Podcasts about Sustrans

Laura Laker is a London-based freelance journalist who specializes in writing about cycling and urban transport. We talked with her about the year she spent riding around Britain on the United Kingdom's 13,000-mile National Cycle Network—an enlightening and often hilarious odyssey that she documents in her first book, Potholes and Pavements: A Bumpy Ride on Britain's National Cycle Network. We also got into her work in formulating and promoting the UK's first Road Collision Reporting Guidelines, which detail best practices for the media and planning professionals to talk about road crashes and their prevention. *** Support The War on Cars on Patreon and receive exclusive access to ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers! *** This episode was produced with support from the Helen and William Mazer Foundation and Cleverhood. Listen to the episode for the latest discount on the best and most stylish rain gear for walking and cycling. Save 15% on the amazing Arclight Pedals and everything from Redshift Sports with code WARONCARS. LINKS: Find out more about Laura Laker's work. Buy Laura's book, Potholes and Pavements: A Bumpy Ride on Britain's National Cycle Network, at our official Bookshop.org page. Check out the Road Collision Reporting Guidelines that Laura helped write. Learn more about the UK's National Cycle Network and Sustrans, the nonprofit that promotes and maintains it. Pick up official podcast tees and other merch in our official store. This episode was edited by Ali Lemer. It was recorded by Josh Wilcox at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio. Our theme music is by Nathaniel Goodyear. Transcriptions are by Russell Gragg.  TheWarOnCars.org  

Ned and Laura join a bike bus! This celebratory, festive episode of Streets Ahead includes an East End bike ride with tinsel, some Christmas tunes, and a joyful pedal through the streets of West Ham with adults and kids, to Park Primary School.A bike bus is simply a group ride to school, with both adults and kids joining at different points on set days, similar to a school bus. Except everyone pedals, or wheels their way together. Some bike buses are weekly, some fortnightly, some monthly. The idea is to make the cycle, wheel or scoot to school safe and fun - and to spread the word that cycling to school is possible.Bike buses began in earnest in 2019, with a handful of pioneers riding to school in groups. Our own Adam Tranter ran a bike bus with his wife and kids after fellow parents expressed an interest in their cargo bike commute: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2019/10/11/pr-company-bosses-lead-20-child-pedal-posse-to-show-council-that-cycling-to-school-is-unsafe/As pandemic-era school streets were introduced by more and more councils in the UK, restricting motor traffic at the school gates for the start and end of the academic day, more streets felt safe for cycling, and more families formed their own bike buses. There are now an estimated 70 of them - at least those that are publicly advertised.Because a bike bus is simply people riding to school together, not all of them publicise their activities. They can be as informal as a few parents or carers and their kids getting together.Some bike buses are registered on www.bikebus.org - there are an estimated 50 of these, for inspiration.Thank you to Hamish Belding, for his advice for this episode. You can follow Hamish's adventures here: https://bsky.app/profile/bikewalkscoot.bsky.socialFRideDays Bike Bus is hosted by active travel charity Sustrans, and offers support for organisers, with materials like marshal tabards and a free guide. Find out more here: https://www.sustrans.org.uk/campaigns/fridedays-bike-bus/. There are around 20 of these bike buses. Hamish says Cardiff x 8, Swansea, Caerphilly, Pembroke, Plymouth, Cheshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Dorset, Reading, London and Edinburgh. There are more Bike Buses in pipeline to be launched during Spring/Summer term – potentially in London, Wolverhampton, Tonbridge and Cardiff.Thank you to Better Streets for Newham for the photo of Ned in action: https://bsky.app/profile/betterstsnewham.bsky.socialThank you for tuning in for 2024! We appreciate all of our listeners and supporters and look forward to more adventures in 2025.If you want ad-free listening, behind-the-scenes and bonus content and to help support the podcast - head to (https://www.patreon.com/StreetsAheadPodcast). We'll even send you some stickers! We're also on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: https://twitter.com/podstreetsaheadIf you're reading this, please can you take 1 minute to give us a rating and write a review? It helps us more than you probably think! Support Streets Ahead on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Should we make parking more expensive, to encourage public transport or active travel? Frank spoke to Anne Madden from Sustrans and Glyn Roberts from Retail NI Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are in East Lothian with Patricia Stephen, founder of Phantassie Organic Produce. They head out to the fields during pumpkin planting and chat about the growth in organic food and farming over recent years.Friday 12th July was the launch of this year's Big Butterfly Count organised by the charity Butterfly Conservation. Mark met Apithanny Bourne, their East Scotland branch chair, at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to find out more about the count and see if they could spot the elusive Holly Blue.In this week's Scotland Outdoors podcast, Helen Needham is in rural Wales with musician Owen Shiers. Owen lives in a housing cooperative in Ceredigion which was formerly a sheep farm and is now a woodland. He explained how that process had happened and they chat about the concept of rewilding.A year ago, Mark headed out on a trip with Hans Unkles, co-owner of Scotland's first ever electric, solar-powered fishing vessel. A couple of weeks ago, Mark and Rachel caught up with Hans to hear how the first year of the boat has gone and if anyone has been inspired to follow in his footsteps.The Pine Hoverfly is one of the rarest species in Scotland. It used to thrive in Pine woodlands across the country but is now confined to just a small area of the Cairngorms. Rachel visits the Highland Wildlife Park near Kingussie where the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland are working on a breeding programme. Dr Helen Taylor told her about the project which has involved releasing thousands of eggs and larvae into the Cairngorms National Park in an attempt to save the species from extinction.Farmer turned comedian Jim Smith has become pretty well known across Scotland over the last few years, especially in farming circles. He's appeared at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, on TV and radio and now he has his own BBC Radio 4 series- Me and the Farmer. Jim chats to us live about his journey from cattle to comedy.Two years ago, journalist Paul English encountered a team of archaeologists exploring a patch of land in Govan in Glasgow. The team, from the University of Glasgow, were taking part in a research project to uncover what they could of the one remaining site of the Glasgow Garden Festival of 1988. Paul recently went back to catch up with the team and see what treasures they'd uncovered.While on the outskirts of Edinburgh a couple of weeks ago, Mark bumped into a man on a strange looking electric bike. It turned out to be Jim Gayes who is working with the charity Sustrans on mapping the off-road National Cycle Network. He explained more about how the bike system works and why the mapping is important.

This episode of the Connected Leadership podcast takes a unique turn, featuring Laura Laker, a prominent and well-respected travel journalist and co-host of the Streets Ahead podcast. Laura Laker has written for national and specialist titles for well over a decade. Her new book is, Potholes and Pavements: A Bumpy Ride on Britain's National Cycle Network, Laura's journey to becoming a cycling advocate is anything but straightforward. She shares her story with Andy Lopata, of navigating different career paths before discovering her passion for cycling at university. The joy she experienced cycling through London and the opportunity to improve air quality and health through active travel ignited her enthusiasm. The conversation then turns to the impact of shared interests on building and deepening relationships. Andy and Laura reflect on their own friendship, which blossomed through their shared passion for walking and later, their book releases. Laura talks about how cycling has influenced her own friendships and professional networks, emphasising that shared activities like cycling and dancing act as social lubricants, breaking down barriers and allowing individuals to be more themselves. Turning to the book's core topic, Laura explains how the National Cycle Network, despite being composed of asphalt and gravel, is ultimately about people. She highlights the crucial role of volunteers, local and national networks, and organisations like Sustrans in building and maintaining the network. Through anecdotes about the development of cycle paths and bridges, Laura showcases the importance of community involvement, place making, and collaborative efforts. The conversation shifts to the challenges facing the National Cycle Network, including underfunding and a lack of long-term planning. Laura emphasises the need for consistent funding and government leadership to prioritise cycle routes as a strategic infrastructure, akin to high-speed rail projects. The conversation then examines the delicate balance between being a journalist and building relationships with those you cover. Laura shares her approach to ensuring accuracy, fairness, and honesty in her reporting, even when challenging those she interviews. She believes that this approach builds trust and facilitates open communication, leading to constructive change. The episode concludes with a discussion about the contentious relationship between pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. Laura points out the manufactured conflict that is often fueled by political actors and social media. She advocates for a more holistic approach to urban planning, emphasising the need for safe and dedicated spaces for each mode of transport to reduce conflict and improve safety and the overall quality of life. Laura's book, "Potholes and Pavements," stands as a compelling call for greater investment in active travel and a more people-centred approach to infrastructure. It serves as a reminder of the power of community, the importance of relationships, and the potential for positive change through thoughtful collaboration. Connect with Andy Lopata: Website | Instagram | LinkedIn | X/Twitter| Youtube Connect with Lisa Laura Laker: Website | X/Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram

