Love this www.instagram.com/reel/DQrzAkb... racing the new Superloop on foot. Izzett describes pedestrian crossing wait times as 'enemies of progress'

I FOI'd English councils whether they use legal land purchase powers to create traffic-free paths. Just 1% said they have successfully. Why is something that's so common for roads almost never done for cycle routes? And what does it mean for cycling? lauralaker.substack.com/p/cycleways-...

Bluesky hivemind: which topic(s) would you like to hear us at @podstreetsahead.bsky.social discuss next?

In which I visited Milton Keynes, and committed a faux pas. And had some thoughts about the city's 200 miles of cycle routes, known as the redways lauralaker.substack.com/p/milton-key...

What a lovely event. Trusting this leopard with a set of yellow and red cards was a dubious choice, though. Option to donate to the excellent XO bikes still open www.justgiving.com/campaign/don...

It seems to me too many of us drastically underestimate the damage a vehicle can do when we're driving: The 49-year-old driver said he had seen her, but did not know why he hit her, claiming he would ask himself the question for his "whole life".

Something like this?

A bit more of a personal essay this week, some musings on cycling for fun lauralaker.substack.com/p/off-the-road

A basic artists' income trial in Ireland. For every €1 of public money invested in the pilot, society received €1.39 in return. www.gov.ie/en/departmen...

British Transport police's Ian Drummond-Smith said on BBC R4 Today that within two years AI will help analyse hours of cctv footage to help solve bike theft. Lovely idea if the footage is good enough in the first place

NEW EPISODE! 🚨 Lisbon’s Streets and the People Trying to Change Them Lisbon is a beautiful city with a reputation for being a safe place. That's true from one lens, but look deeper and you'll discover a city with one of the worst road safety records in Europe. shows.acast.com/streets-ahea...

🚨New @podstreetsahead.bsky.social podcast alert! This time, we recorded from Lisbon, on the city's streets, and talking to the people trying to change them shows.acast.com/streets-ahea...

Notes from Lisbon - and its curious transport conundrum

In case you missed it, I've been looking into bike storage solutions - and here are some of the best options. No room for your bike? Here are 13 clever, space-saving storage ideas for indoors and out www.theguardian.com/thefilter/20...

Two screenshots of BBC articles about floating bus stops, the picture editors have inadvertently used the same image to illustrate what one is, and what one isn't. The most recent article shows the wrong type, the one that isn't under DfT/TfL review, twice www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

More words on that, here substack.com/home/post/p-...

I've been fiddling with the heating today which reminded me that not enough brits seem to know about this concept: if you have a combi boiler, setting it to a lower flow temperature (and having it on a bit longer to compensate) can mean you save a lot (~5%+) of gas www.which.co.uk/news/article...

“We’ve normalised horror” in #Gaza, our JulietteTouma tells @newhumanitarian.bsky.social “There's been impunity – and that has been going on for a long, long, long time… This carte blanche has got us, all of us, where we are right now.” This must stop.

I visited a brand-new mile-long stretch of rural path last week nr Shepton Mallet as volunteers and contractors did the final touches. An incredible community effort to help complete the 76-mile Somerset Circle, with John Grimshaw (pictured) and Caroline Levett helping lead it (sound is poor, sorry)

NEW EPISODE!🚨 @lauralaker.bsky.social speaks to four great guests across three continents about the role of women in the world of cycling. Listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts 👇 shows.acast.com/streets-ahea...

New @podstreetsahead.bsky.social episode alert! 🚨 this time, it's about women leading the way in cycling and safer streets pca.st/episode/514f...

Found the feed station at the Tour of Britain. Delighted

A glimpse into the murky world of illegal window tinting lauralaker.substack.com/p/hundreds-o...

Can't beat a potential public participation road danger reduction measure through public opinion and evidencing. Changing just a few words in a couple of manuals would reduce demand on society and the police significantly.... lauralaker.substack.com/p/hundreds-o...

My latest Substack post looks at the difficult topic of road violence and what happens when we confront the human reality of it. With thanks to @newhamcyclists.uk @carolinerussell.bsky.social and others open.substack.com/pub/lauralak...

