarne Road, Battersea. Just a scrap of land, barely big enough to sit and have a picnic, but would probably have been converted to parking spaces without protection.

There is a lot of chat about the danger posed by the introduction of cycle lanes and floating bus stops on Leith Walk from 2021 onward. Pedestrian casualties, Leith Walk, by year: 2015: 15 2016: 13 2017: 9 2018: 10 2019: 12 (including two fatalities) 2020: 3 2021: 0 2022: 2 2023: 0 2024: 2

Every time I talk about our research on crash reporting, I point out how the effect on traffic is mentioned in the same breath, or even before as in this case, the details of the crash. It is absolutely important to keep first responders safe but it usually sounds more about inconveniencing drivers.

We're making it easier for people who are walking & wheeling to access London's public transport system. Good to see the construction of the new zebra crossing progressing outside Stamford Hill Overground Station - helping accommodate our step free works. @TfL 🚶‍♀️🚉🦓👨‍🦽

We'd prefer to see traffic management to clear motors out of residential streets as the first step, but sometimes traffic calming is needed. The humble road hump has its place, but a sinusoidal profile is the go-to arrangement to ensure they are as smooth as possible to cycle over. #FridayFun

Just seen my first autonomous vehicle out in the wild. Another car adding to the traffic.

Would you like to work for Living Streets? We’re looking for a Public Affairs and Policy Manager to help expand our influence and shape the future of transport, health and planning policy across the UK. Closing date: 31 May 2026 Find out more here: https://bitly.livingstreets.org.uk/4uIEiCy

Smart cities know that, as hot as they already are, they’re just going to keep getting hotter. Greening the city not only cools it down, it cleans the air, quiets the noise, improves mental health & happiness, saves public money, and more. Strand Aldwych, London. 2021 vs 2025. Via @modacitylife.com

The harms of traffic are seen like the weather. It's just something that happens, and if we don't like it we just have to shelter #motonormativity

This could be 6 cars instead.

One of the many benefits of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods is that they make streets safer for cycling. We're working with boroughs to route bike routes through LTNs - with filters & safe crossings of main roads. Great to see the new Cycleway 37 in Hackney 🚲💚

“cameras, surveillance, bright lights, and a lack of places to gather will keep 'bad actors' away. …This top-down, control-oriented model of safety overlooks the fact that busy, diverse, multi-use environments are often the ones that feel most safe and inclusive.”

There's so much unused public land around Wandsworth. Imagine if we could use it to grow free, healthy food for our communities, instead of paying for it to do nothing! 🍅🥬 I've backed the call for a Right to Grow in Wandsworth. Add your name if you agree: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/su...

Author and feminist geographer Leslie Kern @lellyk.bsky.social is our guest blogger for #NationalWalkingMonth! She talked to us about urban design, climate change and what a feminist city actually looks like. Read the full interview here: https://bitly.livingstreets.org.uk/4d871cw

"Projects that limit car use and create more space for walking, cycling, and social activity align closely with feminist visions of the city. Barcelona’s Superblocks, for example, reclaim space from cars and reorient it toward school mobility, green space, and community use."

This graphic by Sina Doukas will feel familiar to parents. Cities are designed around adult walking speeds. But a 1.5km trip takes a 4-year-old up to 50 minutes and a 2-year-old up to 90. Kids stop, explore and wander. Good urban design caters to children too.

Beta testing of very powerful machines in the public realm. Nothing can go wrong obvs.