Whether your concern is the environment, health or road safety; the severe congestion that plagues the streets around UK primary schools is something we could all do without. In this episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast, released during National Walking Month, we meet James Lucas, a devoted father and keen cyclist from Wymondham in South Norfolk, who has worked with others at his children's school to implement a School Street initiative – closing the road outside the school to most motorised vehicles twice a day during term time. We also hear from Cara Fahy, Headteacher at Robert Kett Primary School, Jeremy Wiggin of Norfolk County Council and David Burt from Sustrans to learn more about the successes and challenges of implementing a School Street. Listen now to Taking To The Street, to hear how this collaborative initiative is benefitting the lives of children, parents and the wider school community. --------------------------------------------- Show Notes To find out more about Sustrans School Streets, check out the story page on Carbon Copy: https://carboncopy.eco/initiatives/sustrans-school-streets Learn more about what Sustrans do: https://www.sustrans.org.uk/ Learn more about climate action in South Norfolk: https://carboncopy.eco/local-climate-action/south-norfolk Find more tips and information about active travel on Carbon Copy's community page, here: https://carboncopy.eco/community/walk-and-cycle Read about what Norfolk County Council is doing to address climate change: https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/climate Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21st April 2024 The Spokesmen Cycling Podcast EPISODE 352: Laura Laker SPONSOR: Tern Bicycles HOST: Carlton Reid GUEST: Laura Laker LINKS: https://www.the-spokesmen.com/ https://www.ternbicycles.com https://twitter.com/CarltonReid https://twitter.com/laura_laker https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/potholes-and-pavements-9781399406468/ Carlton Reid 0:11 Welcome to Episode 352 of the Spokesmen cycling podcast. This show was engineered on Sunday, April 21 2024. David Bernstein 0:28 The Spokesmen cycling roundtable podcast is brought to you by Tern bicycles. The good people at Tern are committed to building bikes that are useful enough to ride every day and dependable enough to carry the people you love. In other words, they make the kind of bikes that they want to ride. Tern has e-bikes for every type of rider. Whether you're commuting, taking your kids to school or even carrying another adult, visit www.ternbicycles.com. That's t e r n bicycles.com to learn more. Carlton Reid 1:04 I'm Carlton Reid and today's show is a chat with like journalist Laura Laker, author of an excellent new book, Potholes and Pavements. This is a travelogue featuring Laura's travels around the UK, writing on some of the best and worst bits of Britain's National Cycle network. From jaw droppingly gorgeous looking ancient military roads in the Highlands of Scotland to dark and dingy urban back streets blocked with barriers. As the books subhead warns, it's a bumpy ride. Um, so you've written a book. Is this your first? Laura Laker 1:46 Yeah, my first my first book, believe it or not, Carlton Reid 1:49 well done. Congratulations. It's a brilliant first book. One of many. I'm sure it'll be one of many. I noticed you've got a an agent. Yeah, you say in the back and thank him. So I'm guessing you're going to be doing more books? Laura Laker 2:00 Yeah, I guess so. I'm not trying to think about it too much. This one was very long in the gestation. I had an idea back in 2017 to do a basically ring around talking to people. I'd listened to the audiobook of John Steinbeck's Travels with Charlie, in which he travels across the US with his big poodle, and talking to people and he says he's most wonderful conversations, which were later question for their veracity, but it's just, it's just a wonderful format. And I love I'd kind of in that trip to America, I rediscovered my love of talking to strangers, which I had as a kid, and I'm kind of lost over the years, I guess, being British, but spending time in the US where everyone is just willing to talk to you and tell you their life story. I rediscovered this just love of cycling, is brilliant for that, you know, just talking to people you're travelling around, you might stop at some lights, or you might pass someone on a path and just get chatting to them. And it's wonderful people have the most amazing stories, I think Carlton Reid 2:59 Well, there's two teachers that you met, hopefully they will read the book. You weren't avoiding them. Laura Laker 3:07 I know Greg and Norton, they were so brilliant. And the most unexpected encounters and I was up in the Cairngorms and travelling alone and feeling a bit like oh, you know, such a beautiful, it's ridiculously beautiful up there. I'm always just astounded by Scotland, and how how it's possible for somewhere to be so beautiful. And the NCN [National Cycle Network] across the Cairngorms is something else, it's really quite remarkable. A lot of its off road, it's this dedicated path. It was an old military road. And the rest is on fairly quiet country roads. And I was pootling along on my big pink ebike, which I did some of my adventures on and I saw these roadies coming up behind me and I thought well that they're going to overtake me in a bit. And sure enough, they did. We said hello. And then I saw them stopped at this bridge and they were looking over and they just had this wonderful kind of whimsy about them this they weren't they were going a long way actually they're going from kind of Aviemore back to Preston where they were at least one of them lived and doing it over a couple of days in sort of training one of them's an Ironman enthusiastic participants, but on the way they were stopping looking over bridges, that sort of waterfalls over rocks and like looking across the landscape and just enjoying the scenery. And that for me is what cycling is about. It's about appreciating the world around us and the people around us and so they said we'll ride with us for a while and as you know ebike your Aberdeen bought a bike mine included, maxes out at 15 and a half miles an hour which these guys were obviously capable of exceeding quite easily. So but they they rode with me for quite some time and we chatted and they were just fantastic. And then yeah, they they stopped for a week and I had to run inside for a week. And then I came out and they'd gone Carlton Reid 4:51 but it's quite a nice way to say goodbye. Are you are you are you taking notes as you're going along? So you wrote their names and what they did. And or you coding stuff. How are you physically? Laura Laker 5:02 Yeah, so I get back at the end of a ride and write stuff down. And I do think it's best that way, especially with travel writing, because you forget so much so quickly. And the big three Cornwall, I think is, you know, in the early parts of the book, when I first started the exploration, further afield, you know, writing stuff down as you experience it, or very soon after is really important because you lose a lot of the detail and the texture of what you're experiencing. And I think it just makes for much richer story that way, but also difficult to do because you're having to memorise and maybe that's why Steinbeck was getting criticised because he wasn't writing No, no. As he was going along, he's remembering it. Well, memories can do. Memory is really interesting, actually. Because we we probably most of us think that our memories are fairly good, or the way that remember things is correct. But actually, it's very, very subjective. And the longer time goes on, the more we forget, or the memory gets warped, or things get introduced that didn't exist, maybe and it's really very, very subjective. I've got I don't know for some things, I've got quite a good short term memory so I can remember to a certain extent, but obviously, as Homer Simpson once said, you know, one thing comes into your brain another thing has to leave it so. Carlton Reid 6:23 That's 100% me though. So this book Potholes and Pavements, a bumpy ride on Britain's National Cycle network, it comes out May the ninth published by Bloomsbur. £16.99. Excellent, excellent book. I read it yesterday and got up early this morning to make sure I finished it before I spoke with you. Now normally when when I talk to people for this podcast, I always get them to send me a photograph so I can do the you know, the socials and the thing that goes on the show notes. What have you with you, oh, an hour and a half to do that. Because I have ridden with you ridden with you on bits of the ride that you are right that you mentioned in your book. So when you mentioned that, you know the cycle superhighway. You make an item was like, I've got that photograph because I was holding my camera photographing you behind me? Laura Laker 7:20 Yeah, with Brian Deegan. Carlton Reid 7:21 There's knowing smiles when I'm reading your books like I was on that ride. Like I know, Laura. Oh, my word. It's also like me on that ride. And when you describe windmills, yes. But the windmills and it's a cute book for me. Also cute because I know lots of these people who you're describing. And I know in the book, it says he didn't want to be described as a hero. But he is a hero. And because it's about the National Cycle network, then clearly that's got to be the guy who not single handedly founded it, but certainly pushed it through with those with those early innovators. So that's John Grimshaw. So he comes in, he's, he's in at least three or four parts of the book, you've clearly gone to speak to him a number of times wonderful. And it's fantastic that he's in there, because he really doesn't get the recognition he deserves. Laura Laker 8:16 Yeah, it's interesting. I mean, he I obviously have to speak to John Grimshaw. Because a lot of people as he points out, and as I tried to convey in the book, a lot of people and probably, you know, uncountable numbers of people were involved in the foundation of and development of the National Cycle network. And then it's maintenance ever since many of whom are working for very little, in fact, nothing, because they loved it. But John really seemed like, talking to people and talking to him, was the driving this real driving force behind it and his kind of self belief and single minded determination, I think was a major driver and he is such a character. I mean, a bit of a Marmite character, I think, but, you know, it seems like you need people to kind of drive things forward. Carlton Reid 9:05 Cos you need somebody like that. He's a visionary. Yeah, you know. I love Malcolm Shepherd. I love Zavier Brice, the people who are in charge now and Malcolm was the guy who came in after after John. But Malcolm wasn't a visionary. Malcolm was an accountant. And when when the organisation any organisation any business gets big, then you very often need somebody else to take over. And there's lots of faction there at the time. You don't go into it in a great detail. That was enormous friction there and there's still enormous amount of bad blood between people. Laura Laker 9:46 Yeah, and it's interesting because Caroline Lovatt. Here's another key figure from fairly early on and still works with John today. On there, they're still building cycle routes under a different organisation, cycle routes and greenways and Um, she says that, you know, for for years, according to her, John kept disappearing from the kind of record of that of the history of the NCN on Wikipedia, she kept putting him back in. And um, yeah, I mean, the story was, and that was a difficult part of it to tell. But it was one that had to be mentioned, I didn't want to go too into it. But obviously, you know, John, leaving Sustrans under fairly strange circumstances, and really against his will, was was part of the story that needed to be told. And it was a different and I spoke to a number of people and nobody really, I think, you know, there were potentially nondisclosure agreements. And so nobody really talks about what exactly happened, which is why I call I mentioned the omerta. Because it really seems like everyone has a slightly different story, or, and I and again, I, you know, it's memory and it was a painful time. And it was a long time ago. And it's quite common, as you say, with new organisations, you've got this big driving force, but then sometimes they're not the person to carry on leading an organisation once the first major thing is done, and, you know, they might not be great with people is, you know, having a skill to start and drive something is not the same as being a sort of manager of people and diplomats. And it's, yeah, it's quite often it's a painful process, certainly not unique, I think. Carlton Reid 11:16 No, it's very common for that kind of thing to happen. However, saying that it's very important to recognise who was that visionary? And I think he lost an awful lot of that. So, so wonderful to see John. central to that. So that's really nice part of the book because I, you know, John, John is a wonderful, wonderful guy, and absolutely, this would not have happened without him. I know, there's lots of other people you know, David Sproxton, all these kind of people were there at the same time, George Ferguson. So So Sproxton was Aardman Animation. So people who know admire animation, George Ferguson, Mayor of Bristol, at one point, all these individuals were there at the time, but it needed that guiding force that needed that. Just somebody who woulda just said no, and just went ahead and did it. That was that was the ethos of Sustrans in the early days. So that Laura Laker 12:12 Yeah, yeah, because the status quo then as it is, today, is very much stacked against cycling routes happening. And so you kind of need a rebel who's not willing, who's you know, not willing to take no for an answer? Who's going to be able to make things happen? And I think in a way that kind of, I guess, you know, being from a fairly well off upper middle class background, you have the confidence really the education that kind of gives you that confidence and and then the character and self belief to just to drive that forward. Carlton Reid 12:47 Mmm. That you didn't mention not even once Cycling, Touring Club CTC cycling UK. Because the book isn't in all cycling, you are you are laser focused on the National Cycle network. But there was also friction between those two organisations, you know, stranden effect was an upstart organisation, then it got for £42.5 million with Meatloaf handing that over on TV or that kind of stuff. And there was there was an awful lot of friction between still is between strands and and what is today cycling UK. So you haven't got into that at all. What Why didn't you go into that? Is that just because you wanted to just stay laser focused on the cycle network? Laura Laker 13:36 I mean, I mentioned that not everyone felt that Sustrans was being helpful because they felt that cycle route should be delivered by government and charities stepping in. And taking that role almost allows the government to say, well, you know, someone's doing it. Now. We don't need to get involved. But I mentioned the kind of tension between certain types of cyclists. I think I might quote to you, I think I've got you in the references on that. But I mean, I don't know if I just don't know how. I don't know. It's yeah, it's a tricky one. It's how much to include, and you always have to make these decisions, what to include and what not to include, and I guess I just didn't feel like that was a key part of the story at all. There was some thinking at the time around that but and I'm aware that there was tension and I know that Mark Strong for one who gets quite a mention in the book, talked about Sustrans being too successful and not successful enough in that, you know, they were doing this job notionally? No, they were doing a great job for with what they had and who they were and ie not the government and with not very much money but they were doing enough just to allow the government to just say, You know what, well Sustrans is delivering the National Cycle network, tick, job done. Let's get back to the serious business of roads. Carlton Reid 15:01 because there is there is you meant we will get on to the very positive points, you've got like a bunch of what what do you call it in the book where you've got a whole bunch of asks basically? Oh, yeah, the manifesto, the manifesto. There you go. Number one, we'll go through these points. 10 point manifesto. So there's some positive stuff to talk about that. But you don't really mention that there's this that, you know, you're talking about, you know, this should be funded nationally, and there is that struggle, bear with you know, this is a charity, etc, etc. But then you've also got the weakness of you have actually got to at least have British Cycling as well, three competing organisations, going to government and asking for money for various things. And wouldn't it be nicer and more practical and may even get more stuff? If there's only one organisation so there is that there is the absolute fault line running through cycling? That is one of the reasons why it's very easy for the government to not do stuff because they're getting told different things by different organisations and one organisation saying don't back them back us. So there's that kind of friction there. Laura Laker 16:22 I don't know if that's if I see it that way. I mean, Sustrans cycling UK, and British Cycling, and things like livable streets are all part of the walking and cycling Alliance. And I think what that what that's trying to do is to unify the voice, because ultimately they want the same thing. I mean, British cycling's coming at it from a sports point of view. But recognising that its members also need safe roads to cycle on. And that means a whole host of other things, safe protected routes in cities. And that's popular with members. And then cycling UK, originally a touring group, now a charity that lobbies for Safe Routes, safe conditions, and also delivers stuff for government, such as what to fix your ride, and a bunch of other things. And then Sustrans is a National Cycle network and behaviour change programmes. So there are overlaps, but I do think they are distinct. And I don't see I don't see it as I mean, they probably have internal, you know, perspectives on things and perhaps don't always agree with what the other one was doing. But I think I think they tend to present a fairly unified front these days. Carlton Reid 17:30 They're not as bad nowadays. I mean, it's when you get rid of it certainly did not get rid. That's the That's the wrong phrase. When individuals leave organisations, it can change because a new people come in, and you know, those alliances are, that's what you're just used to. But you know, before that alliance was put in place, they were cats and dogs, they were really hating on each other and slagging each other off to government as well. So that's why government was able to go up. This cycling is just mad look, these these, you know, what they, these three cats in a sack just fighting each other. Laura Laker 18:03 And then you saw, I mean, I think I talked about, you know, Malcolm Shepherd, who was the CEO after John Grimshaw. He went to ministers, and he was saying, why aren't we getting the funding we asked for? Or why are we getting taken seriously, I think was the question. And he was told, Well, you don't ask for enough money, basically. So they were thinking and perhaps this kind of historic infighting is also a function of the fact that these were kind of fledgling organisations to an extent for some time, not very much funding. They were run by enthusiasts probably, who all had their own ideas. And of course, let's not forget that there were also the vehicular ISTS who didn't even believe that we needed cycling's of which I think cycling UK early on was one and that might explain why they disagree with Sustrans who were trying to yes, no, there was a whole cohort who stands for that reason, absolutely. 100%. So maybe that, you know, it perhaps is a function of just the whole movement being in its infancy. I mean, it's been going for a good 40 or so years, but I don't know, maybe it was maybe it was just run by enthusiasts for a very long time. And that's why it's taken a while to kind of mature but also I think it was going I mean, our cycling lobby, organisations were kind of leading the way for much longer than a lot of European countries in a nice talk about this in the book in countries like France and in the Netherlands and in Denmark, they all started their calls for National Cycle networks or at least safe routes, thanks to charities and voluntary organisations. And then fairly quickly, were all taken on by the government who saw this as a piece of infrastructure firstly, quite often for leisure, but then they realised people were using these routes for commuting trips, and it was it needed to be part of the infrastructure and was taken up with great enthusiasm and in Sweden as well. By the various local departments and regional governments and delivered quite quickly and at quite a kind of scale. And that hasn't really happened here. And so perhaps those kinds of just the longevity of those cycling groups being so crucial to anything that happens for cycling, has kind of made this whole, I don't know, split more important than it would have otherwise been. Carlton Reid 20:24 Yeah. And like in the Netherlands, the the organization's tried to fight against this, but the government tax cyclists, and cyclists actually paid for the roads. Laura Laker 20:34 They did, that's right. Carlton Reid 20:37 But it's the very fact and this was a cyclist at the time were fighting against, they didn't want to be taxed. In the UK, and the Netherlands, they were taxed. And then cyclists became national infrastructure. And that became critical, as you say, and the fact that you know, there wasn't, there was some national infrastructure, obviously, I've done this the 1930 cycleways project. But the CTC is the British Cycling as of the time fought against all of this, they fought against taxation, they fought against cycle routes. And so there is there is some argument to be made that cyclists have been their own worst enemy. So I know in the book, you're saying, you know, it's just such a no brainer. And it is to back, you know, for want of a better word or phrase active travel. Now, in the book, you've got various people are saying we should call it something different. Laura Laker 21:27 Yeah, Lee Craigie. Carlton Reid 21:27 yeah. Yeah. But, you know, cycling has been difficult, at the same time. And it's like, what's happening in Wales, and in Scotland, is inspiring, possibly, because it's actually coming from above. A lot of it, you know, there's obviously enthusiastic people working on the ground, etc. But a lot of this is coming from government ministers. So that helps. Yeah. And, Laura Laker 21:54 I mean, we have this idea, and I'm sure we're not alone. And this point you just made and the example of the taxing of the cyclists in the Netherlands, which is something I learned during doing the research for the book, I didn't actually know about this, but I, you know, the reason we lost the railways that then became a lot of these greenways was because, you know, we see transport as needing to wash its own face needing to fund itself. And the railways at the time, were losing money for most of the routes. And so that was the reasoning. And, you know, with roads, obviously, drivers are taxed it's not sort of ring fence funding. It's not a road tax, it's, but you know, it is making the Treasury money and cycling has never really done that. And I, I think fundamentally, the way that way of thinking about transport is wrong, because of the benefits, the much wider benefits that transport gives us in terms of, you know, being able to access education and health and social opportunities and for our physical and mental health. And it's, its benefits span far beyond its own kind of silo. But we don't really see it that way. And I'm not really sure actually, if anywhere managers to think of it this way, but I think post pandemic, things like free bus services and in different countries has maybe illustrated that people are starting to think about it differently. But ultimately, I think it's it's a very tricky one. Because like you say, we in a way we weren't, we were own worst enemy in terms of our predecessors in the cycling world. But we were working within philosophy that's that dictated that actually, if you're going to build something, you know, who's making money from it, or, you know, how is the Treasury getting that investment back and not really seeing it as this makes people healthier? Or this gives them opportunities or promotes businesses, local tourism? And all of this? So yeah, I mean, if we'd done it differently, who who knows of cyclists in the UK? So fine, we'll pay a tax. Who knows? We might have an NCN now, but, and even today, it's a little bit of an uncomfortable conversation, isn't it? Because, you know, nobody wants to be taxed. Carlton Reid 24:02 So the book is, it's a polemic in many ways, not not all the way through. But there are definitely bits in there that are strident. And I cannot argue with at all I'm reading it nodding along. And certainly the bits about like the national infrastructure, right, and it's all being spent on roads. And it's it's the so many reasons why that is crazy. Yeah, and why spending even just a fraction of the roads budget on on a national cycle network, you know, genuinely joined up one high quality would bring many more, many more benefits. And then you've got and the irony is, and I did a new story on this is, you have a government minister, who has written the foreword to your book, and he said This is not government minister, a former government minister, a former Transport Minister, Jesse Norman, and then it's like, why don't you do this when you're in power? It's great. You've said it. It's wonderful that you're saying all these things. But you could have done this, you could have pushed for this. And he was also the Financial Secretary of the Treasury. Yeah, he could have released money. Yeah, let me see what he says. But Laura Laker 25:26 it's so difficult, isn't it? And it's, again, it's kind of facing it's the status quo. I mean, it's, I think, maybe important to remember, and I'm not making excuses for anyone. But, you know, he was a junior minister, certainly in his first round is cycling minister. And so he would have had to tow the party line. So I don't know how easy it is for. I mean, he's a very intelligent guy. He cares about cycling. But then he's part of a system, which ultimately, I guess, maintains the status quo doesn't want to upset the applecart. And that's why, in the manifesto, I, you know, I think it's so important that people speak up for these things, because I think until there's an outcry for it, it's very difficult for any one minister, unless we have a cycling Prime Minister, to change all of this. There's a lot of vested interests in maintaining, you know, roads for cars, keeping car manufacturing, going and, you know, taxation on cars is going to be very problematic, because obviously EVs electric vehicles don't pay, you know, drivers with EVs don't pay cortex. So what's gonna happen there? But yeah, I mean, it's difficult, but I think people need to speak up for this kind of thing. We get a lot of kickback pushback from people when there's cycle routes coming. But those are the minority. And one thing I tried to highlight in the book is that most people want this once cycling routes, they they want other options and to drive. And, you know, between two thirds and four fifths of people in representative polls say that they'd support this and many of them, even if it meant taking road space away from motor vehicles. But that's not what politicians listen to. And I think increasingly, politicians are listening to angry people on Twitter. And you know, if Mark Harper's comments about LTNs and 15 minute neighbourhoods is anything to go by, which was straight out of the kind of conspiracy theorists, Twitter playbook, you know, they're listening to the loudest voices. And I think until people say, you know, we actually want choice. We don't want to have to breathe polluted air, we don't want to have our neighbourhoods dominated by motor vehicles. We want our kids to be able to go to school safely. I think it's gonna be difficult for things to change. Carlton Reid 27:45 Hmm. So you have mentioned a variety of routes that are actually pretty good. So yeah, Keswick one is one of them. Laura Laker 27:55 Threlkeld, yes. Carlton Reid 27:58 And that's why I know, I know the route well, as good as now, you know, a cycleway there because that was that was long in gestation. But basically, it's it's it's, it's popular. You know, people say, oh, like, but that's a popular route now, isn't it? Laura Laker 28:15 Yeah, yeah, people drive there. And I mean, that was that was interesting for a number of reasons. I mean, incredibly beautiful. It sort of weaves through Greta gorge, which is just this kind of just this amazing landscape, this sort of rocky river which meanders through this very deep wooded valley. And it's on a former rail line. And it was, which storm was it was it 2015, there was a big storm, which basically crumbled a couple of the bridges with the sheer volume of water that ended up going through this narrow gorge. And then it was out of action for a couple of years. And that was an important, crucial route and a tourist attraction for local businesses. One pub owner apparently offered the local council, I think it was the national parks something like 30 grand out of his own pocket, reopened the route, but it was actually a sort of 2 million pound job. So that wasn't going to go all the way. But you know, this was a really important tourist attraction for people and people drive there because there aren't safe routes to get to and from the ends, so people drive and park and then cycle along it and cycle back. But yeah, it's popular, it's really popular. And they when they put the bridges, the new bridges in Sustrans with various parts of funding, they resurfaced it and there was a big hoo ha about putting tarmac on instead of the gravel that had been there before. But that actually opened up it up to far more people, including people who use wheelchairs and mobility scooters, because any sort of rough surface or uneven ground can tip someone in a wheelchair and it effectively makes these routes unusable. And this is something that I really learned in the book and feel very strongly about now. And there was a big outcry nationally about tarmacking this path because it's in the Lake District and everyone's He has an opinion about the Lake District even if they've just been there once and we all feel like we own it because it's such a beautiful place and I guess rightly so. We all care about it. Carlton Reid 30:07 The Lakers. Laura Laker 30:09 Lakers, my people. Yeah. The people who holidayed in the lakes were known as the Lakers. Yeah, which is brilliant. So yeah, they, you know, they held their ground and they tarmac it and you know, the numbers increased drastically. And this story plays out all over the country, wherever there's a improve surface on a path. Suddenly, it's open to everyone. And this is what this is what cycle rich should be in, in my opinion, it should be open to everyone. Carlton Reid 30:37 Yeah, it's like the cinder path. That's the Sustrans route national cycling group from from Whitby to Scarborough. That was the one that had a load of of people complaining because Cinder path you know, they were going to be tarmacking just parts of it. And lots of people are saying you know but this this this will you know, destroy it or whenever lots of yobs in and it just never got done. And then it's it's impossible for a lot of the year because it's just it gets just too rutted into mud into too horrible. And this is, you know, we discard it would just be so easy. You know, between these two conurbations and small conurbations, if you could ride there on an all year round an all weather path? Laura Laker 31:21 So yeah, I do. I do worry about this, because it's, you know, they say it's an effect gentrification. And you're you're bringing, you know, urban into the countryside yet. There's roads everywhere, and they got tarmac on, and nobody seems to be kicking up a fuss there. What's What's your problem? Yeah, I know. And I think it's just we have this idea about what the cycle routes should be or could be, and we see them as leisure routes quite a lot of the time, we have this kind of set idea about cycling, that it's not, you know, it's not a commuter option, or, but you know, it is, but it goes beyond that. And it is about who can