The thing about low traffic neighbourhoods is if they're making an area more annoying to drive in then they're probably working.

Soon residents will start asking "is taking the car the best option for this journey?" and finding most of the time, the answer is no.
Again and again I'm reminded of that saying "when you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression."

Drivers are so used to interventions being aimed at making their journeys easier that the moment a different road user becomes the focus, they can't cope.
Is Hackney as hellish to drive in as most streets in London are to walk and cycle in? Of course not.

But for drivers, slight delays feel like hell. For many cyclists and pedestrians, a hellish journey is one you feel like you might not survive.
Driving shouldn't be safer, more convenient or more enjoyable than walking or cycling. But right now our streets are designed to make it that way.

To achieve equity between those ways of travelling things will have to become less convenient and joyful for drivers. That's okay.
(I haven't said things need to become less safe for drivers on purpose because studies show LTNs reduce risk of injury for drivers too findingspress.org/article/18330-…)

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More from @SarahJ_Berry

10 Feb
This is going to be a controversial one, but stick with me here if you can: I'm worried the active travel community might have a fat-phobia problem.
Full disclosure: I'm fat, or obese if we go by the BMI measure, and I have never once faced any hostility or criticism about that from anyone in the movement. It's not personal.
But I have seen things that are a lot more subtle than that. Things that when I've heard them or read them have given me that anxious twinge in my stomach that make me feel like I might be being judged.
Read 16 tweets
9 Feb
If you want to help other women get on their bikes and discover the joy and freedom that cycling brings, and you fit into the categories listed below, then please consider joining @JoyridersLondon

eventbrite.co.uk/e/information-…
@JoyridersLondon Seeing different kinds of women on bikes -- sporty women, pregnant women, anxious women, fat women, awkward women, uncoordinated women, women in dresses, women of colour, women with disabilities, mums, and everything in between -- helped me work up the bravery to give it a go.
@JoyridersLondon Basically what I'm saying is this: don't look at this website and think: i'm probably not what they're looking for, I'm not really a cyclist.

You. Are. Exactly. Who. We're. Looking. For.
Read 4 tweets
7 Feb
Just a year ago I was someone who resented cyclists in London. I never imagined that I could ever be one of them.

Now, city cycling is one of the best parts of my life.

Here’s what helped me change my mind:
Seeing people like me cycle joyfully made a huge difference.

That included young women, anxious women, women on upright bikes, women with fruit and veg, or even better — a new houseplant — in their basket, people wearing skirts or dresses.

Representation matters.
But it wasn’t just seeing people like me. It was also seeing people who I thought were even less likely to cycle than me.

Pregnant women, elderly people, small children.

“If cycling was really as dangerous as I think it is, they wouldn’t be doing it” is what I thought.
Read 19 tweets
5 Feb
Colin is so pure we do not deserve him #itsasin
OH NO #itsasin
Jesus I was not prepared for that even in the slightest nothing bad can happen to Colin I couldn’t bare it
Read 4 tweets
25 Jan
This weekend, I got together with a bunch of other Twitter friends and had a brainstorm on how pedestrians can work together to end car culture.

Together, we generated over 130 ideas.
I've narrowed these down to 19 campaign angles that have the potential to chip away at car culture -- and which we're now looking to develop into fully fledged campaigns.

But first -- we need to connect with the folks already working on these issues.
Below, I've listed the 19 campaign angles we're considering. If you know an individual, organisation or other group already doing good work on this -- can you reply and let me know about them?

That way we can make sure we're not reinventing the wheel.
Read 23 tweets
12 Jan
To all of those who say “the research isn’t in” on the effectiveness of low traffic neighbourhoods…

I present, a thread:

(DM me anything I miss!)
Low Traffic Neighbourhoods reduce road traffic injuries: findingspress.org/article/18330-…
New walking and cycling infrastructure (like LTNs) increases number of pedestrians and cyclists AND increase in physical activity sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
Read 9 tweets

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