The scale of changes in travel when lockdown eases will be much greater than anyone is discussing.
The modelled drop in public transport usage is enoumous. Secondary-school pupils going to school will likely overwhelm any space on socially-distanced buses. THREAD 1/
The modelled drop in public transport usage is enoumous. Secondary-school pupils going to school will likely overwhelm any space on socially-distanced buses. THREAD 1/
Some councils are starting to put emergency plans together. However pavement widening in a few locations will not be enough. Emergency bike lanes around hospitals is better than nothing, but again is not enough to match the scale of challenge. 2/
We are going to have to ask everyone to walk, cycle, scoot & roll short journeys where possible. More than encouragement, this needs enabling. It means creating emergency Healthy Travel Zones (Low traffic neighbourhoods) across the UK. We have three weeks to get started 3/
Entire boroughs in central London will need to be converted into networks of low-traffic neighbourhoods if we are going to provide the space needed to travel in our communities safely. This is the only way we can reboot the economy & get the country moving safely again. 4/
An dramatic increase in car use combined with universal access to SatNav will route huge volumes of cars down residential streets in less than 30 days. The sight of social distancing by walking in the street and the increased use of bikes will be crushed without action. 5/
People do not need encouraging to walk and cycle - they need these modes to be enabled. This means offering them space to move - safely, quickly & comfortably.
That space exists all round us. We have to remove some on-street parking & close some streets to through traffic. 6/
That space exists all round us. We have to remove some on-street parking & close some streets to through traffic. 6/
We need transport planners to change everything about how they work to meet the challenge.
We need low-traffic neighbourhoods delivered quickly, cheaply & at scale. It’s time to get crayons & maps out and start working traffic cell by traffic cell 7/
We need low-traffic neighbourhoods delivered quickly, cheaply & at scale. It’s time to get crayons & maps out and start working traffic cell by traffic cell 7/
Councils with the will, will find a way. The imperative to work quickly will mean that LTNs can be delivered at a fraction of their normal cost. Each zone needs to be 1km to 1.5km sq, be bounded by main roads with filters to motor traffic ideally placed in the center 8/
These are emergency and temporary measures. I suspect that in 12 months we will realize that this is a much better way to allocate limited space but, we may not. For now, the imperative is to act and stop any recovery being choked off by unworkable levels of car use. 9/
In the words of Dr Michael Ryan which I cannot recommend enough - Work fast and have no regrets. independent.ie/videos/be-fast…. 10/
For councillors wanting to understand how they can move quickly and what other councils across the UK are doing:- join the Labour Cycles Webinar on Thursday at 17:00. (This session is aimed for Councillors, council leaders and transport planners) us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regist… /11