access these parts. And quite often, having an uneven surface will lock a lot of people out. And you know, we're an ageing population in this country. And as we get older, we will all have disabilities, and mobility issues. And it shouldn't be that you know, these paths are any open to a few people. But yeah, it's a difficult one. And we would like to say we've never think twice about it for roads, we've never think about having a road as a dirt path. And I can you know, visually tarmac is not a beautiful thing, but I think if people understood that actually, it's it's not just about the visuals. This is about people and this is what these parts are for they're for people. Carlton Reid 32:34 Well you can make if you want it to be just that colour, you can make the the asphalt you can you can you can dye the asphalt. So it's it's more expensive. But you can you can do all sorts of treatments you can do to make it all weather doesn't have to look, you know, black. Yeah. So anyway, so let's go to another assessment. That's some negative ones. Where they tried to be certain, but then you point out the Polgate one, between Polgate and Glynde, which is almost happened to you by by mistake. Not mistake, but it's certainly a by accident. Yeah. And you're talking about it being just brilliant. So describe that one. Laura Laker 33:11 That's amazing. Yeah. So I was told about this. And then I know someone who lives in Lewis, which is at one end of it. And so we we we met at the station and cycled along this path. And so it's beside the A27, which is a national highways road. And it's right by the sales downs, which is hugely popular with cyclists. And basically, there were so many people cycling on this incredibly terrifying road. It's one of those narrow and winding A roads with huge volumes of traffic. I mean, I went on a walking trip near Louis the other day, and I had to cross it with no crossing and it was it was genuinely terrifying. I can't imagine people cycling on it, because it's, you know, six months. So yeah, anyway, people were being held up in their cars because of people cycling. And so national highways decided it was going to build a path alongside and it's this this was a real eye opener for me because they had done what needs to happen around the country. They had built a path behind the hedge row, which is wide and tarmac and smooze with lots of planting and culverts and bridges over rivers and and they just laid it you know, very little problem. I don't know if they owned the land or perhaps compulsory purchase probably a mixture of I think it was a mixture of both. And so they built this amazing kind of 10 kilometre joyful route, which is just you know, it's just like a road. It's like no stress. You just carry on. There was someone on the mobility scooter the day I was there, a couple of people on bikes, but it was basically hadn't opened yet. And yeah, it was just there. But it's quite funny because at either end, it just stopped because then that's the local councils job to kind of deliver it beyond. But you know, it shows what's possible if you have a national body with the power and the funding, and they have, you know, multi year funding pots which helps plan and deliver this stuff and they just did it, they just sort of swept aside all of the normal problems that I talked about in the book that usually dog these cycle routes. And yeah, it's quite, it was quite marvellous, quite Carlton Reid 35:11 I found it fascinating because one of the things you say is, as we just mentioned there, it, it was an effective bill to get the cyclists off the road. We made enough nuisance of ourselves, that is 1930s to a tee, you know, the transport, you know, built those 500 miles of cycle tracks in the 1930s to Dutch standards laced around the country. Some of them weren't brilliant, but some of them were amazing, you know, 12 foot wide Dutch Dutch level, concrete curbs, you know, perfectly brilliant bits of cycling infrastructure that are now just some of them are white elephants, because they didn't link up to anywhere. But, you know, the government at the time said, Oh, we're doing this for the safety. No, they weren't they were doing it to you know, get cyclists on the road because we're slowing down motorists, but you kind of almost don't care if if if you get a really superlative route behind the hedgerows. Yeah. Okay. It's such a difference. Yeah. That's the difference. It's got to be good. You can't just fob you off with shared route pavement, which is what yeah, the criticism of Sustrans has been is like there's so many shared route pavement. And that's why Sustrans got a bad rap, even though it wasn't their fault. And they were just trying to fill in the gaps. Laura Laker 36:28 That yeah, yeah. And yeah, they just have to use whatever was there, which was quite often a pavement along what would have been a not too busy road in the 70s or 80s. But it's now a sort of thundering highway and being on a pavement with no barrier between you and or no, no sort of space between you and the 60 mile an hour traffic is far from pleasant, and no, no, no parent is going to choose to cycle on that. If they have any other choice, you know, they're going to avoid that like the plague because you know, one little wobble or mistake and then you know, it's horrific there, you know, possible outcomes. But yeah, it's you know, it's, it's fantastic. Because you don't even barely know the roads there. It's just cool. It's just gorgeous. I'd like to go back actually, because it's been a good year, I think since I saw it. At least actually. Maybe Yeah, I think it's at least a year and yeah, let's see how the trees are bedding in and because it was brand new at the time it just been done. But yeah, it is. Ultimately it is possible. And regardless of the motivations it just goes to show what's possible. I liked recently because Andy Streets and his Walking and Cycling Commissioner Adam Tranter he's on my podcast. They announced they're going to deliver the HS2 cycleway alongside in and around HS2 between Coventry and Birmingham. And when they get to Kenilworth, they're basically connecting up to one of their 1930 cycleways into Coventry. So I quite like that, you know, it's sort of linking something that's already there. And Carlton Reid 38:01 yeah, and that's also a John Grimshaw project, wasn't it? That was that was a John Grimshaw. Laura Laker 38:05 Yeah. He cycled the whole thing. Yes. Yes, he's been he's been trying to get that one, you know, for a lot for a long time. And yeah, it does stand alone. No, you need really, you need the HS2, of course, just stand alone without it. Carlton Reid 38:21 It does. Yeah, saying that, it would have absolutely been put in at the same time, that would not have been the difference. So that is point three. So in your 10 Point manifesto, that's basically work together a behind the hedgeroq Act, compulsory purchase orders, all these kinds of things that only government can do. Yeah. needs to be brought in into play. Yeah. And then you you've said and it's very ambitious. But when you think about it's like, yeah, you could do this easily. And that is you know, if if this was done and if money was provided, and compulsory purchase orders were put in like you would do for roads, you can have an unbelievably fantastic truly superlative national cycling in four years. Laura Laker 39:02 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, Brian Deegan active travel England reckoned reckoned on this, because, you know, they have such a huge amount of power and to take go to build a cycle, which basically takes three years generally you do you have a year to kind of plan it a year to consult and tweak and then a year to build it. And for that you need multi year funding, because without that, you can't plan anything, basically. And that's why we've ended up bits and bobs of improvements, because it's like, you get the money, you have to spend it pretty much immediately. But yeah, I mean, the amount of funding a body like national highways has would be enough to you know, link these existing routes. Sometimes there are quiet roads, you know, I guess, in the Netherlands, you have through roads and access roads, things like low traffic neighbourhoods, in the countryside. That is a that is a kind of measure that you can do. And some of it it doesn't all have to be Are these sort of high quality pieces of massive engineering cycle routes, either behind the hedge row or on main roads? Some of it can just be tweaking kind of existing infrastructure so that it's not not every road as a through road. But yes, it's some it's amazing. And I kind of did a double take when I heard this. But when we put our mind to something, it's amazing what's possible. Carlton Reid 40:24 And potentially, we will see the fruits of this in Scotland, and Wales, Scotland, Wales are putting in some really ambitious stuff. And Mark Drakeford going, you know, will they backtrack on the 20 mile limit? And will they, you know, reverse a lot of stuff that Lee Waters that all this kind of stuff is potentially up in the air? We don't know yet. Yeah. But Scotland does seem to be, you know, putting their money where their mouth is, you know, that the amount of money that's going in there, per head, dwarfs what we see here in England. So the potentially you've got, you've got like, in five years, you could have something incredible. In Scottish cities in Glasgow. Yeah. You're talking about Glasgow? Laura Laker 41:09 Yeah. And yeah, Glasgow was amazing. I mean, that was the first time I'd been to Glasgow, on that trip. And I was blown away, actually. So they're developing a city wide network of routes, they're lowering in bridges across, they've got this very kind of, I guess, I guess they had this, at the time, they were building roads, they had a very ambitious programme of building like highways. And maybe that's about the culture of the city that when something comes along, when an idea comes along, they kind of embrace it. Whereas Edinburgh has historically been much more conservative. And so when, when highways when sort of urban highways came along the bond level load of those, and now cycling is seen as this big sort of saviour of health and climates and all of these important things, they're going all out on cycle routes, which is fantastic. And yeah, I was really blown away by what they're doing really high quality protected routes with planting alongside, you know, for extreme weather, it's really important to have permeable and green planting on tarmac. And, yeah, and these beautiful bridges and this massive bridge that I saw, and you know, they're really, really ambitious, I think, I've got a piece coming out about Edinburgh in the next week or so. And it talks about the difficulties that Edinburgh has faced very, very different than the city very conservative. But similarly, it's had a huge amount of funding. And I think they're finally getting to the tipping point there where they're starting to deliver real change, you know, hopefully. But yeah, it's, you know, the money's there, I think there's still difficulties with politics. So they've got these active freeways, which would be a kind of National Cycle network for Scotland, these rural routes, you know, the plan is there, or at least the idea is there, but it's not being rolled out yet. So who knows what's going to happen with that, but definitely, the funding and having that long term funding does make it much easier. I'd really love to see Scotland, you know, doing big things. And I think Scotland and Wales have been very, very forward thinking and a lot of things got maybe Scotland particularly, and more consistently than Wales, because as you say, there's a bit of a question mark. Now over Wales, they've, you know, they had the active travel act, they arguably took term coined the phrase active travel with the active travel act about a decade ago. And yeah, but stuff, you know, they have the policy, they had the money, but again, it's very, very slow to change. And I don't know, maybe they maybe if Westminster were a bit more proactive and supportive, it will be easier, who knows, but you're always going to come up against these kinds of difficulties, local politics and stuff, but I think money talks, you know, the money's there for it local investment, which Council isn't going to want public realm improvements, and you know, health. Carlton Reid 43:49 Money is number one, in your manifesto, so it's funded, and okay, we get the money from it. Here's what you say, stop expanding road capacity, and we have delivered a comprehensive network of cycling and walking routes. Hallelujah. Yeah, exactly. It's just like, you know, we've got so many roads, why can't we have more and more and more and more, as we know, it just fills up with traffic if we're gonna have build it and they will come Okay, let's do it for bikes. Now. You know, roads have had eighty years of this, let's have 10 years for for bikes, but walking and . It's just, it's a no brainer. And the LTNs thing kind of like it's so frustrating. Because we're only talking like a few streets. We're not we're not talking. That's when you hear you know, the the shock jocks you'd think is every single road in the country is going to be catered and you're going to hand it to cyclists. That's, that's how it's portrayed. And we're actually you know, maybe maybe a fraction of 1% of roads. really, genuinely is all too Talking about is currently got anyway. Yeah, having safe cycle routes, you know, don't get it get blown up by us people like us journalists, Laura, we're to blame for misrepresenting this. That's that's, that doesn't say good things about our profession, does it? Laura Laker 45:22 No. And I think I think I mean, it speaks to the kind of economics of journalism that, you know, people want eyeballs on stories nowadays because it's that's what makes advertising revenue funding for journalism is fallen off a cliff. And I think this is sort of desperation about the industry at the moment. But, you know, I think it's important to remember that the people shouting against this stuff are a minority, and most people want this stuff or are willing to try it and see, and most of us want quiet, safe streets, we want our kids to be able to play out in safety, we want clean air, we want, you know, peace and quiet. And I think because we haven't seen it, a lot of cases, it's difficult to imagine. But you know, ultimately, these things happen. There's, there's a pushback from a handful of people who are noisy, but I think if we have conversations about, you know, what we could, what we could get from these improvements from these schemes, then it's much positive way of talking about it. Of course, that's not how news works. And I think that's why we need leaders who are willing to sort of look beyond that short period in which a lot of journalists are shouting, and a few people, some of whom have genuine concerns and need to be listened to a shouting and listen to them. But you know, this is something that people want actually, and, you know, the benefits so enormous. Once it's happened, I don't think people would want to go back. Carlton Reid 46:46 Yeah, this is the thing. It's like, a good example is Northumberland Street and Newcastle, which is a pedestrianised street used to be the A1, you know, really the central state through the centre of Newcastle. It's I think, outside of central London, Mayfair on Oxford Street. It's the highest grossing per square foot retail zone in the country, because it was pedestrianised. And it just made it easier. And nobody in their right mind would say, we need to make that the a one again, guys, you know, let's get the cars and buses soaring and you just wouldn't do it. But Newcastle spent the best part of 20 years doing this, it wasn't an overnight thing. We had to spend a long time, a lot of angst getting it done, but nobody would wish it away now. And that's what when we're not getting with all these LTNs and all these cycles, if only if we put them in, nobody would complain about them. Not really not once they see it, it's just if people don't like change. Laura Laker 47:47 yeah, none of us like change just a thing. And it's hard to picture. And I think it's easy to dismiss people's concerns. Because you know, it's normal for us not to want change, it's normal to be concerned about something if you can't picture it. And you're, you know, many of these are genuine worries about businesses, and how will I get from A to B and, and all of this, but yeah, I think what's been lacking in this conversation is just some sort of grown up honesty about, you know, this is going to be a change. But ultimately, it's going to be one that's positive for these reasons. We, you know, we are going to listen, but ultimately, this is a an agenda that most of us support. And we know it's beneficial for these reasons. And I think we've I don't know, I think there's too much government in this country, and in many English speaking countries, kind of almost government by fear of what the Daily Mail might say, in response to this policy. And even the the recent announcement by governments about you know, stopping anti motorist measures was all caps. You know, it was like almost a Daily Mail headline. Carlton Reid 48:52 Yeah, it's quite scary and sad. Yeah. But then, you know, like you say, if you know, for the ones that hold their ground, you know, stuff dies down, people say actually, that actually is much better. So you know, where I'm coming from, I know where you're coming from. And you're saying people want this, but I'm gonna play devil's advocate here and say, Well, no, they don't people want to drive around. And if you're a woman at night, and you describe a lot of the routes, the Sustrans routes, the Nationals, you wouldn't want to go there at night, and probably no matter how much lighting security whatever you put in, you probably would still feel that way. In. Yeah, yeah. On a bicycle, you're not protected. Whereas a car, a woman, a single woman can get into a car can lock the door, can maybe have, you know, dark windscreen even so nobody knows who's in there. You then become this powerful individual who can get around in safety at the end of the day. But bicycles aren't like that, Laura. So you're you're basically making it more insecure for women to go about as independent beings. Laura Laker 50:11 Well, so as a as a woman who cycles on her own at nights that that route from Arnhem to Nijmergen in the in the Netherlands, so I ended up leaving that event and it was dark and cycling home on my own however far it was, it's a good hours ride along these routes, but because you don't have to stop, you actually feel safe. It's only when you have to stop that you start to feel unsafe in my experience. I mean, there's certain routes like along the canal, I live in East London, along the Li River that I have cycled at night, but wouldn't do now. Because you know, that is very isolated. And people have been known to jump out with bushes. But I think for the large part, if they're well designed, and other people are using them, then cycling at night for me isn't a problem. You know, you're moving you're Yeah, I don't Yeah, I very rarely felt in danger of cycling through London at night, for example. I mean, it's been the odd park where I felt a bit sketchy, but I think if you design them, well, not every path is going to feel that way safe at night. But I think in urban places where a lot of people will be cycling to and from at night, it will probably be fine. I mean, you probably feel quite safe. It's about kind of eyes on the streets in a way having people they're with you. Yeah, and I think if a route were well used enough, and don't forget, you know, if you're, if you're, you know, you're not going to necessarily, you're not going to drive home after a night out if you've had a drink. And so you will have to sort of walk a section of your journey. Most likely, if you're in a place like London, you hate taking public transport, maybe you take a taxi, but I feel I don't feel like if I'm on a busy road, walking alone at night that I am safe with those other people around me because I don't feel like people who are driving through again to necessarily stop and help me if something did happen. So I think kind of busy streets can feel unsafe, even though they're very highly populated. And, you know, theoretically, and this kind of, there's been research on this, you know, people who live on quiet streets, no more of their neighbours, this sort of social safety element, and people start looking out for each other. Whereas if you have a traffic dominated environment, it's people tend to turn away from the street. Carlton Reid 52:28 Yeah, I don't disagree. But if it is looking at the motivation of many, many people, I mean, humans are generally lazy. Yeah. They generally want comfort. They want their own things, and they want security, all of those things you have in spades in cars. The downside is, because everybody wants that. And everybody's in a car, it means you don't get anywhere. Unknown Speaker 52:57 Yeah, I don't think that's a whole story. I mean, I think a lot of the time people drive because the alternative is either aren't there don't feel possible, or they don't feel safe. So cycling on the road wouldn't feel safe, you wouldn't even most people wouldn't even consider it. But we've seen I grew up in rural West Somerset, and you had to learn to drive as soon as you turn 17, you would take your test, you buy a car, and you drive everywhere, because the buses mean the buses are even worse. Now. They were okay at the time, but not great. But they just took longer, and you couldn't get everywhere you needed to go my friends as a teenager lived in variable kind of communities. And so you had to drive there was just no other option I would have loved to cycle. And you've seen in London, where we've got a growing network of roots, suddenly, all these people from all walks of life, all kinds of demographics. Laura Laker 53:48 genders, you see a much better one gender split, but also all types of people cycling. And that kind of speaks to the fact that actually, people do want to do this and they may want to convenience but they also want to enjoy their journey. They also want to save money. Cycling can be incredibly convenient, no parking worries, it's so much cheaper you know you don't have to stress of finding a parking space or you know, paying vast amounts of money. I think something like I forget the number who in transport poverty in this country because of cars basically. They spend something like 19% of their income on their car with finance lorry, using facts to convince me that's Carlton Reid 54:36 Anybody can convince with facts, come on. At that juncture, I'd like to go across to my colleague David in America. Take it away, David. David Bernstein 54:45 This podcast is brought to you by Tern Bicycles. Like you, the folks at Tern are always up for a good outdoor adventure by bike—whether that's fishing, camping, or taking a quick detour to hit the trails before picking Unknown Speaker 55:00 up the kids from school. And if you're looking to explore new ground by taking your adventures further into the wild, they've got you covered. The brand new Orox by Tern is an all-season, all-terrain adventure cargo bike that's built around the Bosch Smart System to help you cross even the most ambitious itinerary off your bucket list. It combines the fun of off-road riding in any season with some serious cargo capacity, so you can bring everything you need—wherever you go, whenever you go. Plus, it's certified tough and tested for safety so your adventures are worry-free. With two frame sizes to choose from and a cockpit that's tested to support riders of different sizes, finding an adventure bike that fits you and your everyday needs has never been easier with the Orox. Visit www.ternbicycles.com/orox (that's O-R-O-X) to learn more. Carlton Reid 56:04 Thanks, David. And we are back with Laura Laker the Laker people. And she's the author of potholes and pavements a bumpy ride on Britain's National Cycle network. It's not actually out yet, isn't Laura. It's actually middle middle of the next month, middle of night. Hmm. Yeah. So you having a launch day what you're doing? Laura Laker 56:28 Yeah, I've got some. You've got like, You got speaker a bank and tell us tell us what you're doing? Yeah, so I've got I'm having like a bit of a party for some friends and family. And then I've got a talk in Stanford's in Covent Garden. I'm speaking in Parliament. But I think that's more of a parliamentary event. And I have got an event at Stanfords in Bristol with Xavier Bryce, we're going to discuss the future of the NCN. I've got one I'm speaking in Oxford, at a bookshop. I'm going to be interviewed by Emily Kerr, who's a green Councillor there. I have got a there's a literary festival in Wantage in November. And we're looking at other events as we speak. Carlton Reid 57:16 Excellent. And this is two hundred and .... All right, I'm going to deliver the end of the book. We're talking 264 pages, and then you've got references back. I mean, one of them. Thank you very much. Laura Laker 57:32 Yeah. Carlton Reid 57:34 Thanks. as well. Yes, at the back there, but there's, there's lots in this. So who's gonna be? Who's your audience? Who's gonna be reading this? Who do you think will be reading this? And what might actually could it start something big with with in politics? Can we could we get this like your manifesto? Can it get out there? What do you hope to happen with your book? Laura Laker 58:00 Yeah, well, obviously, I want everyone to read it. I mean, my editor at Bloomsbury was saying, you know, it's probably going to be cycling enthusiasts, people who I guess already, maybe listen to your podcast, my podcast, read our articles about cycling. But I would like to think that you know, these people, these two thirds to four fifths of people who want more cycling people who think, you know, why do I have to drive everywhere? Why aren't there safe cycle routes? Why can't my kids cycle to school, and see that might see this book and think, Oh, this is going to tell that story, this is going to explain it to me. And so I hope that it's going to give people a sense of kind of why we are where we're at, with the history of the NCN and the stories, but also, you know, how wonderful it could be if we had this thing, this network of connected routes, if it were possible for all of these people who say they want to cycle and more who maybe don't even know they want to cycle could do so. And I hope that, you know, my perhaps naive hope is that people will read it and think, you know, this could be such a wonderful thing, why aren't we doing it? And how can we get it to happen and I hope policymakers you know, we've got an election coming up I think this speaks to you know, forget the culture wars. I think this speaks to all sides, you know, of politics, I think, you know, individual freedom and choice is a conservative value, right? Cycling, cycling delivers on that. Carlton Reid 59:26 Cycling is so libertarian is a form of transport I've had many conversations This is freedom. Why is this left wing? Why do people always assume it's just this thing? Laura Laker 59:42 Yeah, it's become a cultural thing. And it's only for I think, you know, certain factions of the right perhaps see this as a wedge issue. And a way of you know, rallying people around them on based on kind of outrage like false outrage really, untruthes. and you You know, in terms of the left, this is, you know, great value for money, the Labour Party is very, very keen on showing they're working and proving to people that they can be trusted with the economy. It delivers on the green agenda, it's so beneficial in terms of cutting carbon emissions, it delivers on health, pretty much every department that we can think of this offers people access to work, you know, so many people who are out of work, especially in rural communities can't even afford to go and find work or stay in a job because the transport is too expensive, or it's too patchy doesn't go in and they needed to go. So there's like barely a thing that this doesn't touch. And I really hope that you know, along with kind of griping, which is, I hope not too much of the book, and the polemic side that this shows actually, you know, this is great for tourism, this is great for our mental health. This can bring us together, you know, it's about in Scotland, I saw that a cycle route can be a linear park, it can be about artwork and community. It can bring people together from different walks of life around a space. And, you know, cycling delivers on these things. And, you know, if we kind of dropped the culture was narrative, which is nonsense. You know, we could see all of these benefits fairly quickly and for very little money, and have a far better country for it. Carlton Reid 1:01:18 Many people would baulk at having Boris Johnson back. And you do mention this in the book of what he and Andrew Gilligan were able to do. Hopefully, it doesn't seem like I want him back. But will it that that is what you need. I mean, you do talk about having a cycling Prime Minister, we had a cycling Prime Minister, we had a Prime Minister who said it was me a golden age for cycling. So we need we need him back. Laura, that we just we need we need Boris back. No, we don't like that back there. Are there other other politicians are available? We just need people to believe in it. And you know, I hope that people read the book and think, actually, this is something we can believe in, but don't need one of the good things about Boris Johnson. Not only did he you know, talk, the talk, walk the talk, all that kind of stuff. But he was right wing. So he could he just instantly takes away that that part of this oversight is a left wing things like well, here's this right wing politician who's pushing for this Andrew Gilligan, Telegraph writer. These are not left wing people in any way, shape, or form. So is that what we need we actually need and then we'd like all politicians to do this, but by the same thing, you need somebody almost on the opposite side to be doing this, they've got more chance of pushing this through. So that's why Boris Johnson did so well, because he was right wing and the Mail isn't gonna, you know, rail against what Boris Johnson was doing. They never did. Laura Laker 1:02:46 They did though. They did. They totally did. I don't think they discriminated against him because he was towards their political leanings. I mean, it's unlikely we're going to have another conservative government, right, when we've got the election coming up, it's going to be Labour by all likelihood. And so they're going to be the ones in power delivering. So I don't know, Carlton Reid 1:03:09 But they backtracked over their green policies. I mean, what hope do we have? Laura Laker 1:03:12 I know I know. I know it's incredibly disappointing. And the thing is this this stuff like the green agenda, more broadly investment in insulating homes, for example, is such great return on investment and if they're thinking about finances and showing they're working insulating homes is just a total no brainer. You know, we all pay far too much for our energy bills. We live in draughty leaky homes. So many houses are mouldy because of the cold walls are damp Yeah, I just think you know, and green technology, huge growth industry. Solar and wind where you know, we're windy little island, but a lot of coastline. Offshore wind is fantastic. Carlton Reid 1:03:55 But in your in the book, you show how national highways basically is an organisation set up to build roads. And once you've done something like that, and that's their raison d'etre. Guess what they're going to build roads. Yeah. So yeah, it's that oil tanker you know having to put the brakes on and change a whole culture so we're not talking about you know, Cuz your manifesto is saying you know, stop funding this and yeah. Laura Laker 1:04:28 Wales did this basically with their no more roads or no more roads and less they increased active travel and public transport policy. They basically have kind of repurpose their national highways body around this agenda, you know, fill in the potholes. We've got a road in a dreadful state and, you know, develop use all their skills and power and funding for active travel. You know, public transport in this country is drastically underfunded. Buses are so important, especially in rural areas, especially people on low incomes, especially for women and Do you know buses are so important? We're really, really not kind of reaping the power the massive power of the bus.? Carlton Reid 1:05:08 Yeah, that's in your book as well, because you're talking about how buses, you know, need to be able to carry bikes. Yeah. And that's, you know, that's a small part of what they could do but the broader transport perspective that's that's so impor

