Finally the DfT has published the much delayed 16 'smart' motorway reports These show what a colossal waste of time and money these have been and harm they've caused the economy. Justified on basis of National Highways' dodgy traffic models www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Smart Motorway evaluation reports have been released - finally! We're busy reading through them now. Sign up for our emails so you don't miss our updates on this transportactionnetwork.org.uk/sign-up/

National Highways has released a batch of evaluations of smart motorways that the Department for Transport stopped it publishing. The company buried increases in fatalities from one scheme by comparing a five-year period beforehand with three years afterwards. transportinsights.blog/2026/02/05/p...

Save important peat moss in Greater Manchester: Object to the Carrington Relief Road actionnetwork.org/letters/obje...

You are encouraged to sign the petition at www.change.org/p/securing-a..., to help secure a beneficial future for Queensbury Tunnel. It should play a central role in a future active travel route.

Know of a local community faced with a challenging issue to do with walking, cycling or public transport, or facing a damaging new road? Share our latest blog post with them and encourage them to get in touch. We will do our best to help. transportactionnetwork.org.uk/lighting-the...

Toll charges from Kent's two main crossings will be pocketed by a private firm More here: www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/ne...

On my Transport Insights blog, I look at the latest push from @transportaction.bsky.social for transparency over smart motorways, including not suppressing evaluation reports and not pretending that the Lower Thames Crossing is not a smart motorway, when it is transportinsights.blog/2026/02/04/c...

We are calling for the Department for Transport to come clean on ‘smart’ motorways! The DfT is misleading the public when it says no more ‘smart’ motorways are being built. The Lower Thames Crossing and M60 Simister Island are being built to ‘smart’ motorway standards.

On a cold afternoon, more than 200 people turned out to a demonstration against the government's desire to block up Queensbury Tunnel, an old railway tunnel that the local community want repurposed into a greenway. Read how we helped make this happen transportactionnetwork.org.uk/lighting-the...

A report by the AA found the percentage of drivers who reported feeling nervous over using smart motorways had risen from 23% a year ago to 49%. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

It has been a busy start to the year, with the government publishing its Road Safety Strategy and then its response to the consultation on pavement parking. Keep up to date by signing up to our monthly newsletter transportactionnetwork.org.uk/sign-up/

The Dept for Transport plan to hand over >£120m p.a. *indefinitely* to the Dartford and Lower Thames Crossings, yet they can't afford to invest properly in walking & wheeling, cycling, public transport...

Save important peat moss in Greater Manchester - Object to the Carrington Relief Road. Trafford Council is applying for planning permission for the Carrington Relief Road in Greater Manchester, and you have until 27 February to object! More details:👇 actionnetwork.org/letters/obje...

A joint intelligence committee report, sat on by the government since October, highlights that nature loss is a national security threat. This from a government that has lambasted those opposed to it loosening protections to wildlife. It should be a wake-up call for doing things differently!

Is it raining where you are? Every time it rains, oil, particulate matter, and microplastics from tyre and brake wear is washed off the roads, causing widespread pollution. National Highways is failing to tackle this problem for our busiest roads actionnetwork.org/letters/stop...

Last year I reported that transport secretary Heidi Alexander said she was in the region "to put spades in the ground on the extension of the West Midlands Metro tram network in the Black Country" Both phases were underway but now phase 1 has been delayed again transportinsights.blog/2026/01/28/a...

Want to be our next CEO? Deadline is Sunday 1st February transportactionnetwork.org.uk/job-vacancies/

A hard hitting article in The Times after our research shows both Dartford and the Lower Thames Crossing will be fully privatised, with higher tolls in perpetuity. Public finances will lose at least £120 million a year from the Dartford tolls www.thetimes.com/business/com...

We're pleased to have signed this about the many benefits (health, social and economic) from more investment in safer streets and walking, cycling and public transport.

Public finances will lose at least £120 million a year from the Dartford tolls if the Lower Thames Crossing goes ahead using private finance www.thetimes.com/business/com...

Latest evidence that UK Treasury has one rule for roads, another for public transport 🛣️⚖️🚋 Leeds tram delayed for a business case, meanwhile business case delayed to get building Lower Thames Crossing. Ministers betting £billions on wrong horse 💸🎠

Transport shapes how we live and connect, but the UK’s current system is harming public health. FPH, RSPH and partners are backing the Bristol Declaration - calling for action to shift the UK towards healthier, more sustainable transport. View more www.fph.org.uk/news/bristol...

In @thetimes.com: A letter to Rebecca Lush, @transportaction.bsky.social campaigner, reveals the private operator for the Lower Thames Crossing will receive income from the tolls on the existing Dartford Crossing which currently go to the Department for Transport www.thetimes.com/business/com...

Privatising Dartford tunnel is a hidden £120m annual cut to transport budget.✂️📉 It means less money for cycling, buses, trams, trains, road safety every year for ever 🚴🚌🚋🚅🚑 Talk about a bad deal!👎

'you’d think that before ministers committed £3.1 billion of taxpayer’s money and started early construction works, they might have bothered to produce a full business case for the (LTC) link, instead of opting to wait until 2028.' - Alistair Osborne @thetimes.com www.thetimes.com/business/com...

