Sarah 🍓 Profile picture
Sep 18, 2020 7 tweets 2 min read Read on X
Earlier this week, I asked drivers what it would take for them to give up their cars. The answers were *fascinating*.

Here’s what they told me:

greenpeace.org.uk/news/going-car…
1) We still don’t have enough cycle infrastructure — we’re moving in the right direction, but councils haven’t done enough to show you can get by without a car -- especially to parents of young kids and those who move cargo
2) The trains cost too damn much! Beyond that, public transport is unreliable, unconnected and uncomfortable. Drivers think they might save by giving up their car, but not enough to justify the hassle
3) Not enough folk know about car share schemes — loads of drivers described a longing for schemes that allowed them to easily access a car once and awhile — unaware that those schemes already exist
4) There’s money to be made in the cargo bike share business — loads of people are asking for it. The demand is there, they’re just waiting on the supply.
5) Some people do just need a car — for those with specific mobility disabilities, travelling without a car isn’t an option — and they shouldn’t be made to feel left out as our cities adapt and change
6) Once you give up your car, you don’t look back — I heard from loads of drivers who gave up their cars in recent years. Their pride and joy was tangible.

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More from @SarahJ_Berry

Feb 3, 2022
Active travel like walking and cycling is a gendered issue. Don't believe me? I'll prove it to you.
First up, most of the time men are more likely to have access to private cars than women. Meaning any design that benefits cars over other modes of transport disproportionately benefits them

Source: econstor.eu/bitstream/1041…
And men's journeys tend to be much simpler than women's. Mostly they go to work and then go home again. Whereas women may drop the kids off on the way to the office, and then pick up the shopping on the way home. This is called trip chaining.

Source: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…
Read 16 tweets
Jul 17, 2021
A year ago I was too scared to ride a bike in London. Now I’m one of @WeAreCyclingUK’s 100 Women in Cycling for 2021.

So if you’re out there telling yourself cycling isn’t for you: I urge you to reconsider. Because cycling is for everyone.

Here are my tips for beginners:
1. Rent before you buy: it’s easy to think you can’t start cycling until you have a bike. It’s also easy to say you can’t buy a bike until you know you’ll ride it.

Luckily, you can avoid this issue entirely: by making use of cycle hire schemes.
There are SO many bicycle hire options in cities, and increasingly mor e-bike hire options too.

Then there are organisations like @Wheels4Well and @peddlemywheels let you try all kinds of different cycles before making a permanent investment. Also they’re *lovely* people.
Read 11 tweets
Apr 27, 2021
This week, I asked folks to name an idea in urbanism that they wish got more attention.

One caught my eye more than any other: induced demand.

It’s got perhaps the least sexy name ever, but it’s vital in understanding how our roads work.

So, here’s a thread explaining it.
Have you ever been driving somewhere, stuck in extremely annoying traffic, looked around at the space around you and thought: if they just built more bloody lanes I wouldn’t be trapped here right now?

Well, you’re not alone.
For generations, the folks who built roads felt the exact same way.

So they kept building lanes.

And when those lanes got too congested they’d build more. And more. And more. Until some of the world’s roads literally started looking like this:
Read 20 tweets
Apr 1, 2021
I just turned down a journalist request on low traffic neighbourhoods for the first time since I started advocating for them 9 months ago.

I want to explain why.
The request came from a journalist I've worked with joyfully before, from a publication I respect, and that was one of the things that made turning it down even harder.
The request was for a "debate between neighbours" who live in the same LTN but have differeing views on whether they're good or bad for the community.

From the minute I got the request, something didn't feel right.
Read 17 tweets
Mar 30, 2021
Excited to be listening in to @centreforlondon's panel session on the future of London's red routes.

We need to reduce congestion on every road in London and red routes are a key part of that.
@centreforlondon What's clear already is that red routes aren't achieving all of their goals.

Despite looking to achieve everything listed in this list, participants have their doubts as to how effective they are at doing so. Image
@centreforlondon The future of red routes is also the future of our high streets. So often, local high streets sit on red routes and feel the consequences of the fact that red routes are no longer fit for purpose.
Read 5 tweets
Feb 23, 2021
A thread on cars and fear.

Earlier this week, I was walking on a quiet back-street and enjoying the sunshine. On the pavement across from me was a dad with his three children doing the exact same thing.
The youngest of his children was out of his stroller, toddling alongside it and holding on to its side. The middle child was riding one of those plastic ride-on cars you push along with your feet and LOVING it. The eldest was asking questions and chatting with his dad.
The middle child, whilst having a great time, wasn't quite keeping up with the pack. So dad stopped and called back to him telling him to speed up.

But when he turned around, his youngest child had let go of the stroller and run off straight towards an intersection.
Read 18 tweets

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