This week we have our first Year 3 & 4 pupils on the ClwydCast! George and Isabella interview Roger from SUSTRANS and learn all about actively travelling to school and the benefits this has.

Our Story Weaver, Kaska Hempel, talks to Sally Hinchcliffe, a founding member of Cycling Dumfries. The story is the first in a five-part Dumfries series of Everyday Changemakers.  Transcript  See our website: https://sccan.scot/blog/everyday-changemakers-sally-hinchcliff-cycling-dumfries/ Credits Interview, recording and sound production: Kaska Hempel Resources Cycling Dumfries https://cyclingdumfries.wordpress.com/  Pedal on Parliament https://pedalonparliament.org/  UK cycling embassy https://www.cycling-embassy.org.uk/ Sustrans https://www.sustrans.org.uk/  Cycling UK https://www.cyclinguk.org/  Sally Hinchcliffe https://sallyhinchcliffe.net/ Atmospheric river event 8-9 Oct 2023 https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/metofficegovuk/pdf/weather/learn-about/uk-past-events/interesting/2023/2023_07_scotland_rain.pdf  Storm Babet 18 - 21 October 2023 https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/metofficegovuk/pdf/weather/learn-about/uk-past-events/interesting/2023/2023_08_storm_babet.pdf  Kirkpatrick McMillan, inventor of the pedal bike  Video story of the bike reconstruction and journey in 2023 https://youtu.be/pfvocT7rfQ4?si=50bFhanJxAstxAGN  Blog on reconstructing the bike in 2023 https://off.road.cc/content/feature/bike-check-kirkpatrick-macmillans-rear-wheel-driven-wooden-replica-13181 On Cycling Dumfries website: https://cyclingdumfries.wordpress.com/2023/10/03/there-must-be-something-in-the-nith-water/#more-17037  BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-19423947 

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow. Host, Laura Schofield, spoke to Kirstin Taylor, Rachel Smith and Jon Rowe.Kirstin is a director at LDA Design and joint lead of LDA's Glasgow studio. She is a chartered landscape architect who has led on the regeneration of the Sighthill estate in Glasgow; the rethinking of George Street in Edinburgh; and the restoration of the historic Union Terrace Gardens in central Aberdeen.Rachel is a chartered landscape architect with an interest in urban placemaking for health, nature, and climate resilience, and is Assistant Group Manager Parks Development for Glasgow City Council.Finally, Jon is a chartered landscape architect working with Sustrans – the walking and cycling charity – to deliver their new National Cycle Network in Scotland.To read their articles and all the others in this edition, you can find an online version of Landscape for free here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12th July 2023 The Spokesmen Cycling Podcast EPISODE 334: From Bam-bu to Dott via Sustrans, Fettle, Flitbike and the Diagram Club SPONSOR: Tern Bicycles HOST: Carlton Reid GUESTS: Dave Walker, Joana Saavedra, Ilma Barbaroviciute, Andy Lu, Alex Murray, Xavier Brice, Henri Moissinac TOPICS: LINKS: https://www.the-spokesmen.com/ https://www.ternbicycles.com https://twitter.com/CarltonReid https://movemnt.net https://www.linkedin.com/in/moissinac https://bambu-bicycles.com/about/ www.flit.bike www.fettle.cc https://www.sustrans.org.uk https://ridedott.com

Which cycle helmets give you the best protection? I'm a big fan of cycling and so when listener Migue got in touch wanting to know what cycle helmet he should buy next, I was really keen to investigate. Migue wanted to know what factors make a cycle helmet the most effective when it comes to protecting your head: the shape, the material, the fit? He's seen all sorts of neat tech, including collapsible helmets and ones that fit around your neck and act like airbags! To find out more I speak to an expert at one of the world's leading helmet testing labs in Virginia, USA. And in researching this episode I also discovered there is a hotly-contested debate about whether cycle helmets should be the focus at all when it comes to safety. Some - including the organisation Cycling UK and the charity Sustrans - argue that introducing tougher rules around helmets would mean far more lives lost through physical inactivity than would be saved in protecting from collisions, which are rare. That's a view shared by Dr Ian Walker from Swansea University, who also features in this episode. Once again this series we're testing and investigating your suggested wonder-products, so if you've seen an ad, trend or fad, and wonder if there's any evidence to back up a claim, drop us an email to sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk or you can send us a voice note to our WhatsApp number: 07543 306807 PRESENTER: Greg Foot PRODUCER: Simon Hoban “

Which cycle helmets give you the best protection? I'm a big fan of cycling and so when listener Migue got in touch wanting to know what cycle helmet he should buy next, I was really keen to investigate. Migue wanted to know what factors make a cycle helmet the most effective when it comes to protecting your head: the shape, the material, the fit? He's seen all sorts of neat tech, including collapsible helmets and ones that fit around your neck and act like airbags! To find out more I speak to an expert at one of the world's leading helmet testing labs in Virginia, USA. And in researching this episode I also discovered there is a hotly-contested debate about whether cycle helmets should be the focus at all when it comes to safety. Some - including the organisation Cycling UK and the charity Sustrans - argue that introducing tougher rules around helmets would mean far more lives lost through physical inactivity than would be saved in protecting from collisions, which are rare. That's a view shared by Dr Ian Walker from Swansea University, who also features in this episode. Once again this series we're testing and investigating your suggested wonder-products, so if you've seen an ad, trend or fad, and wonder if there's any evidence to back up a claim, drop us an email to sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk or you can send us a voice note to our WhatsApp number: 07543 306807 PRESENTER: Greg Foot PRODUCER: Simon Hoban “

FOLLOW UP: CAMERA MIRROR VIEW ANGLESThank you to Jamie Fretwell, Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK PR& Corporate Communications Manager, who did respond to our unfair public request for more information on the viewing angles of lorries with camera wing mirrors. Click this link to see more via a tweet with a video. Also, he has a thread on safety campaigns across the globe, with this particular beaut from Australia, click here to see more. FOLLOW UP: UK GOVERNMENT CUTS ACTIVE TRAVEL FUNDBuried in with the announcement that HS2 will be ‘paused', to save costs, the UK Government also stated that it will cut the budget fund for active travel, capping it out at £330 million, instead of the £710 million promised in 2021. Click here to read more, from Sustrans. VW TO OPEN NEW PLANT IN THE USVolkswagen has announced the first investment in North American plants thanks to the US Government's Inflation Reduction Act. They will be building the Scout brand vehicles at a new factory in South Carolina. As the VW brand is tainted by dieselgate they are using an older US marque to get a bigger share of the market. Volkswagen claim they were always going to open a plant in the US but the incentives of the new act has pushed up that timescale. This is a blow to Europe as it still formulates it's response to the dual threat of the US and China. Click here to read more from the TechCrunch article.FORD MUSTANG WILL NOT HAVE AM RADIO FREQUENCYThe infotainment system of the Ford Mustang will not come with the AM radio frequency. This has been the case with several EVs but now is taking place in ICE vehicles. AM is being or has already been switched off in many countries in the EU and where it hasn't there are alternatives, such as DAB. Click here to read the arstechnica article for more. TESLA RECALL AFFECTS THE AV INDUSTRYThe recall of all Tesla vehicles fitted with ‘Full Self-Driving Beta' software poses a risk to the autonomous vehicle industry, even though this is not self-driving software. Now that the NHTSA is finally doing something about Tesla, the claims it has made and the reality of their vehicles others may well come into the spotlight. As the linked article discusses, from SAE International, Tesla is not the AV industry. Click the link here to read more. HUD TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE HUDS WORSEEnvisics Holographic has developed a Head Up Display (HUD) that adds augmented reality to what the driver sees. Whilst this sounds like a good idea, the point of a HUD is to reduce distractions for the driver, adding more info does the opposite.

A pre-budget announcement on HS2 last week revealed a £380m cut to cycling and walking funding. This represents a two-thirds reduction of funding in England, and leaves just £100m for active travel in the current financial year. Cycling and walking contributed £36.5bn to the UK economy in 2021, according to Sustrans. Ned, Laura and Adam convene to discuss what's happening and the impact it'll have.We're on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsaheadIf you're reading this, please can you take 1 minute to give us a rating and write a review? It helps us more than you probably think.Episode edited by Clare Mansell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 Laura joins us for the second time after smashing the Guinness World Record for tandem cycling, covering 18,000 miles in 180 days with her husband Stevie! On their way, they raised money for VetLife, Mind and Sustrans. You can still support them by heading over to stelatandem.com. We catch up on her amazing, but sometimes dangerous, world trip and find out about all the wonderful places they visited in Laura's 60-second CPD.  A true challenge in every sense of the word, we hope you find her story as inspiring as we did. If you would like to learn how why she did this, and how she and Stevie prepared for an adventure of a lifetime, catch up on her first episode of Episode 75 of Veterinary Ramblings.Support the show

This Christmas may feel a bit different for a lot of us, with the cost of living crisis and other pressures. So, we thought we'd ask some of the people we have worked with over the past year to reflect on how walking can help bring peace of mind during what can be a busy and demanding time of year. We caught up with Dr Gemma Ryde, a researcher from the University of Glasgow, our artist-in-residence Alec Finlay, Shirley Gleeson, who delivered our expert lecture on connecting with nature, Kate Lesenger from Sustrans and Mandy Clement, who won our National Walking Month competition. We hope you enjoy this special festive episode and we'll be back in the new year with more episodes of Voices of the Walk. 

Accessible Ayr is an ambitious project by South Ayrshire Council, Ayrshire Roads Alliance and Sustrans. The plan is to significantly invest in the town centre, making it a vibrant and more attractive place for people to visit and enjoy, as well as make it easier to access by pedestrians and cyclists. This month we are joined by Fiona and Chris from the project team to tell us all about it! You can have your say at https://accessibleayr-swecouk.hub.arcgis.com/ - this leg of the consultation is open until 12th Dec with more opportunties to contribute in the New Year too. You can view the plans and get more info at https://accessibleayr-swecouk.hub.arcgis.com/?fbclid=IwAR33V504ApWQGIoOt2KsCb76P_sl-wsPALtKG9BkBOyDmZ5j8PIkoXpCGpM Project overview on South Ayrshire Council's website https://www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/accessible-ayr Follow project progress on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085024729990 The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

This month we're joined by Neil Morrison from Socialtrack, a Community Interest Company bringing better living through BMX to the people of North Lanarkshire and beyond. Neil chats to us about their Shredability school programme, their new facility at Strathclyde park, our recent collaboration at Girvan Academy, Mindful BMX and how they have honed their very refreshing coaching style. Links discussed: https://www.facebook.com/Socialtrackcic https://www.instagram.com/socialtrackco/ https://www.instagram.com/mindfulbmx/ https://pumptrack.com/ https://velosolutions.com/ https://www.scottishbiketrial.co.uk/ The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

In this episode of the BikeRadar podcast, digital writer Jack Evans explores what's powering the popularity of electric bikes. Jack asks Specialized Globe and Brompton why they're investing in electric bike technology, while Emily Sinclair from cycling charity Sustrans and Selaine Saxby MP explain their support for ebikes. Meanwhile, Saul Leiken from Specialized Globe makes the case for electric cargo bikes as an alternative to cars in towns and cities. Brompton's head of design, Will Carley Smith, says going electric was an easy decision for the brand, but incorporating an electric motor into a compact folding bike proved trickier. Sustrans Cymru liveable cities and towns officer Emily Sinclair tells Jack about a Welsh government-funded scheme that loans electric bikes to people for free. Conservative MP for North Devon Selaine Saxby is a keen ebike user. She says the All Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking, which she co-chairs, advocates more financial support for people to buy electric bikes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month we are delighted to be joined by Gillian Craig of Gillian's Walks. Well known as one of the best walking resources there is in Ayrshire, the Gillian's Walk website has been up and running since 2016. It's creator (and ex hub officer) Gillian tells us how it all began and the exciting plans she has for the future of Gillian's Walks. Links discussed: Ayrshire Coastal Path Go Fund Me for 2022 Maintenance - https://www.gofundme.com/f/ayrshire-coastal-path-maintenance-fund-2022 Foraging Walks and Digital Navigation waitlist - https://gillianswalks.com/guided-group-walks The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

This month we are bringing you the story of two of our very valued volunteers, Kevin & Anne. Walking has made a huge difference in their lives and they have a wonderful story to share all about their intro to walking and the impact it has had. All walks organised by the Active Travel Hubs are free to attend. You can find info about all Kilmarnock Active Travel Hub Walks here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/active-travel-hub-kilmarnock-31693322077 And all Ayr walks here: www.bit.ly/ATHwalks The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

Commissioner for Children and Young People, Koulla Yiasouma, Alison McCaw from Homestart and Lauren bond of the Secondary Students' Union NI join Linda in studio to go back to school. We hear from parents and organisers at a uniform swap about how the cost of new items is forcing many to search out second hand school clothes. The Consumer Council count up the cost of the school run and Sustrans explain the work happening to encourage those who can to walk or wheel to school.

Amy from Ayr, Pernille from Kilmarnock and Kate from Irvine Active Travel Hubs catch up to tell us all about the upcoming Ayrshire Walking Festival 3-11 September 2022 Download the programme at www.bit.ly/AWFest Podcast links: ACP Jimmy Begg https://anchor.fm/walkit-bikeit/episodes/Episode-5---Jimmy-Begg-of-The-Ayrshire-Coastal-Path-epeetn Nordic Walking https://anchor.fm/walkit-bikeit/episodes/Episode-7---Nordic-Walking-with-Fiona-Fisher-esq9ou Cani-Hike https://anchor.fm/walkit-bikeit/episodes/Episode-9---Cani-Hiking-with-Lindsay-Johnson-e11oo51 Inspire South Ayrshire https://anchor.fm/walkit-bikeit/episodes/Episode-16---Kayleigh-Haggo-of-Inspire-South-Ayrshire-e1etagk Health Walks https://anchor.fm/walkit-bikeit/episodes/Episode-13---Ayrshire-Health-Walks-e191u4r The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

This month we are joined by Colin MacDonald from the Coalfield Community Landscape Partnership The Coalfield Communities Landscape Partnership (CCLP) is a five-year project led by East Ayrshire Council and working with communities and organisations to deliver projects in the coalfield area of East Ayrshire that: Address the threats to the natural, built and cultural heritage through conservation, enhancement and promotion, capitalising on the area's assets for the benefit of people in the landscape Create opportunities for learning, recreation and wellbeing within the landscape for people with a range of abilities and backgrounds Reveal the past lives of the communities, drawing upon their close relationship with the land, thereby connecting people with their heritage and inspiring stewardship Equip people with the skills and knowledge to manage their landscape sustainably, building capacity and making it a successful place for residents and visitors alike Colin talks us through some upcoming projects that are going to be amazing additions to what the area has to offer. Colin mentions this link: A Musical Celebration of The Coalfields - The Moss and The Cosmos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0c6189x6fg Additional projects to highlight are Place-Names of the Coalfield Communities (glasgow.ac.uk), The Lost Villages | An Oral History of Miners' Rows and Deindustrialisation in East Ayrshire, Scotland. and Ploughing up our past – Cumnock History Group. The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

Are electric cars the key to hitting our green targets? In Europe, the industry has taken off, and in the UK more electric cars were sold in 2020 alone than in the previous decade.However, according to the Climate Change Committee, the Government's ambitious plan to cut CO2 emissions by 68 per cent by 2030 will require 46 per cent of the UK's 35 million cars to be zero-emission vehicles by the same year. Based on 2020 car ownership levels, this would mean replacing around 16.1 million cars with electric vehicles. To achieve this, almost every single one of the approximately 2 million new cars registered in the UK each year would have to be electric over the next nine years (2021). It's an ambitious target.   Leading industry experts Xavier Brice, CEO of Sustrans; and Professor Dale Harrow, Chair of the Intelligent Mobility Design Centre (IMDC) join Aspen UK's Penny Richards in conversation on the future of transportation, mobility and city infrastructure, as they answer: is there a better and more beneficial path to success than investment in electric cars? Should we instead be investing in trains, buses, and roads – changing the way we travel, as well as updating the vehicles we're travelling in?This episode was recorded as a live broadcast at The Good Business Festival on 23 March 2022.