If the Lower Thames Crossing goes ahead using private finance, the taxpayers will lose at least £120m a year as the tolls from the Dartford Crossing will be pocketed by private companies in perpetuity. www.thetimes.com/business/com...

As we've said all along, the Lower Thames Crossing is taking away much needed money from bus services and local streets. Now the Dartford Crossing is being privatised £120m/year is being gifted to private operators. Latest scandal reported in The Times: thetimes.com/business/com...

Know of a local community in England / Wales faced with a challenging issue to do with walking, cycling, public transport, or facing a damaging new road? Please share this blog post and encourage them to get in touch. We will do our best to help. transportactionnetwork.org.uk/lighting-the...

We're still buzzing from the fantastic turnout at the weekend for the Queensbury Tunnel Society campaign event. Read all about it, including the very small part we played, in our latest blog post transportactionnetwork.org.uk/lighting-the...

We are hiring. For more information: transportactionnetwork.org.uk/job-vacancies/ The deadline is Sunday 1st February 2026

Congratulations!

Our report, Essex-Kent Superlinks, shows there are alternatives to the Lower Thames Crossing and they bring better results at a fraction of the cost. transportactionnetwork.org.uk/essex-kent-s...

'Drivers are widely reporting that road markings have been left to fade into obscurity, making roads less safe as a result.' - Simon Williams, RAC head of policy www.highwaysmagazine.co.uk/news/dft/rep...

We're a small team of six (part time) helping local communities press for more sustainable transport in England and Wales. A regular donation from you would help us continue to challenge the Government's obsession with car based development. transportactionnetwork.org.uk/help-us-help...

Transform this 1.4-mile long legacy asset into the centrepiece of an active travel network connecting Bradford, Keighley and Halifax? OR £7.5M of public money to partially infill a Victorian engineering feat, putting it permanently beyond use? youtu.be/4pZSB4nYEws

We campaign against expensive, damaging road schemes that just push the congestion problem away for a few years, like the Lower Thames Crossing (where costs have jumped 17% to £11bn in just 9 months). Stay up to date, sign up for our monthly newsletter transportactionnetwork.org.uk/sign-up/

We are hiring! We are looking for a new CEO. For more information: transportactionnetwork.org.uk/job-vacancies/ The deadline is Sunday 1st February 2026

Great turnout at Queensbury Tunnel yesterday. 226 people came despite the cold, damp day to protest at National Highways' reckless plans to block up the old railway tunnel so that it can't be used as a future greenway. It's clear what the public want, but will politicians deliver?

Not a single river in England is in good overall health! National Highways cannot be allowed to pretend that it only needs to treat a tiny proportion of outfalls. All are leaching heavy metals and carcinogens into our rivers and groundwater. actionnetwork.org/letters/stop...

Great to see so many people turn out to save Queensbury Tunnel Society on a damp and cold Sunday in January. The DfT needs to rethink its approach so that it doesn't waste scarce public funds blocking up the tunnel @nazshahbfd.bsky.social @judithcummins.bsky.social @thehregroup.bsky.social

It was reported in the FT at the end of last year that the cost of the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC) had jumped 17% to £11bn in just 9 months. The result will be higher tolls at Dartford and LTC for decades to come. transportactionnetwork.org.uk/campaign/low...

It's good to see plans for improvements but it all feels like jam tomorrow. Why is the government still wasting billions on a new 'smart' motorway in the South East when it could be delivering change now for people in the Midlands and the North?

Spending £££m to make a tunnel suitable for ugrading INACCESSIBLE (!) is nonsense. Would such a decision be made in London area? @transportaction.bsky.social @cyclinguk.bsky.social @londoncycling.bsky.social @bradfordtanda.bsky.social @tracybrabinmayorwy.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Thursday is National Pothole Day. That's right, there is a day to highlight the dangers and costs of potholes for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians, and to urge local authorities to prioritise road maintenance!

The government’s desire to be seen to be doing things at pace is already leading to poor and costly decisions. There is also a real risk that the public will be put in danger. transportactionnetwork.org.uk/toxic-concre...

'At the individual level, car use isn’t a choice for many, but the consequence of a system that renders them reliant on cars to function. This leaves millions in effective poverty because they have no choice but to own a car.' - @wedmonds98.bsky.social theloop.ecpr.eu/the-social-c...

As things stand with pavement parking, we could end up with a postcode lottery of standards that is confusing for everyone. www.transportxtra.com/publications...

How well is your council fixing your roads? Is your area red, amber or green? 👀 www.gov.uk/government/n...

Want to get more involved in making our streets safer and greener? We have the perfect way to kick things off! Join us and @sfrost.bsky.social on Monday 12th Jan for our free webinar, Everyday Concerns: What People Want From Transport actionnetwork.org/events/every...