"The findings reveal that...traffic crashes are often framed as isolated, inevitable events, downplaying systemic issues such as infrastructure and policy" - new study of German-speaking media produces interesting results www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

Ah thanks for doing this - I've been wondering what happened with the trial of noise cameras. So disappointing though, noisy cars are an epidemic where I live (and just about everywhere else, it seems)

My usual Instagram experience these days, tbh

Updated with a Department for Transport comment, and the paywall lifted. I couldn't do this without the support of my readers (which is why this story languished for a while), but am conscious not everyone can afford to subscribe

With the government saying they aren't helping councils use noise cameras to enforce loud vehicle modification, what happens when people report them to police? Answer is, we don't really know open.substack.com/pub/lauralak...

🍂Leaves falling off the trees in August? We all know this isn't right. Signs there's something seriously wrong with our climate are all around us - but politicians continue to ignore them. It couldn't be clearer we need action on climate change now. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Disabled campaigners have welcomed the government’s announcement that it will review the laws around powered wheelchairs and mobility scooters, and examine how new mobility technology could be “safely implemented” for disabled people to use. www.disabilitynewsservice.com/government-r...

Great to see Guardian cover our research today - it's flats and smaller houses that are most at risk of overheating, so should be no surprise that vulnerable families will be more at risk. Important to think about cooling homes as well as warming them!

Excellent - and highly amusing - piece by @jonnelledge.bsky.social on the value of public transport investment and the wonder of the Lizzie Line. Had me chuckling in several places, to boot www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

"The plan for the National Walking, Wheeling and Cycling Network, is the work of a consortium of urban mayors and government officials and announced July 2, bringing together the construction or improvement of 3,500 miles of routes..." @lauralaker.bsky.social 👇 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Your weekend Streets Ahead listen has landed - the long summer edition 🌞 ⛱️

In addition to this thing, I've been writing up interviews about the National Network, taking in the mayoral and national perspectives, for my Substack

I wrote a thing www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Have you read 'Potholes and Pavements: A Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network' by @citylit.bsky.social alumna @lauralaker.bsky.social? Shortlisted for the Vicki Orvice Award for Women's Sports Writing 2025 🏅 'Just wonderful – two wheels good, Laura Laker brilliant.' - Jeremy Vine

Thanks folks for the replies and sympathy to my trivial moan. I hadn't even thought to try a different programme... all sorted within minutes!

Have spent much of the last hour trying to get HP's dreadful 'Smart Scan' programme to recognise my otherwise reliable printer. The old 'scan and capture', now phased out, was so easy, while this new one adds several pointless steps, a wheel of doom at each step and a lot of obsolete complexity

Last week, I had the chance to listen in on a conversation between @who.int and the Mayor of Paris, @annehidalgo.bsky.social. Here are five things other cities could learn (with a bonus bit on the increasing powers of UK Mayors): micromobilitybiz.com/five-things-...

@vecchiojo.bsky.social My DIY assistant, keeping himself entertained while I paint

That dates it

Finally caught up last night on ITV's Tour coverage. I can't believe it's over and out. Gary's dry wit, Ned and David's incisive, entertaining commentary, and the mini-features in between. Imlach on a pedalo, from the archives, rescuing some 'lake art' is one of the best things I've seen in a while

I left my phone on a tube platform at the weekend by accident, and then I got it back, thanks to the kindness of a stranger. Remarkable, really substack.com/@lauralaker/...

🚨 NEW REPORT: Today, I'm proud to launch ‘Changing the Narrative – Ending the Acceptance of Road Death in London’ 👉 www.london.gov.uk/caroline-rus... To mark the launch, I’m hosting a roundtable at City Hall today with campaigners, bereaved families, crash survivors, policy experts, TfL and more.

“The Automated Vehicles Act will require self-driving vehicles to achieve a level of safety AT LEAST AS HIGH AS COMPETENT AND CAREFUL HUMAN DRIVERS, and they will undergo rigorous safety tests before being allowed on our roads.” “Competent and careful” human drivers make catastrophic mistakes 🤷‍♀️

NEW EPISODE! 🚨 @lauralaker.bsky.social speaks with Melissa Bruntlett @modacitylife.com about the topics in her upcoming book: "Women Changing Cities: Global Stories of Urban Transformation." Listen here - or wherever you get your podcasts. shows.acast.com/streets-ahea...

However