Laura is a Companion Animal Veterinary Surgeon who is taking a sabbatical for 6 months to ride around the world with her husband on a tandem bicycle in an attempt to break the Guinness World record, covering 18,000miles in 180days. On their way, they are raising money for VetLife, Mind and Sustrans! You can follow them online from their website at stelatandem.com.We ask why she wants to attempt such a huge challenge and find out how she has trained and prepared for her journey to circumnavigate the world! We also discuss other cyclists who have broken records and the difficulty of attempting this challenge without a team to support you on your way.  Laura loves type-two fun, and we were thrilled to learn about the four different (albeit confusing) types of fun you can have.Lastly, we appreciate the parallels between a career in veterinary medicine and long-distance cycling and Laura shares her fantastic  60-second CPD: Tips For Ultra-Endurance Athletes and Veterinary Professionals.  Support the show

Quick chat with ride leaders & participants on our Southcraigs led ride route Find details of the next ride on this route at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/active-travel-hub-kilmarnock-31693322077 The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

On Sunday afternoon, hundreds of people gathered in Bellfield Street for the BikeFest. It was an opportunity to look at, ride and talk about all sorts of bicycles, many of them highly unusual. The police were there to help register your bike to deter thieves. There was a swap-shop for bike parts, advice on bike maintenance and a workshop on what might help to make Portobello more bike friendly. David Calder took his bike along to find out more.

Yipworld are a young people charitable enterprise in Cumnock, East Ayrshire helping children enhance their social, emotional and educational development. Opened in the year 2000 from social inclusion partnership funding to tackle the problems related to high unemployment from the demise of the mining and textile industries in the area, much of the activity they offer centers around cycling and cycle safety for their young people. For this episode, we are joined by Janice Hendry who is responsible for the strategic and operational activities within the charity. https://www.yipworld.org/about/ https://www.facebook.com/yipworld The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

Here is the latest episode of The Leadership Woman podcast with the Head of Behaviour Change at SUSTRANS in London, Ruth Chiat. What would it take to get you to move from your car to a bike? How hard would it be to make that change?  It's more than supplying more bikes to rent, you have to change hearts and minds and remove barriers. Listen to Ruth's journey from quiet school girl to passionate activist and finally working to make change from within communities. I am even considering having another go at learning to ride a bike!  

Much more investment is needed to make Bristol a safe place for active travel, whether it be walking, cycling or wheeling. That's the message from Zoe Banks Gross, head of partnerships and public affairs for the south of England at Sustrans, as she talks to Bristol24/7 reporter Betty Woolerton in this week's Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast.Zoe wants cycling to be inclusive, but in order to achieve this much more money is needed to be spent on new infrastructure such as segregated cycle lanes. The founder of Bristol Kidical Mass family cycling group also wants to see more children on bicycles and fewer cars on the road.

Mildred Lock is a cycling journalist who writes for Cycling News and Bike Perfect. Before moving into the cycling media she worked in a bike shop where she spent lots of time helping female customers pick out the best products for them, and now as a journalist she has a focus on women's specific cycling products, from clothing to bikes, and everything in between. For this special episode for our Ayrshire Women's Cycle Festival, Mildred is providing her expertise on saddle sores and all the things that can be done to prevent them - bike fit, female specific saddles, chamois cream and the all important padded pants! Plus we have a good blether about her cycling group, her social media presence and of course, her dog. Enjoy! https://ayrshirewomenscyclefestival.org/ Local bike fitting service at Sprockets https://www.sprocketscycles.com/pages/bike-fitting-service @mildredlocke Mildred's cycling group @routingforya Also mentioned: @glasgowpedalcollective and @newforestoffroadclub Mildred's YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/DesignerFreak Women & Non Binary Cycle groups map https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/c27ee8c8f8694149bb2933c0b69e740c The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

Steven McCluskey from Bikes For Refugees joins us this month to tell us all about the charity and the crucial work that they do supporting refugees. "Much more than a bicycle project. Access to bikes for New Scots can be transformational and liberating, supporting every aspect of people's daily lives. Alongside refurbishing and distributing free bikes, Bikes For Refugees also provide: Volunteering and training opportunities to New Scots and others New Scots Welcome Packs containing free bike accessories (helmet, lock, lights, tools) as well as essential information and signposting to other free community services and activities Community group support such as free community meals, bike fixing and buddying sessions, led rides and cycling skills." https://www.bikesforrefugees.scot/ The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

Peter Lipman is the former (founding) chair of Transition Network and Common Cause Foundation. He also chaired the UK government's Department for Energy and Climate Change's Community Energy Contact Group. He's been a teacher, a co-operative worker, an intellectual property lawyer, and worked at UK charity Sustrans, latterly as external affairs director, before setting up Anthropocene Actions, a community interest company that promotes fair, loving, and ecologically regenerative societies. He addresses the question of “What Could Possibly Go Right?” with thoughts including:That cultural change towards empathy and connection will help address challenges and “be an enormously important part of that having a go, that holding that belief that we can do better”The call to experiment more, “take more risks and be much more loving, and see where it gets us”The need to find peace with paradox; “it's about acting now with urgency… from a place of calm and not seeking to control outputs, outcomes; of kind of going with what emerges”Complete show notes HEREConnect with Peter LipmanWebsite: https://www.anaction.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/peteralipmanFollow WCPGR/ResilienceFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildresilience​Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildresilience​Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildresilienceSupport the show (https://www.resilience.org/what-could-possibly-go-right-podcast-vicki-robin/supportthepodcast/)

This special episode is a collaboration between Sustrans and the Open City podcast. In it, we will hear from members of visual impairment charity Croydon Vision about the impacts of street design on their journeys. In commissioning this piece, Sustrans hopes to spotlight the importance of design that is inclusive and considerate. Sustrans is a charity focused on making towns and cities more liveable, amplifying voices that are sometimes less heard in the decision making process. In this podcast, members of Croydon Vision share stories of journeys in the capital in a series of workshops, the recordings of which were edited by the creative minds at Haus Projects. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Multiple World Record holder Kayleigh Haggo joins us this month. Kayleigh's list of achievements in her sport of frame running is nothing short of incredible - matched only by her contribution to disability sports for young people in Ayrshire. Kayleigh discusses with us some recent developments that have seen the sport excluded from the upcoming Paralympics. This has meant she's had to overcome huge disappointment, dust herself off and refocus her training efforts. But she's also here to tell us about her project Inspire South Ayrshire, which is making activities and sports like frame running more accessible for both kids and adults with disabilities in Ayrshire. https://www.facebook.com/inspiresouthayrshire The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

The River Ayr Way is Scotland's first ever source to sea designated route. Following the River Ayr for 44 miles from it's source at Glenbuck Loch, all the way till it meets the sea at Ayr, it offers fantastic sights, history, varied nature spotting opportunities and landscapes along the way. We're joined by Paddy MacDonald from East Ayrshire Leisure who is involved in all things River Ayr Way on the East Ayrshire side. His passion for and knowledge of the route really shine through in this episode. Enjoy! Links mentioned: https://eastayrshireleisure.com/countryside-outdoor/the-river-ayr-way/ https://www.facebook.com/eayrshireleisure https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0012ljf/grand-tours-of-scotlands-rivers-series-1-6-salt-of-the-earth https://www.scotlandsgreattrails.com/ The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

Welcome to a dive into the Sharing things archive and a selection of 5 episodes that revolve around the themes of belonging, fitting in and finding your place. These are conversations about growth and about identity. In our second episode we revisit the conversation between Daisy Narayanan and Dalia Al-Dujaili and listen to them as they talk about childhood excitement, happy folders and love over hate. This episode is hosted by Richenda Rae, who joined us in the summer of 2020. After her summer with us she returned to her final year of medical school. Daisy is Director of Urbanism at Sustrans, a charity making it easier for people to walk and cycle. While on secondment to the City of Edinburgh Council between 2018 and 2019, Daisy led the Edinburgh City Centre Transformation project.Dalia is a final year English Literature student who has recently started a platform and newsletter showcasing emerging creatives called MISFiT. She was formerly editor-in-chief at Mxogyny, an online platform for marginalised creatives to share poetry, art and writing related to prevalent social issues.Each episode of Sharing things is a conversation between two members of our university community. It could be a student, a member of staff or a graduate, the only thing they have in common at the beginning is Edinburgh. We start with an object. A special, treasured or significant item that we have asked each guest to bring to the conversation. What happens next is sometimes funny, sometimes moving and always unexpected.Find out more at www.ed.ac.uk/sharing-things-podcastThis episode of Sharing things was recorded during the Covid thing. We were finding our feet with online recording.Images designed by Chris Behr. They are part of his Nice Things icon set.

Dorian is joined by Ray Craig aka 'Bike it Ray' for a fantastic discussion surrounding the importance of encouraging schools to promote more sustainable travel. Ray has years of experience working with schools on a many and varied range of strategies and initiatives to break down the barriers/dispel myths of safe, green, and sustainable travel to and from school. We talk about why individuals should go green with their travel, highlighting a range of health, environmental and wellbeing advantages as well as describing how schools can get the wheels turning on helping facilitate  and enable more staff and students to go green. This is a vital issue in the wake of COP26 and the DfE draft strategy for sustainability and climate change and from governors to students, everybody would benefit from foundations being laid to support schools and trusts in net carbon neutrality. Ray is so passionate, knowledgeable and friendly - be more Ray!   Links from the show Get in touch with Ray on Twitter @BikeitRay Pedal Planet with Ray http://www.pedalplanet.co.uk/ Bike it Ray's bike skills playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5fRA-WbPmiyI8g88ZC3F61Ybtuldf3Jp   Bikeability https://www.bikeability.org.uk/ Sustrans school resources https://www.sustrans.org.uk/our-blog/projects/2021/scotland/cop26-schools-resource   Southampton Bike Life report 2019 https://www.sustrans.org.uk/media/5953/bikelife19_southamptoncr_web.pdf  https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/ Impending Highway Code changes: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-the-highway-code-to-improve-road-safety-for-cyclists-pedestrians-and-horse-riders/summary-of-the-consultation-proposals-on-a-review-of-the-highway-code  Modeshift STARS https://www.modeshiftstars.org/education/ My Journey https://myjourneysouthampton.com/ Biophilic https://blog.interface.com/3-top-educational-spaces/

'The road is for everyone -there shouldn't be a conflict between cyclists and motorists' - Anne Madden from Sustrans had some words of advice and encouragement for Frank as he begins his cycling challenge See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Stewarton Woodlands Action Trust (SWAT), is a voluntary community organisation, which aims to preserve the woodlands and parks of Stewarton for all to enjoy. Their team of volunteers works year round, often at the drop of a hat, to ensure a safe and enjoyable path network in the area and undertakes important conservation work to allow nature to flourish. In this episode, we are joined by Susan Williamson, Chairperson of SWAT to tell us all about the group and the fantastic work they do. https://www.swat.org.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/Stewarton-Woodlands-Action-Trust-156047554602818/ Twitter @StewartonSwat info@stewartonwoodlands.co.uk The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

Our podcast is 1! To celebrate the anniversary of the launch of our podcast, we thought we'd tell you all about..... us! Throughout December we will be joined by all of the hub officers from Ayr & Kilmarnock hubs to tell us about all the services we offer. Each person has picked topics that they are really passionate about and will tell you a wee bit about themselves to. We hope you enjoy getting to know our projects and our officers a wee bit better! In this episode Hub Officer Rory from the Ayr Hub tells us all about some topics he's really passionate about, Dr.Bike and our schools and communities work. You can find out more about Kilmarnock's Dr Bike sessions here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/active-travel-hub-kilmarnock-31693322077 You can find out about Ayr's here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/active-travel-hub-ayr-26259715225 If you would like to volunteer or find out anything else at all about our activities, you can contact the hubs directly by email info@activetravelhubkilmarnock.org activetravelhubayr@gmail.com The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

Our podcast is 1! To celebrate the anniversary of the launch of our podcast, we thought we'd tell you all about..... us! Throughout December we will be joined by all of the hub officers from Ayr & Kilmarnock hubs to tell us about all the services we offer. Each person has picked topics that they are really passionate about and will tell you a wee bit about themselves to. We hope you enjoy getting to know our projects and our officers a wee bit better! In this episode Hub Officer Gillian from the Kilmarnock Hub tells us all about two topics she's really passionate about, our digital skills and our work with local workplaces. If you would like to know more about any of our activities, including our workplace engagement, you can contact the hubs directly by email info@activetravelhubkilmarnock.org activetravelhubayr@gmail.com The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

Our podcast is 1! To celebrate the anniversary of the launch of our podcast, we thought we'd tell you all about..... us! Throughout December we will be joined by all of the hub officers from Ayr & Kilmarnock hubs to tell us about all the services we offer. Each person has picked topics that they are really passionate about and will tell you a wee bit about themselves to. We hope you enjoy getting to know our projects and our officers a wee bit better! In this episode Hub Officer Amy from the Ayr Hub tells us all about some topics she's really passionate about; our podcast, cycle skills and the Ayrshire Women's Cycle Festival You can find out more about cycle skills, learn to ride, confidence sessions, bike buddying and more by contacting each hub: info@activetravelhubkilmarnock.org activetravelhubayr@gmail.com More info about past & present Ayrshire Women's Cycle Festivals at https://ayrshirewomenscyclefestival.org/ The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

Our podcast is 1! To celebrate the anniversary of the launch of our podcast, we thought we'd tell you all about..... us! Throughout December we will be joined by all of the hub officers from Ayr & Kilmarnock hubs to tell us about all the services we offer. Each person has picked topics that they are really passionate about and will tell you a wee bit about themselves to. We hope you enjoy getting to know our projects and our officers a wee bit better! In this episode Hub Officer Pernille from the Kilmarnock Hub tells us all about two topics she's really passionate about, our led ride and the #AndSheCycles campaign. You can find out more about Kilmarnock's rides here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/active-travel-hub-kilmarnock-31693322077 You can find out about Ayr's rides here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/active-travel-hub-ayr-26259715225 You can contact the hubs directly by email info@activetravelhubkilmarnock.org activetravelhubayr@gmail.com The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

Our podcast is 1! To celebrate the anniversary of the launch of our podcast, we thought we'd tell you all about..... us! Throughout December we will be joined by all of the hub officers from Ayr & Kilmarnock hubs to tell us about all the services we offer. Each person has picked topics that they are really passionate about and will tell you a wee bit about themselves to. We hope you enjoy getting to know our projects and our officers a wee bit better! In this episode Hub Officer Fay from the Kilmarnock Hub tells us all about two topics she's really passionate about, our led walks and volunteers. You can find out more about Kilmarnock's walks here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/active-travel-hub-kilmarnock-31693322077 You can find out about Ayr's walk's here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/active-travel-hub-ayr-26259715225 If you would like to volunteer you can contact the hubs directly by email info@activetravelhubkilmarnock.org activetravelhubayr@gmail.com The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

George Ferguson CBE, PPRIBA, RWA (born 22 March 1947) is a British politician, former architect, and entrepreneur who served as the first elected mayor of Bristol from 2012 to 2016. Ferguson was co-founder of Ferguson Mann Architects in 1979 and the past president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (2003–2005) where he was noted for championing the causes of education, the environment and good urbanism. He was also a founding director of The Academy of Urbanism and a founding member of the British sustainable transport charity Sustrans. In this episode, George shared with us the best things happened when pushing against the grain which he calls "The Art of Impossible." Let's find out more how an architect student became to the man he is now. CONNECT WITH GEORGE LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgefergusonx) Twitter (https://twitter.com/GeorgeFergusonx) ABOUT THE HOST My name is Sam Harris. I am a British entrepreneur, investor and explorer. From hitchhiking across Kazakstan to programming AI doctors I am always pushing myself in the spirit of curiosity and Growth. My background is in Biology and Psychology with a passion for improving the world and human behaviour. I have built and sold companies from an early age and love coming up with unique ways to make life more enjoyable and meaningful. Connect with Sam: Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/samjamharris/) Twitter (https://twitter.com/samjamharris) LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharris48/) Wiser than Yesterday (https://www.wiserpod.com) ReasonFM (https://reason.fm/podcast/growth-mindset-podcast) Sam's blog - SamWebsterHarris.com (https://samwebsterharris.com/) Support the Show - Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/growthmindset) Subscribe! If you enjoyed the podcast please subscribe and rate it. And of course, share with your friends! Special Guest: George Ferguson.

“Please come and join us. Be outdoors, it's good for you” Paths for All aim is to support people in Scotland to be active every day and they believe walking is the easiest and most accessible way to do this. In this episode, we are joined by Helen Morrison from Paths for all and Steve Noble from South Ayrshire Council, to tell us all about Health Walks and what is out there for the people of Ayrshire to join in! Kilmarnock Active Travel Hub Walks https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/active-travel-hub-kilmarnock-31693322077 Ayr Active Travel Hub Walks https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/active-travel-hub-ayr-26259715225 https://www.pathsforall.org.uk/walking-for-health/health-walks/health-walk-projects-in-your-area https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/about-us/scotland The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

A wee quick blether with two of our ride leaders William & Gary who are out recceing a new route. Something that we always have to do before starting a new ride. This one is our new Southcraigs to Town route. The ride is on 10th Oct 2021 and you can book on at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/170145422539 The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

#AndSheCycles is a campaign aimed at encouraging teenage girls to cycle more by tackling the barriers they face. Sustrans are about to launch the campaign in Scotland, aided by a team of inspiring young women from schools, colleges and youth groups all over the country. In Ayrshire, we worked with Girvan Academy, The Ayr Ark and Ayrshire College. In this episode we're joined by some of these young women and by some of the Sustrans staff who have helped to guide the research and shape what the campaign will look like. Thanks you to guests Alice, Indi, Anna Faith and Katie for having a great conversation with us! For more info, check out: Green Schools Ireland original campaign https://greenschoolsireland.org/andshecycles-campaign/ And She Cycles Ireland video on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVcQkNTjFik Instagram account for the Irish Campaign, run by their And She Cycles Ambassadors @she_can_cycle The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

In this episode we've got the pleasure of chatting with Fiona Reid who works as an Active Schools Co-ordinator within the Health and Wellbeing Team at South Ayrshire Council. Fiona is the super woman behind the new Pedal Ayr cycle event, launching in Ayr in Sept 21! She joins us to tell us all about the event, a wee bit about her job role and and exciting new project she's working on in the area. Sign up for Pedal Ayr by 9th Sept at https://www.cycling.scot/pedal-for-scotland/ayr Dr Bike sign up at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/166923453543 The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

For the month of August we are sharing short stories from our listeners, volunteers, friends, family and staff all about their love for walking. If you'd like to share your walking story with us, please email us at activetravelhubayr@gmail.com The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

For the month of August we are sharing short stories from our listeners, volunteers, friends, family and staff all about their love for walking. If you'd like to share your walking story with us, please email us at activetravelhubayr@gmail.com The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

For the month of August we are sharing short stories from our listeners, volunteers, friends, family and staff all about their love for walking. If you'd like to share your walking story with us, please email us at activetravelhubayr@gmail.com The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

For the month of August we are sharing short stories from our listeners, volunteers, friends, family and staff all about their love for walking. If you'd like to share your walking story with us, please email us at activetravelhubayr@gmail.com The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

For the month of August we are sharing short stories from our listeners, volunteers, friends, family and staff all about their love for walking. If you'd like to share your walking story with us, please email us at activetravelhubayr@gmail.com The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

For the month of August we are sharing short stories from our listeners, volunteers, friends, family and staff all about their love for walking. If you'd like to share your walking story with us, please email us at activetravelhubayr@gmail.com The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

"It's a bike shop with a difference" 1.3 million brits bought a bike during the first lockdown. It's fair to say that local bike shops have seen a massive change to their business. This then led to a national shortage of new bikes and parts. In this episode we chat to the owners of one of our local bike shops - Mark and Colin Fiddler from Bikepost about their shop, what has changed for them in the last 18 months, they give us some top tips on bike maintenance and even tell us about an exciting new venture they've got in the pipeline! Find Bikepost on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BikePost-1592098844446052 And in real life at the shop in Troon - 151 Dundonald Road, Troon KA10 7AY or at Electric Bikepost, their e-bike showroom in Troon town centre - 61 Portland Street, Troon KA10 6QU https://www.facebook.com/Electric-bikepost-100462751758330/ The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

Join me in coversation with Gary MacGowan who has built his life around cycling. Not only has Gary cycled through 117 countries but he also brough the Tour De France to London, improved cycle routes in London and inititated the free bike scheme in the capital. Here is the information Gary shared while we were talking: The best websites for local groups and campaigns are Cycling UK www.cyclinguk.org and Sustrans www.sustrans.org.uk For the best maps for cycling, download any of these Komoot, Viewranger, MAPS.ME or OS maps. If people want to plan a route to see how far it is, Komoot is excellent on a smart phone and on laptop, Ride With GPS is superb and free to use - just open an account and use it, if you then have the app to, the route will appear automatically in the app. Plan your route on Ride with GPS, using OSM Cycle, it has all the cycle routes. But to start with, go straight to Komoot The image is of Gary cycling with Mt Fuji in the background on a very cold day. To contact me about coaching or training, or to buy my books go to www.julieleoni.com

"how to exercise WITH them and not just take them for a walk" For our latest episode, we are chatting to Lindsay Johnson of Cani-Fit about Cani-Hiking, a power-walking based activity of fast paced hiking with your dog pulling you in harness. This sport has it's roots in the sled dog world but Lindsay is bringing it the people of Ayrshire and beyond to have fun and get fit with their own pets. www.cani-fit.com www.facebook.com/canifit @canifit1 on Instagram Podcast https://anchor.fm/lindsay-johnson86/episodes/Cani-Fit-Real-Talk-eppoaa The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

In this episode I chatted with Ridhi, the Partnerships Manager for the West Midlands for Sustrans. We spoke about relocating to Birmingham starting a new business and community project, career changes, family life and, importantly, the necessary behavioural shift that she is helping to promote towards active travel. I hope that this gives you the impetus you need to make a change in how you travel.

"I've been called a Deliveroo idiot before" As part of the Ayrshire Women's Cycle Festival - we wanted to discuss the clear gender gap that there is in cycling in the UK. It is after all, the whole reason that the festival exists. 74% of UK cyclists are male. Why is that? Well, we roped in a local expert, Megan Kirkton, to explain it all and discuss some of the possible solutions. Links: Ayrshire Women's Cycle Festival 2021 www.ayrshirewomenscyclefestival.org Are We There Yet Report https://www.sustrans.org.uk/media/2879/2879.pdf Bike Life Inclusive City Cycling Report https://www.sustrans.org.uk/media/2930/2930.pdf Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed For Men by Caroline Criado-Perez https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1113605/invisible-women/9781784706289.html Jools Walker @ladyvelo on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ladyvelo/?hl=en Just A Little Run Around The World by Rosie Swale Pope https://bit.ly/3eEA2yz Motherload by Liz Canning on Vimeo https://vimeo.com/ondemand/motherload The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

In this bytesize episode Karen Ridgewell tells us about the joys and importance of fellowships within the sustainability world. Episode sponsored by:Beavercraft Wood Tools Beavervcraft wood carving tools are great value and ideal for beginners and hobby carvers. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/buildingsustainability)

"Nordic walking?! What's Nordic Walking?!" For this episode we are joined by Fiona Fisher - a local Nordic Walking instructor - to tell us all about this relatively new (to the UK) walking based fitness class. Fiona has a really interesting background and day job outside of her Nordic Walking too - she is currently the Outdoor Community Development Worker for Barrmill Conservation Group. Fiona's Nordic Walking Website: https://nwuk-northayrshire.co.uk/ FMF Fitness/Nordic Walking on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FMF.Fitness Barrmill Conservation Group: https://www.barrmillvillage.co.uk/barrmill-conservation-group/ The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr and Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

“Did you have a suit of armour on?!" Colin and his mountain hound joined us to give us the inside scoop on some really exciting projects that are in the pipeline for walking and cycling in South Ayrshire. He is passionate about developing active travel and is involved in lots of local community groups to help improve and promote this. He also has a few calls to action for you, so get involved! SAPI Website https://www.southayrshirepaths.org/ SAPI on facebook https://www.facebook.com/SouthAyrshirePathsInitiative The Culzean Way https://www.facebook.com/theculzeanway River Garden Auchincruive https://www.facebook.com/groups/2236884676410635 Ayr Through The Ages App http://audiotrails.co.uk/ayr-through-ages-app/ Troon The Cycle Friendly Toon https://www.facebook.com/Troon-the-Cycle-Friendly-Toon-128508407802647 South Ayrshire Council paths leaflets https://www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/outdooraccess/walking-cycling.aspx SAC Report paths issues & access issues https://beta.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/report The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr & Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

It’s Wednesday the tenth of February. Welcome to today’s bulletin from Porty News. And thanks to several people who’ve drawn attention to the news that we will soon have a cycle path (albeit temporary) from Portobello all the way to Musselburgh. The City of Edinburgh Council had taken soundings from local people who liked the idea – but it would have to stop at the East Lothian border as all of that local authority’s funding had already been committed. But the Council there accepted that a cycle path that stopped at the county boundary just didn’t make sense – so they made an application for additional funds to Sustrans which was successful. There seems to be growing interest in organisations changing their status. We’ve heard about Porty Central changing from a limited company to a body with charitable status - a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Now, it seems, the Jack Kane Centre across in Craigmillar is doing something similar. At the moment, it’s an unincorporated charity but it wants to get the protection of being a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO). Its officers have already held meetings with the Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations Council to find out the implications. Their next step is to work out a timetable for how to make progress with hopefully a result within weeks. I keep hearing about the way the lockdown – and in particular the closed schools – have placed considerable emotional stresses on families, sometimes to breaking point. There is help available through what are known as Family Connection Centres. They’re safe friendly places that help children and young people as well as parents and other family members learn how to cope with new family circumstances. The chief executive of the umbrella organisation, Ruth Campbell, is a member of Grow Porty and recently asked the help of other members to donate indoor plants to brighten up the charity's parent room and playroom. Now that’s something that’s worth supporting. Finally, the beast from the east has turned even the beach white – and people have taken to doing fun things in the snow. There’s been sledging at Joppa Quarry, building snowmen at various places and, our favourite, a snow circle on the beach by the inimitable Paul McPail - and thanks to Gyselle Dye and Rich Howells for the excellent pictures. And people have also been taking photographs and videos of the snow-covered golf courses and parks and expressing the hope that the the snowy conditions remain for a few days longer. Take care in the snow. More tomorrow (all going well)

"Better to wear done than rust done" The Ayrshire Coastal Path is a 106 mile designated route along the stunning Ayrshire coastline. From Glenapp in the South, all the way through to Skelmorlie in the North. Jimmy Begg MBE, a retired GP from New Cumnock, is the Trail Manager of the coastal path. Involved from the very inception, there's not much that he doesn't know about it. Jimmy has joined us for a chat about the beginnings of the coastal path through to present day and how it continues to thrive. This much loved route provides a snapshot of Ayrshire to walkers of all types, from those just getting out for the first time in many years, to seasoned long distanced walkers. Jimmy gives us some gems of insider knowledge about the route, about walking in general and about wildlife spotting along the way. We hope this inspired you to visit (or revisit) the route. Do let us know! For more info you can go to https://ayrshirecoastalpath.org/ The guidebook he mentions is available at https://ayrshirecoastalpath.org/guidebook/ You can keep up to date with what's happening along the path at https://www.facebook.com/ayrshirecoastalpath The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr & Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

In this episode we talk about all things Registered Environmental Practitioner (REnvP) - a professional registration recently launched by the Society for the Environment. Registered Environmental Practitioner (REnvP) is a professional registration recognising the competence, skills and commitment of professionals working to enhance or protect the environment. Becoming a REnvP demonstrates that you have signed a code of professional conduct and have been judged by your peers to be working at a professional standard, consistently implementing, developing and advocating good environmental practices.EnvCast guests: Sarah Mukherjee - CEO of IEMA (Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment)Rhianna Jarvis REnvP - Corporate Partnerships Manager at Sustrans. Formerly Partnerships and Development Lead at the Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES). Simon Benfield CEnv - Director of Bridges at Ramboll. Chartered Environmentalist via the Institution of Engineering Designers (IED)To learn more about REnvP please visit our website -https://socenv.org.uk/REnvP //// Twitter: @SocEnv_HQ // YouTube: Society for the Environment //Website: Socenv.org.uk //

"This is a different way of working" Lockdown has affected the way all of us have to live our day to day lives. Whether you have had to shield yourself by staying at home, start working from home full time, change the way your business operates or perhaps close entirely - everyone has been affected. This has also led local authorities to have to think about how we are using our towns, is there enough space for us all to move around safely? How can businesses recover and still allow for social distancing? The Spaces for People Project has been a way of looking at this and in this episode we are joined by Emily Davie from Sustrans who works on the project. If you've had to change the way to live your day to day life because of COVID, then this one's for you! Here are some links to some of the projects Emily discussed SfP on Showcase: https://www.showcase-sustrans.org.uk/spaces-for-people/ Case studies on Showcase: https://www.showcase-sustrans.org.uk/example-projects/ SfP Union St, Dundee video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eeG05V3_Sw&t=33s East Ayrshire SfP Commonplace: https://spacesforpeopleeastayrshire.commonplace.is/ South Ayrshire SfP Commonplace: https://spacesforpeoplesouthayrshire.commonplace.is/ Hurlford Street Design Project: https://hurlfordproposals.commonplace.is/ The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr & Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices Smarter Places programme from Paths for All.

"Newsflash - GP Leaves Desk!" TWALK = Talk + Walk In this special bonus episode we're joined by local GP, Dr Alexia Pellowe who has found a new way to hold her meetings whilst working from home. Alexia also tells us all about walking and how it fits in with her life, her work and what good it really does us to substitute screen time for walk time. The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr & Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

"There is so much to explore on your own doorstep" Marla Baird is the founder of the Ayrshire Walks Facebook Group, a popular place for people to find and discuss new routes in and around Ayrshire. The group has had a huge increase in popularity since lockdown. We talk to Marla about that, about walking in general and just have an all round lovely chat with a really interesting local lady. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1202195033271891 The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr & Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

"No, no, no hen, this isn't for me" Shgufta Anwar is a well known face in the Govanhill area - she's the Active Travel Lead at Bike For Good, a charity changing thousands of lives in Glasgow. We talked to Shgufta about all things cycling, where it all began for her and her passion for making cycling truly available to all shines through. Shgufta has been instrumental in the beginning of many Glasgow people's cycling stories. Join us to hear all about hers! https://www.bikeforgood.org.uk/ Walk It Bike It Ayrshire is producued by the Ayr & Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

"The Pilot, The Stoker and The Rambler" In this episode we talk to Danny Sweeney, a keen tandem cyclist who is registered blind and a total treat to chat to. Danny tells us how he's been able to get back on his bike since lockdown and what keeps him pedaling on round Ayrshire. The Walk It Bike It Podcast is produced by the Ayr & Kilmarnock Active Travel Hubs. The Hubs are South and East Ayrshire Council led projects delivered in partnership with Sustrans and supported by the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme from Paths For All

In this episode, guests Daisy Narayanan and Dalia Al-Dujaili talk about childhood excitement, happy folders, love over hate and more.Daisy is Director of Urbanism at Sustrans, a charity making it easier for people to walk and cycle. While on secondment to the City of Edinburgh Council between 2018 and 2019, Daisy led the Edinburgh City Centre Transformation project. Dalia is a final year English Literature student who has recently started a platform and newsletter showcasing emerging creatives called MISFiT. She was formerly editor-in-chief at Mxogyny, an online platform for marginalised creatives to share poetry, art and writing related to prevalent social issues. Each episode of Sharing things is a conversation between two members of our university community. It could be a student, a member of staff or a graduate, the only thing they have in common at the beginning is Edinburgh. We start with an object. A special, treasured or significant item that we have asked each guest to bring to the conversation. What happens next is sometimes funny, sometimes moving and always unexpected. Find out more at www.ed.ac.uk/sharing-things-podcast

Daisy Narayanan is the director of Urbanism at Sustrans and is working on the central Edinburgh transformation project. Daisy is an architect, an urban designer, a cyclist, and a fan of books, food and music.

On this weeks iso-recorded-at-home program Chris chats to Zoë McMaster who shares her observations of being involved with Healthy Streets Approach, managed by UK transport charity Sustrans and funded by Transport for London.Healthy Streets approach assists local boroughs (equivalent of Australian councils and shires) to deliver, advocate and assist in local active travel projects and provide extra resources working with communities during and after COVID19 lockdown.Local news includes City of Melbourne announcing Little Streets, (Flinders Lane, Little Collins, Little Bourke, Little Lonsdale) and a new Vic Health survey (Footpaths & bike lanes key to active travel post coronavirus) revealing three in four (76%) Victorians want local and state governments to adapt infrastructure so more people can walk or ride.Quote: VicHealth Executive Manager of Programs Kirstan Corben said it was encouraging to see councils create environments that promote walking and riding for both transport and recreation. “Since the coronavirus pandemic began it’s been fantastic to see Victorian councils like the City of Moreland, City of Yarra, City of Melbourne and City of Greater Bendigo make changes so it’s easier for residents and commuters to walk, ride or scoot around their communities for enjoyment during lockdown and travel when restrictions allow,” Ms Corben said.

Sustrans' and Arup's new report, Cycling for Everyone, was published at a time when both the Black Lives Matter movement and the active travel movement are at the forefront of public discussion. Susan Claris is one of the report's authors, and Global Active Travel Leader at Arup, and Daisy Narayanan is Sustrans' Director of Urbanism.Coincidentally launched the day Boris Johnson's government announced its Gear Change document, setting out a path to cycling growth in England, Cycling for Everyone identifies through interviews, data and analysis who is cycling, but also crucially, who isn't, why, and how greater diversity in cycling can be achieved.Cycling in the UK is predominantly white and male: 85% of people aged over 65, as well as around three quarters of disabled people, women, people at risk of deprivation and people from ethnic minority groups, never cycle. Quantitative data can only tell us so much, however, and although different people face different barriers, many of the issues stopping us cycling more are similar, from safety fears, to access and affordability, to perceptions of competence.As Susan Claris puts it, inclusion is more than making things step-free – it's about looking at the impact of infrastructure from the broadest possible perspective. This means where we design our cycling infrastructure, how, and with who in mind - and the report acknowledges we need to do better in our public spaces, and offers some pointers as to how we can do that.Cycling for Everyone provides not only a call to action to level the field for more people to cycle, but a platform to achieve greater diversity in cycling at a time when we could be on the cusp of great leaps in active travel participation and, if we heed the report's lessons, far greater diversity, too.As Daisy Narayanan writes in her forward to the report: "Only by ensuring that voices of underrepresented groups are integrated in policy, planning, design and implementation, can we ensure that we create places that meet the needs of the diversity of people who want to use them."You can read the Cycling for Everyone report here: https://www.sustrans.org.uk/media/7377/cycling_for_everyone-sustrans-arup.pdfTranscript Laura Laker 0:00 Hi and welcome to the Active Travel podcast. Brought to you by the Active Travel Academy, which is part of the University of Westminster in London. I'm Laura Laker, an active travel journalist. Now we know cycling has benefits for physical and mental health as a low cost transport, for independent access to services, work and education, but there are people across society who can't access cycling. The most recent National Travel Attitudes Survey found two thirds of adults feel it's too dangerous to cycle and cycling is still predominantly something done by a small proportion of the population. In other words, it's not very diverse. According to a new report by Sustrans and Arup, Cycling for Everyone. 85% of people over 65, and around three quarters of disabled people, women, people at risk of deprivation and people from ethnic minority groups, never cycle. This report is what we're talking about today, what it tells us about why certain people don't cycle and what can be done to change that. So with me today, is one of the report's authors, Susan Claris, who is the global active travel leader at Arup. Hi, Susan. Susan Claris 1:07 Hello,Laura Laker 1:08 and Daisy Narayanan, who is Sustrans' director of urbanismDaisy Narayanan 1:13 Hi Laura. Laura Laker 1:14 Hi. So, yeah, thanks for coming on the podcast. It's great to have you both on; can you just tell our listeners a little bit about how the report came about, and who it's aimed at.Susan Claris 1:26 It's actually got quite an interesting story because I had to remind myself of this one it was it was actually from the Arup side, it was a colleague who joined us as a graduate back in 2015, and he'd done his dissertation on cycling, and older people. And shortly after joining us he sort of said, you know, there's not much guidance out there, wouldn't it be good if we could actually do something to look into this subject. And it took a bit of while to get it, get it all going but from that we had discussions with Sustrans. And the idea came about drawing on the Sustrans Bike Life data to actually produce his guide that would actually show how cycling can be made more inclusive and really can be made for everyone so that that was the background of it from the Arup side I don't know whether Daisy wants to talk about it from the Sustrans perspective.Daisy Narayanan 2:12 Yeah, I mean, just adding to what he said Susan from a Sustrans perspective, all Sustrans strategic priorities have 'for everyone' at its very heart. So, the whole concept of inclusive design has been something that me and Sustrans are really wanting to focus on, so it is so timely, this conversation with Arup, what bike life was saying to us as well. For the past year, you know, talking about diversity and inclusion and all set within the wider context of climate change, and the whole conversation around black lives matter and inclusion I think this is such a timely report, and you know it's been wonderful working with colleagues at Arup to bring this together.Laura Laker 2:53 It's really exciting isn't it because, as you say, inclusivity has become so much more prominent in public discussion as has the need for cycling infrastructure and active travel infrastructure in general, it feels like these agendas have really, risen just at the time that this report has come out. I know that you're working on it since 2019 and there's been a bunch of stages, including a literature review there was the bike life data, you've had focus groups where you've talked to people about why they don't cycle or why they do, and working out what you can do about that, you've had workshops with decision makers in the transport sector. And there's a database now of case studies of successful projects. And one of the things that Sustrans has found out through its Bike Life surveys, it's not that people don't want to cycle. 55% of people from ethnic minority groups, 38% of people at risk of deprivation 36% of women and 31% of disabled people who don't cycle would like to start. So that's a that's a huge amount. Susan Claris 3:54 I think if those surveys were actually redone now those numbers would be even higher. So if you think those those surveys were pre COVID pre lockdown and we've seen what a huge upsurge there's been an interest in cycling, as I said those numbers I think would be so much higher now.Daisy Narayanan 4:09 Absolutely I couldn't agree more. You know, we've seen that in our own areas and over lockdown we've seen this massive increase in in cycling and all kinds of people cycling, not just the usual people that you expect to see on our road cycling and I think that's been, you know, it's not you can have surveys and reports and all of that out there and statistics, but for me what has been really really powerful about this process is getting stories from people you know just understanding, getting right into the depths of why what the barriers are. And I think that's been really powerful in the report but more than that, you know, as Susan was saying, during lockdown. That's being so visible now, all of us can see how that change is required and people want that change to happen. And that, to me forms, quite a strong foundation for for going forward into policymaking going forward.Laura Laker 5:10 And the report, sort of touches on issues affecting different groups of people as statistics from earlier older people as women as people from ethnic minorities, people with disabilities. And although there are different needs across different groups there is a commonality isn't there there are sort of common themes that come up, and you have to, you know, obviously the roads have been quieter and so a lot of people have been cycling so road safety is going to be one of them. Can you say a bit more about other sort of common themes that we saw across different groups in terms of what's stopping them from cycling what would help them to do so.Susan Claris 5:46 Yeah, I mean in terms of the report we've sort of grouped the actions into into three main areas, so better places is certainly one of those three themes which is about safety, road safety, but it's also about sort of personal safety and harassment. That sadly has come through quite strongly. It is about the importance of cycling infrastructure being fully inclusive. So there's a very strong focus on the places but that it that that's not enough so that's why we focus on the other two key areas which is to be more inclusive in terms of governance and planning and decision making. And then also this welcome and support for for people to cycle. It sort of, it's not just I think we've moved from, you know, a few years ago. Cycling was not much thought about at all then we will onto the wall stick in a cycle lane and tick the box and we've done that. We've moved to well let's count how many people use it. And now we're moving on to saying well actually, you know, who are those people and who aren't those people and I think it's understanding, broadening the understanding of what inclusion is all about. So I think, you know, for TfL, Transport for London, for a long time inclusion has been about making things step-free. Make it step-free, that's inclusion. I think many people who think about it in terms of gender, but actually it's actually looking at it from the broadest possible perspective to make sure it's fully inclusive for everyone, and that's that's a real shift and that's going to take a lot more than, than purely infrastructure, it goes much wider than that.Daisy Narayanan 7:21 And adding to what is missing as well you know there's something about the language we use, and making sure that the imagery that we have, you know, that that talks to cycling is not just you know what you see generally, it has to be truly inclusive, it has to reflect our communities, our places. And again, you know, for me, if you step back and take a look at what what inclusive places means and there is, there is a danger in my mind about the word inclusive becoming, you know, becoming use so much you know it becomes a word like sustainable, or resilient, it becomes one of those words that are used quite often without quite going into the depth of what that means. And again you know what Susan was saying, a place has to be inclusive, it has to be welcoming for everybody regardless of age or race or faith and ability or income, all of that has to be part of it. And cycling that fits into that walking and cycling into that placemaking. And that shift in the narrative has been has been accelerated over the past two to three years. You know the conversations that I'm having here in Scotland, and across the UK I'm sure as well, is reflecting that kind of shift in attitude. And that comes from the report, I think, you know, quite clearly across the themes. Again, going back to what I was saying, there's quite a strong platform for that, you know, for the call to action you know what is our call to action, what are we asking, what are we asking policymakers to do. And I think this kind of shift in narrative is has been so critical and so crucial to that.Laura Laker 9:08 And as a delivery body Sustrans is obviously involved with a lot of local councils and local authorities, and in creating infrastructure for cycling and walking and I wonder what kind of impact this information is going to have what what you mean when you talk about inclusive spaces and how that will translate to physical space.Daisy Narayanan 9:29 It is already making a huge difference, you know it helps policymakers, it helps councillors, local councillors to say look people want this. This is what surveys are saying this is what they are telling us to do they want us to make spaces better for walking and cycling, but it also helps officials who are actually going out and building this, it helps engineers who are designing this this infrastructure that goes into a place or the design of a place. And finally, it helps, I think it helps, people to come together, it helps a community engagement process, where you can truly get people together to shape what the place looks like and to me that is so crucial. And that's something that we haven't got right and you know we've talked about this before we have to acknowledge where we, we need to do better. And I think what this report does is acknowledge that. and see, here's how we can go, we can do better.Laura Laker 10:34 And, yeah, like you say it's it's about having communities, having a say in what's happening and not just a small percentage of people.Daisy Narayanan 10:44 It has to reflect, the communities, absolutely, it has to reflect the people who live there and work there you know whatever the context of the place that we're talking about whether it's city or town or neighbourhood, the people who shape that place, so when you look at what needs to go in. It has to reflect the aspirations, and has to reflect the vision of what what people see their places to be, and cycling is such a big part of that,Laura Laker 11:10 you said in your foreword to the report about a lack of diversity in transport planning and how you're not only often the only woman you're the only person from an ethnic minority in the room.Daisy Narayanan 11:23 Absolutely, yes, you know, I remember going to meetings, and I joined Sustrans in 2012. So, you know, this is, eight years ago almost, and almost every meeting I was the lone woman or the lone person of colour, sat there and I remember going to a meeting once and someone asked if I was here to take notes. And I said, no I'm here to chair the meeting. So there's a perception around transport, that is, you know, macho and it's transport and I think what to me is so encouraging and so incredible. And Susan I'm sure you you've seen this in your experience as well you know the change in more women coming forward, you know, change and more of us having that having the strength to come forward and say this isn't right. And we need to we need to do better.Laura Laker 12:18 Yeah, and Susan you've talked about how we count cycling, and the report talks about this as well about how it's been about increasing numbers in the past and how that hasn't really served in terms of improving diversity perhaps you could tell us a bit more about that and what needs to change.Susan Claris 12:35 Yeah, So, I think you know just just counting the number of cycles using a facility. It's good to see those numbers go up, but actually it's important to look behind those numbers and see. I said, who it is cycling and but also as importantly, who isn't cycling and who could benefit from that so it isn't purely a numbers game and you know having counters on cycleways and seeing the amount of usage is great, but it's that's only part of the picture and I think what the report shows is this big unmet demand for cycling, which I think will be even higher now following following covid and lockdown. And it's how we actually make cycling more accessible for people both physically and culturally how they can how people can see it as something that they that they can do themselves you know so often the image is you know, and I ban colleagues from using the word bicycle you know try and talk about cycles to be more inclusive and, you know, the imagery and this was true when the obesity strategy came out and the GPs to prescribe cycling. Virtually all the news articles that accompanied that were of a, you know, a man on a bike, white of a certain age, you know, a lot of people they'd look at that and I think well if that's if that cycling that's not for me. And so I think it's it's it's just making it accessible and achievable and realistic for people, I think, is getting people to start either either people who haven't cycled for a long time maybe they cycled as children but haven't carried on in adults, or if someone's never cycled, you know it's like where do you start, it's immensely difficult because you're not gonna go out and spend, potentially hundreds of pounds on a bike. And you know, so it's that what is your entry point into cycling and I think that's where hire schemes or lessons and things can really help because for some people, they may not like it, it may not be for them so actually, a way of way of trying it and seeing how people get on with it in a supportive environment with supportive people, because, you know, a colleague of mine actually, in lockdown, I guess she's early 30s. She just recently learned to cycle, you know, and I think that's quite a big thing for an adult to learn to cycle, most of us do it when you kids and you fall off and you grade yourself and you know that's part of growing up but to actually, you know, do that as an adult, is, is a big step and I think it's brilliant she took a week off and you know she wasn't going anywhere. She couldn't travel so she was like, Well what can I do happen to coincide with a bike being on her streets, with a sign saying free to a good home. And it was like well this is a sign I need to learn to cycle, but it's it's a really, it's a really difficult. I think you know, don't underestimate that by any means.Daisy Narayanan 15:19 Absolutely. I think these stories are so powerful. When we run. One of the workshops we ran in Glasgow, as part of the reporting. There was a councilllor from Edinburgh Council, Councillor McInnes who spoke at that. And she talked about you know how she's in her late 50s, and she's very vocal about how she had cycled for over 30 years, and she was quite nervous about getting back on a bike, but then she's you know she had she felt the pressure as she put it to be seen on a bike. So she then she. The next step was to buy a buy, and then she says it's quite intimidating going into a shop, when you don't know anything about where you begin as. Where do you begin? So all of those steps were little barriers and she had to push through those and then finally she now commutes over 10 miles, well pre-lockdown, to the city chambers and back and she says it's completely changed her. How, how she looks at how she looks at her place actually because suddenly you see the batteries for yourself and as a Transport Convener how powerful is that? You can do that so I think it's, there's something so good about having these stories out there. And, you know, being able to talk about this. This is about people, isn't it, at the end of the day it's about people and cycling is, is the framework, on which we're talking about people's lives, and this.Laura Laker 16:47 And I guess I guess the temptation is that if you're if you've got a certain amount of money for cycling that you will do a linear route, as you've seen in the past from a wealthy area to city centre area, and you know it's like the low hanging fruit of cycling you know for a certain amount of money you'll get X number of people cycling they probably already got bikes they're already confident enough on the road to link up missing bits and that's what we've seen in a lot of cities around the UK. But I guess it's, it's so much harder to sort of look at, like, all of the different barriers that people face the argument that the report makes is that the people who have the greatest barriers should be the kind of focus is there potential people that can benefit the most.Susan Claris 17:26 Yeah, and I think looking at neighbourhood areas I mean as you say that the temptation is always to go for the radial routes and the commuting routes and I think that's the whole 'we design in our own image' and this is set out really powerfully in the book Invisible Women, you know, but actually, the more important things I think are the you know, are the local areas or neighbourhood areas half of all our trips are for leisure and shopping. So we should be focusing on those, only 15% of trips are for commuting. So I think actually sort of focusing on the commuting route is not the wrong thing to do but it's not the only thing we should be doing, and actually looking at making neighbourhoods better for cycling, you know, having cycle parking whether it's at shops or in people's homes, you know, particularly in areas, I mean, for me, one of the worst aspects of street design are cul de sacs, you know, looking at how you can work on housing estates designed around cul de sacs to make better routes for cycling so you don't have to follow the wiggly routes that cars follow so it's it's looking at some of those areas and then people might be encouraged to start cycling from their home. Maybe to begin with, they go to the local shops and then they find that quite useful, they go a little bit further and they go a bit further and it builds people's confidence, rather than actually sort of taking a, you know, a radial route into a town or city centre and focusing on that. Laura Laker 18:41 Yeah, and when you start to understand people different people's trips, so women as the report notes, women do a lot of trip chaining so it's you going one place you're doing something you're moving on to the next place, perfect for cycling and in the Netherlands more women cycle than men, Susan Claris 18:54 And older womenLaura Laker 18:54 And just doing these yeah and just by just doing these, these linear routes, you're basically designing everyone else out you're excluding everyone else and then people say that Cycling is white and male and middle class and it's because those are the kind of cyclists that we're designing for. And so in terms of measurement, we've, we've talked about how quantitative measurements are obviously not helping diversity. I know that the Leeds-Bradford cycle route was specifically built in an area that is low income households and poor transport links, and they've done a lot of qualitative work but I think they're in the minority there. What would good look like in this sense?Daisy Narayanan 19:37 One of the examples I can give you from, from up here in Scotland in Scotland Sustrans works with Scottish government and we deliver funding in partnership with local authorities to build walking and cycling infrastructure. And over the past couple of years as the programme has grown, it's called Places for Everyone, the focus has been on more deprived areas and the research and monitoring unit that work alongside the project delivery team, you know, are very very conscious that the for everyone piece is very much part of the monitoring. So to me that's quite, again, it's an example of how, you know, process can help. If you get your right processes in place to make sure that you're measuring the right thing, then that can then encourage everyone to do better. It depends on the context, which is different places will have different ways of measurement and different ways of what you see good looking likeLaura Laker 20:34 potentially the people with the greatest barriers and just thinking about investment and return on investment, which is something we're kind of obsessed with, In a way, certain groups or excluded groups are excluded because the. The benefits are external to transport so transport is almost a siloed thing that needs to make its own money in a way which doesn't make any sense because it's such a public good isn't it is especially when we talk about active transport it's, it's the physical activity benefits and often it's the people with greatest barriers, people who aren't getting exercise people with poor transport links, poor access to work and education, for whom the benefits will be greatest. So it's kind of harder to do but if you're looking in the round. There's just so much more benefit for society potentially.Susan Claris 21:17 And I think that's where it brings in the walking and cycling angle as well because cycling was featured quite heavily in the obesity strategy but i think you know recognising that telling someone who doesn't currently ride a bike to go and ride a bike is a very difficult ask and if there's someone who is overweight or obese then that's probably an even harder ask but I think if it can be in terms of increasing physical activity, walking and cycling the two go together really well, you know, and it always interests me that Sustrans' National Cycle Network is usable by people walking them by cycling so I think it's having active travel routes and promoting both walking and cycling, just as ways of being active and you know it isn't it isn't badging someone as a cyclist it's looking at people as people and those people walk sometimes it may cycle sometimes they might drive a car they might get on a bus, you know, people do all of those different things. But the key message is actually about, you know, promoting the active, the active side of it because of all the benefits it brings physical health and mental health.Daisy Narayanan 22:19 Absolutely and again, to your point Laura about the wellbeing aspect not being captured and when you measure the impact the project has; in Edinburgh in a project called the city centre transformation when I was in secondment to the council here for 18 months, and we were very clear from the beginning that we were not going to use the traditional methods of stag or the transport appraisal survey, you have to be under the umbrella of quality of life and quality of place. And that was quite an interesting process to see how you can put value to green space and to active places. And I think there's something quite exciting about how the work is starting to take shape, where, you know, yes you do the transport appraisals but then over that you layer in your wellbeing and your, you know, physical and mental health and your green spaces. And yeah, I guess the next step that we all need to take forward.Susan Claris 23:12 I think it's interesting in a way it can come from from other projects as well. So one of my favourite projects in our Arup is one we've got called Greener Grangetown which was down in Cardiff. And that actually started off as a drainage study. And then the idea was to put in greenery to help with drainage and that's what actually if we're putting in greenery, maybe we put in some, you know, walking and cycling as well and that the benefits just cascade in that way so is walking and cycling projects can come from unusual areas sometimes.Daisy Narayanan 23:39 I love that project, it's gorgeous.Laura Laker 23:42 We have one near me in Stratford actually that has an a lot of drainage with plants in and it's really nice to cycle pastSusan Claris 23:49 Rain gardensLaura Laker 23:49 That's right. Yeah. Yeah, it's really lovely actuallyDaisy Narayanan 23:57 We have that a lot during consultation for most projects. That's something that comes back so strongly. You want greener spaces you want to be able to access within five minutes, your local park or you want to have greenery and colour and wildflowers and all of that speaks to us as humans.Laura Laker 24:17 Yeah, there's a lot of temporary changes happening and in terms of temporary cycling infrastructure and presumably a lot of that is going to become permanent and there's a real opportunity isn't there to make our cities more resilient in terms of climate change and creating shade which is so important in creating better drainage, because water runoff is a massive problem with extreme weather. And, yeah, just that reallocation of road space from motor vehicles.There's been a lot of announcements from government, as we know, we've had Gear Change which is the government's vision for cycling we've had proposed highway code changes. And we have had new design guidance and obviously there's a lot happening with COVID, in terms of an emergency response for transport; I'm wondering how all of this kind of feeds in to this agenda of making cycling more diverse,Susan Claris 25:11 I think, i mean i think it's really timely I mean the fact that our report came out on the same day as Gear Change is a complete fluke because I think we chose the publication date back in March or something so it's just one of those really happy coincidences that it came out on the same day so I mean I really welcome all the policy announcements that are being made and you know it is it is a great sort of step forward compared to where, where we've been over the last few years. I think the big thing is what happens next because we've had all this good stuff in terms of Gear Change but then we have the planning reforms and the potential relaxation of planning. So it's like one part of government is saying all the good stuff about active transport but if there is then a relaxation, how do we actually make sure that when developments are planned that they are planned with walking and cycling in from the outset, and we don't end up with some of the housing developments that we've got now that are totally inaccessible by public transport or by active modes so I think that's there's a lot of welcome but there's a degree of caution there as well.Daisy Narayanan 26:12 I agree with that, and I think what for me is, is very encouraging about the Gear Change report is the language around it, it's quite directive, which I don't think we've had so far which I think is quite good. I'm also encouraged by the fact that it's not just the UK government that has announced increased investment for walking and cycling you can see Scottish Government, Wales, Northern Ireland, for the first time I think across the across devolved nations and the UK government. There's a real sense of we need to invest more in walking and cycling. And, you know, when you look at the whole picture. It's really important as Susan said to get the right to get the next stage right, make sure that the words that are put into policy are translated on the ground because the delivery on the ground is going to be for the local authorities, for boroughs, and we have to make sure that that disconnect is as small as possible, because you see that a lot, you know, the right words are being used, but then you see something on the ground and you just go that's not what it's meant to be. So I think that there's a piece of work there about that about local authorities being empowered to do what national policy is telling them to do.Laura Laker 27:25 Yeah, there's a lot of that isn't this these wonderful statements about putting pedestrians and people cyling first, and it just doesn't happen in the real world and one of the things in your report one of the three elements for targeted changes are governance planning and decision making. So I guess I guess that's, that's going to be there isn't it it's going to be about putting that into practice which is which is perhaps the hardest part it's easy to say something is harder to do itDaisy Narayanan 27:56 That's why you need the grassroots community. The community to feel empowered to to ask for that change because then then change happens at that local level. And when that then marries up with the national policy, then you can generally make magic happen.Susan Claris 28:15 I think that thing about think about support is really important because you know we've seen that it's always the people who are against schemes who shout the loudest, there was the recent YouGov poll that was showing that you know for every person against there's six and a half people supporting these schemes, but you don't tend to hear that voice. We know with some low traffic neighbourhoods that are going in, they're being badged as road closures, there are some quite vociferous lobbies typically from people outside of the area who come in to oppose, and you know it's very easy for a politician to hear the negative voice and not to hear that support and if the support is maybe coming from older people maybe they're not so engaged in the process. So I think we need a better mechanism for all people's voices to be heard, whether they're for or against rather than the vocal minority in either way, being dominant.Daisy Narayanan 29:04 I completely agree, and I mean I think more and more you're seeing that seeing the backlash against some of the temporary schemes you mentioned Laura, because, you know, things have been put in quite quickly and you know they're not the most beautiful, you know they're cones or wands, and that that doesn't provide the vision of what that street could look like when it's done well with thought and care. So there is, there needs to be that communication of what this specific temporary measure is about and how that then leads to the wider vision that everyone has to feed into and what it could be. So yeah absolutely the process of as Susan was saying there needs to be a better mechanism because we've got that quite right. Laura Laker 29:45 Yeah, because if what's happening now is being called out undemocratic in places in terms of temporary infrastructure going in before consultation takes place or the temporary infrastructure being there during the consultation, it gives everyone a chance to see it on the ground, and we know that having a car dominatedstreet is not an equitable place but at the same time having these consultations, which perhaps only highlight the voices of the vocal minority isn't necessarily democratic representation of who's for and against something it is quite a difficult one really isn't it because of the fundamental change and changes to our physical streets, it's never going to be easy is itDaisy Narayanan 30:24 Absolutely, I've got scars on my back and inbox to show thatSusan Claris 30:29 for people who aren't currently cycling which we know is a large part of the population, they're not going to be out there probably giving support for something to benefit cycling because they don't see themselves as a cyclist so they don't necessarily see that as of relevance to them alone benefiting them. So it is, it is very hard to actually get that support for something that you're not currently doing and you don't see as relevant to youDaisy Narayanan 30:57 know if you, if you are frail and if you have a physical or sensory impairment of any kind change is scary. Change is scary anyway but for someone who iss already feeling their lives are not what it should be, this kind of change is scary so I think there is something about the empathy that we need to have when we talk about projects like this it's not, it's not just this needs to be done because x y z. It's like let's do this together. And it sounds very motherhood and apple pie but I think if we get that right if we get that conversation right at the beginning, then we can save ourselves a huge amount of angst later on in the process.Laura Laker 31:38 The third element to these three recommendations is welcoming and supporting all people to cycle and I guess, perhaps you're arguing that this has to be from the beginning, Daisy Narayanan 31:48 yesSusan Claris 31:49 yeah I think it's I mean it's talking about the language and the imagery that we've already talked about, but I think also it's the cost and the barriers to getting getting a cycle So, you know, cycles generally are not cheap and so there can be an issue around cost and availability. But I think it's also in the report draws on the whole purchasing experience, and a very brief story if I may, my, my background is partly in anthropology. And one of the best studies I saw about the value of urban anthropology, it was it was conducted by Shimano and it was a quite a few years ago, and they were looking at, this was in America, why certain groups of people don't cycle, and the view was that they were too lazy, too fat, too whatever, didn't care. When, the anthropoologists went out and spoke to these people they said they've all had really positive associations with with cycling when they were children, but then they didn't see it as something that were relevant when they were older and they said if they went into cycle shops they found a very hostile environment. So they then talked to people in the cycle shops and they went, oh no no it's not hostile we welcome everybody you know, everybody is welcome here. So then what they did is they gave the people working in cycle shops $100 or something and told them they had to go to a department store and buy certain types of cosmetics. And when they walked into that department store they absolutely felt the discomfort that other people felt walking, and that's how they really got it that actually their place wasn't as welcoming as they thought it was so it's always trying to see something from the insider's viewpoint and I said, you know, cycle shops are not always a happy place or comfortable place to be if you're not part of that, that sort of type of people already, you know, so it's like it's a big step for someone who doesn't cycle and cycling now is quite technical and it's complex and you know what you've lost a lot of is basic bikes, a lot of people they don't want 21 gears, they don't know what to do with them. So they certainly don't want to start with 21 gears you know what, where, where is the basic bike gone that can give people that entry into cycling so I think that's, that's really important so people can actually get a cycle and then have some training on how to use it.Daisy Narayanan 33:55 Absolutely. And I think we also talked so much about safety and you know, we talk about cycling within transport terms quite a lot. I think we don't talk enough about the joy and delight. That cycling brings to you, And, you know, I got an ebike a year, a year and a bit ago and I love it. There is that sense of joy that comes with it, and I think the more we can talk about you know, this makes you feel good is, is as relevant to saying it makes you feel safe, it's good for your health and well being and the climate and all of that. Yeah, I don't think we should forget the joy.Laura Laker 34:34 Yeah, I remember being in Edinburgh. Last year, actually, I was going on a little biking trip and I borrowed an electric mountain bike, and I was whizzing through town it had nice fat tires so I didn't have to worry about the tram tracks, you know, Edinburgh is just full of trams. And then there was a guy next to me at the lights on this hill, up hill, and I just looked across at him and I was like, e-mountain bike best thing ever and he was like Yeah. And we both just whizzed off.Daisy Narayanan 35:07 Edinburgh is a city of seven hills and an ebike flattens the hills in Edinburgh i can ride around and not feel like I'm about to die.Laura Laker 35:17 Yeah, I love absolutely love I've got an ebike as well and I absolutely love it. And it really does make it more accessible to so many more people for many so many reasons. Maybe I can ask you what you want the report to achieve. Maybe a big question or an obvious question. Susan Claris 35:34 I think, from my perspective I would like it to help decision makers politicians transport planners all the sort of people that are likely to read it actually realise that Cycling is for everyone. And I said to get rid of the conventional image of a person typically a man on a bike, and realise that actually cycling embraces all these different types of people and should embrace all these different types of people well you know from the five to 105 not even eight to 80 sort of thing so it is a viable form of transport for the majority of the population. And we just need to actually help that become real. And as Daisy said I think bringing the joy back into cycling as well so yes it's a great mode of transport from A to B, but it's so much more than that. But it yeah it is that cycling should be and is for everybody.Daisy Narayanan 36:30 Yeah, and just to add to this from my perspective there's also. I'm hoping that this report can accelerate change that needs to happen because I think we've demonstrated that change needs to happen, and people want change. So what this should do is now get that in motion get that really fast and from a personal perspective I hope that it also allows people to reflect on you know on attitudes, on how we how we perceive cycling. What do we think about when we talk about inclusive cycling, and even within Sustrans to challenge ourselves to be better and to make sure that the For Everyone, that we want to be at the heart of everything we do. It's truly at the heart of what we do. And so yeah so external and internal, I think there is some reflection and then there is a lot of acceleration.Laura Laker 37:22 Yeah. Yeah, I think one of the things that stuck out from me in the report was you know just admitting that we've got things wrong and you know looking around at the people cycling generally speaking it's It is, it is a very narrow portion of the of society who feels brave enough is what it boils down to, to cycle on the roads and so obviously something has gone wrong, and I think is a chance for reflection and to move forward. So, yeah, super important report and really nice to talk to you both. I wonder if there's anything else that you wanted to say that you feel that we've missed out.Daisy Narayanan 38:07 I think from my perspective nothing much more to add, except that I love the fact that we have three women here talking about cycling. Yeah, which I think is is brilliant. And, you know, that this is even on the agenda and the cycling is so different when I joined Sustrans in 2012, as an architect slightly naive thinking I'm going to go to the world of walking and cycling, it's going to be amazing, no one can be angry in this world. It has been quite a learning process over the past eight years, but I think we're at the cusp of something quite incredible. And, yeah, the more we can collaborate and make that happen, I'm really excited for the future.Susan Claris 38:54 I think for me it's it's broadening the scope of cycling because so often it's associated with a sport and it's seen as a sporty activity. And I think the more we can just see it as something for, you know, everybody and something that you don't need a lot of kit for. It doesn't have to be fast it doesn't have to be competitive. You know it is almost that that that joy of the self-propelled transport, but getting getting away from the sporty side of it I think that that helps a lot because as soon as, as long as people see it as a sporty thing, they probably don't see it as relevant to themselves so it's almost getting back to. It's almost viewing the bicycle, and cycling the old fashioned way i think it's it's that different image.Laura Laker 39:38 Wonderful. Thank you both so much for coming on the podcast it's been great to hear from you. Susan Claris 39:44 Thanks Laura, it's lovely to talk to you.Daisy Narayanan 39:44 Thank youLaura Laker 39:44 Thank you for listening to the active travel podcasts lucky seventh episode with Sustrans' director of urbanism, Daisy Narayanan, Arup's global active travel lead, Susan Claris, and me, your host Laura Laker. You can find and subscribe to the active travel podcast online on our website at blog.westminster.ac.uk/ata/podcast, and you can follow us on Twitter and Instagram @active_ata. Let us know what you think, via social media or by emailing us at activetravelacademy@westminster.ac.uk . Thanks for listening; until next time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The fourth in our 'Scotland can......' series, this episode discusses whether Scotland can have sustainable transport - Scottish Greens Co-Leader Lorna Slater chats with Daisy Narayanan, an architect and urban designer who works for Sustrans, the charity making it easier to walk and cycle.

On this weeks program recorded in the front room, Chris chats to Luke Poland from Sustrans about the recent Bicycle Network webinar,  Learnings from London: How active travel can drive lockdown recovery.Local news includes City of Melbourne gaining Department of Transport support for fast-tracking 40km of seperated bike lanes to help active transport during and post COVID-19 pandemic and how you can support the ongoing Yarra Making Space initiative, including the Park Street contra flow bicycle lanes to ease the crowded Linear Park Trail in Fitzroy and Carlton North and the temporary Elizabeth Street seperated bike lanes in Richmond.Luke discusses actions taken in London to improve physical distancing with active transport, how UK transport authorities differ in regards to positive working collaborations when compared to here in Victora, how UK walking and cycling advocates have a greater impact, work done by Tactical Urbanistas to brighten up urban spaces and even what you can do during the Melbourne lock down.Speakers included Melissa Cazzato (Transport for London), Fran Graham (London Cycling Campaign), Brian Deegan (Urban Movement), Tactical Urbanistas and Stuart Outhred (RACV). Watch the presentation + Q&A on YouTube

In this episode, Martin introduces us to an exciting new project called Let's Go Zero 2030 which will be launched in November 2020 at the Youth Climate Summit. This national project aims to get UK schools to become net zero by 2030. The project has been developed by Ashden but it is explicitly collaborative. Ashden have already started working with an impressive group of people including Global Action Plan, Ecoschools, Fairtrade, WWF, Sustrans, Soil Association, UKSCN, Salix and Carbon Trust. Martin gives an overview of Let's Go Zero 2030 and then offers some perspectives based on his years with London Sustainable Schools Forum. In the final part of the podcast Martin discusses how Proyecto Peru, a project in his own school, will participate in Let's Go Zero and provide case study evidence to the Youth Climate Summit. As part of this, Martin discussed a school food project based on circular economy principles that he has started working on with Martin Morales. During the podcast Martin mentioned this report by the London Mayor. IT IS RECOMMENDED READING: How London Schools and Early Years Settings can Adapt to Climate Change Martin also mentioned a charity he is working with called Project Peru. Martin's recommendations: Safety first, fun second, learning third 1. Safety - do your best to make your school more climate resilient (see Mayor's report above) 2. Fun - try to make lessons fun - the subject is serious but you are more likely to engage people for longer if they enjoy what they are doing 3. Learning - find the approach that you excel in or that interests you the most and start there At the end of the episode, Martin shares not one but 37 free lesson plans (climate actions), suitable for a range of age groups, to help you engage in London Climate Action Week. Find this episode's 37 supplementary lesson plans here. Start your school's journey into sustainability: Outdoor Classroom Day Eco-Schools London National Park City Schools Network Great resources at Transform Our World Find out more about London Sustainable Schools Forum + London Climate Action Week This podcast was produced by The Pod Farm.

In Episode 7, we're discussing school streets and play streets; two types of temporary road closures that make our communities, well, a bit more pleasant. We find out what's involved with school and play streets and the wider benefits to the community, which spurs Adam to have a moan about bollard removal and Ned to have a moan about local authorities. Laura interviews two experts on the subject: Alice Swift, Project Coordinator for School Streets at Sustrans and Alice Ferguson, co-founder of charity Playing Out.We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.We're on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsahead If you're reading this, please can you take 1 minute to give us a 5-star rating and a review? It helps us hugely.Thanks for listening!From Adam, Laura and Ned See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Da Berlino a Londra, da Budapest a Milano, da Parigi a Roma. Con la fase due milioni di lavoratori hanno ripreso a muoversi per le città. Ma come garantire a tutti il diritto di spostamento nel rispetto della regola del distanziamento sociale e del divieto di assembramento? I mezzi pubblici non bastano per tutti . E l'auto privata non può essere l'unica soluzione a meno di non volere città congestionate dal traffico e inquinate . Ecco perchè la maggior parte delle città europee sta puntando su piani di riorganizzazione urbana che favoriscano l'utilizzo di mezzi privati alternativi e sostenibili: incentivi all'acquisto di biciclette , creazione di ciclabili di emergenza, pedonalizzazione delle aree urbane e introduzione di limit di velocità tra le principali misure. Nel Regno Unito varata una manovra senza precedenti di due milioni di sterline per finanziare gli spostamenti a piedi e in bicicletta , mentre il centro di Londra verrà interamente pedonalizzato. A Parigi stanziati 300 milioni per costruire circa 650 chilometri di ciclabili nella regione Ile-de-France. Anche a Milano e Roma è corsa contro il tempo per realizzare l cosiddette ciclabili temporanee. Mezzi alternativi raccomandati dalla Commissione europea che sta studiando nuovi strumenti per incentivare la nuova mobilità come ad esempio riorientare i fondi dei progetti Horizon che si occupano di ricerca e innovazione sulla mobilita attiva nell'era covid-19. C'è anche il progetto Handshake di cui sono partner 13 città europee per uno scambio di buone pratiche in tema di ciclabilità e mobilità urbana sostenibile. E il programma europeo EIT Urban Mobility nell'ambito del quale fino al 31 magio prossimo le start-up innovative impegnate nel settore della mobilità urbana possono partecipare al bando europeo per la Business Acceleration con l'obiettivo di favorire il benessere dei cittadini e l inclusione sociale negli spazi urbani ripensando il sistema dei trasporti in chiave ecologica e smart. In questo reportage ne parliamo con Tonia Mastrobuoni, giornalista corrispondente da Berlino; Paolo Ruffino urbanista ed economista della società olandese di consulenza sui trasporti Decisio; con Giulio Ferrini, capo dipartimento di urbanistica di Sustrans, l'associazione inglese che promuove la mobilità dolce; con l'assessore alla mobilità di Milano Granelli, il presidente della Commissione trasporti del Campidoglio Enrico Stefano e con Elisabetta Caregnato capo progetto del programma europe EIT Urban Mobility.

Would less traffic and more cycle lanes have you riding into work on two wheels? Frank heard from Anne Madden from Sustrans and author Malachi O'Doherty See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What can we do in our community to help reduce air pollution? Does walking or cycling to school help? We speak to Dr Karen Exley from Public Health England and Joe Lindsay and Andy Cope from Sustrans to find out. For more information check out our guidance: - Air pollution: outdoor air quality and health https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng70 - Physical activity and the environment https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng90

on todays show, Steven (@geek_apocalypse) and Ricky (@vividricky) are joined by Jonah Morris from Sustrans,a cycling & walking charity+ Matt and Dean from Sage Gateshead. The guys are also joined on the phone by David Miller, from disabilitymatch.co.uk, talking disability and dating, 'The Undateables' and the guys do a little mental health news!

On our first Street Talk podcast, Laura Laker interviews New York City’s former Deputy Director of Transport, and the current Communications and Advocacy Director for the U.S. based Transit Center, Jon Orcutt. Find out more about Jon’s work at transitcenter.org, or follow him on twitter @jonorcutt. Laura is on twitter @LakerLikes. Music by audionautix.com To sign up for our live Street Talk events, visit Sustrans.org.uk/streettalks, follow us on twitter, or find us on facebook and linkedin. Street Talks is presented by Sustrans, the charity making it easier for people to walk and cycle.

There's a growing movement in which communities around the country grow their own food - in allotments, local orchards or just spare pieces of land. In Edinburgh, this is celebrated by the Power of Food Festival which takes place this weekend. Here's the programme: http://bit.ly/2rDoAc1 And a video from last year: https://vimeo.com/217994404

The Spokesmen #159: From Sustrans to Specialized May 7th, 2017 HOST: Carlton Reid GUESTS: Xavier Brice, CEO of Sustrans Dominek Geyer, Head of Brand – Turbo, Specialized SPONSOR: Jenson USA TOPICS Xavier Brice of Sustrans discusses the 40th anniversary of the creation of Sustrans, as well as London's bike boom, and the challenges facing the charity. From the company's new pop-up store in Düsseldorf, Specialized's Dominek Geyer reveals details on the new Vado range of urban e-bikes. +++ The Spokesmen Cycling Roundtable Podcast is sponsored by Jenson USA.

Mayor of London candidates Jenny Jones, Brian Paddick, Ken Livingstone, Boris Johnson and Siobhan Benita give their closing speeches at The Times/Sustrans hustings

Andy Cope, Sustrans, talks on 'The Research and Evaluation Needs of the Third Sector in the Big Society: A Sustrans / Cycling Perspective' as part of the 7th Cycling and Society Symposium at the Transport Studies Unit, University of Oxford in 2010.

Sustrans is the sustainable transportation charity and lobby group that pioneered the national cycle network. It is also one of the UK’s biggest commissioners of public art. Today’s show is devoted to one of Sustrans’s new Prospectives series, a handful … Continue reading →

Just wanted to launch this podcast as soon as I returned from The Outdoors Show at the NEC 2010, as there's a very special offer available just for a few days from Montane, where a select range of Special Edition clothing is up for grabs and all the profits are going to Mountain Rescue. See montane.co.uk. Also I chat with the National Cycle Route Director from Sustrans and we discuss the growth of the National Cycle Network and how we can all use it to benefit our life. Finally Simon Ellar the editor of Bushcraft Magazine indicates the continual of growth of interest in the knowledge base his magazine offers, from outdoors people of all persuasions. It seems we all want to find out more about our surroundings to enhance any experience we have. Quite right too! This is just one of a series recorded at this years Outdoor Show. More coming soon!

Professor Cole talks with organisations Sustrans and Owens Road Services about key themes relating to sustainability

A youthful feel to this season opener with a visit to Lockleaze Primary School in Bristol, one of an number of Sustrans ‘Bike It’ schools acros the country. Plus childhood memories from Paul Fournel, reading from Need for the Bike* … Continue reading →

The unlikely fusion of cinema and cycling, why the police are patrolling on bikes and planning a national cycle route with Sustrans