Stephen Frost

Reducing traffic with “carrots”: A review of the evidence Reducing traffic volumes is one way to reduce carbon emissions from the transport sector. Since increasing driving costs is often met with public resi…

Yet another evidence review argues very strongly that simply providing alternatives to driving doesn't reduce driving

This isn't surprising, if only thanks to habit. If I unthinkingly jump in my car for every trip (as many do), new buses won't change that
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

@bmj.com, a renowned health journal, slams car bloat:

"Cars are becoming steadily larger, [and] with this comes potential harms to health...Action is needed locally, nationally, and internationally to curb sales of new SUVs and to reduce their presence in urban areas."

www.bmj.com/content/391/...

EV drivers could face new tax in Budget The BBC understands there have been

Clearly a lot of details to work through in how it’s implemented but this new pay per mile charge for EVs is a necessary& fair policy. Hope HMT are engaging with devolved nations & local gov on its design as this is a real opportunity to think creatively & more holistically about motoring taxation

Lime rolls out 500 e-bikes with child seats in Paris Global shared micromobility operator Lime has deployed 500 e-bikes equipped with child seats in Paris to move away from a “one size fits all” offering.

Lime Bikes with chlid seats rolled out in Paris zagdaily.com/trends/lime-...

A quarter of Britain’s native plants are now at risk of extinction

The first update in two decades to a “red list” of plants found a substantial increase in the number of threatened species
www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

Low-income areas in England and Wales face worst air pollution, analysis finds Exclusive: Experts say impact on people of colour and those who do not drive is ‘grave environmental injustice’

Analysis from @friends-earth.bsky.social provides new insight on environmental injustice in the UK:

“… people of colour, those on low incomes and non-drivers are now disproportionately overrepresented in the 5% of neighbourhoods still exposed to the most extreme air pollution.”

A diagram showing how 13 minutes' walk gets you to just 75% as many places as a 15-minute walk

My new newsletter is out, in which we use basic high-school maths to complain about street design

simple.ghost.io/lets-do-the-...

Sounds like a great trip! We’ve just got back from over a week in Rotterdam and used the trams most days. I really enjoyed it but the 4yr old loved it - especially the bits on grass or by the water. Really easy to use with the 1yr olds buggy too.

But who speaks for the dead? Break out the ouija boards and activate the ghost of Doris Stokes. We're reaching back beyond the grave to solve today's transport and environmental crises.

But who speaks for the dead?

I've got another newsletter out, and I think this is quite a thought-provoking one simple.ghost.io/but-who-spea...

Really the only downside to having an electric cargo bike is inevitably becoming boringly evangelical about how good they are 😅 If you’re thinking about it, do it. Zero regrets.

My kids have never said "yay!, let's go in the car", whereas they love hopping on the cargo bike

Millennial dads are experiencing something mums have known for a long time | Gaby Hinsliff Men want to be active, engaged parents, but many are being torn apart by the competing demands of family and work, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff

Thank you so much to @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social for writing this. Pretty much every dad I know feels this way, but also often feels they can’t articulate it.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Load and behold: should you opt for an electric cargo bike over a second car? Cargo ebikes are ideal for the millions of short-distance car trips Australians take every day. Here’s how to make one work for you

Love this on e-cargo bikes & family life:

“Forgoing a second car may have been the reason we bought it, but it was simply more fun to see my son grinning on the bike.”

“You see the joy that the kids get out of it, the time you get to spend with them … [and] it encourages you to use it more.”

Chief Raoni: ‘The Amazon is our biggest chance to keep living on this Earth’ The Indigenous leader on the threats to his Kayapó tribe, why ancestral knowledge matters — and the meaning behind his ‘visions’

It barely gets any attention, but the Amazon rainforest is on the brink.

I was fortunate to meet Chief Raoni, who has helped to protect an area of Brazilian forest the size of Portugal, and who - at the age of approximately 90 - just keeps on fighting. Please read:
www.ft.com/content/58e1...

Four-year-olds don’t need to sit still to be ‘school ready’ Children need physical play to develop their strength, coordination, and motor skills.

My 4yr old started in reception this year and it depresses me this needs saying.

“At an early age, children’s enjoyment of learning should be the priority.”

“The English Early Years curriculum needs to return to basics. This keeps foundational learning through play at its heart…”

Exactly the same on our narrow residential streets here in Bristol. Positive that councils are starting to act & the public are (mostly) on board with it. Totally agree there should be nationwide action to address the externalities caused by vehicle design/size (eg through reforming VED)

Cardiff becomes first UK council to impose higher parking charges on larger vehicles Premium charge aims to combat steep rise in SUVs and other larger vehicles which are ‘a danger to other road users’

Bravo Cardiff.

“It’s only fair that those driving the biggest, heaviest and most polluting vehicles pay more for the extra space and danger they bring” - Spot on from @olord.bsky.social

Important: two-thirds (66%) of respondents to the related consultation agreed larger vehicles should pay more.

Rivers of Food One third of the world's food production is dependent on rivers. But they are under increasing pressure, threatening global food security now and in the future.

You have to check this out. #Rivers of #food: How healthy rivers are central to feeding the world, from @wwf-water.bsky.social.

@jjopperman.bsky.social wonderfully presented this work recently at the International Society for Rivers Science conference in Davis, CA.

rivers-of-food.panda.org

Small water bodies - ponds, ditches, small fens, headwater streams, flushes - the delicate capillaries that make up 80% of water bodies, home to some of our rarest creatures - ensuring their health has an outsize benefit for wildlife

Great article below, with visuals and recordings, that focuses on three migratory bird species, including the nightingale that winters in West Africa, then returns to southern England every year

Great to see this published. A fantastic resource for anyone working to give children more freedom to move and play

Worth following the links to read the evidence submitted to the committee, including this from Tim Gill on the impact of car-centric planning: committees.parliament.uk/writtenevide...

Photos of the first Supergrätzl project in Vienna: an intersection reclaimed into a public plaza, that contains bike lanes, traffic filters, trees, shrubs, flowers, benches, and water features.

Photos of the first Supergrätzl project in Vienna: an intersection reclaimed into a public plaza, that contains bike lanes, traffic filters, trees, shrubs, flowers, benches, and water features.

Photos of the first Supergrätzl project in Vienna: an intersection reclaimed into a public plaza, that contains bike lanes, traffic filters, trees, shrubs, flowers, benches, and water features.

Photos of the first Supergrätzl project in Vienna: an intersection reclaimed into a public plaza, that contains bike lanes, traffic filters, trees, shrubs, flowers, benches, and water features.

An Austrian adaptation of the Barcelona Superblock, Vienna is putting the finishing touches on its first Supergrätzl ("Super neighbourhood") in the tenth district, where through traffic is filtered out to regenerate an intersection into a liveable, climate-adapted, pedestrian-friendly public space.🧵

Thank you!

Railwalks.co.uk - Walks Thousands of Rail Walks Now Available Online!

Fantastic resource. The UK is a nation of #nature lovers. We need to make sure our public transport can give good access to the countryside if #car-free living is ever to become truly popular
www.railwalks.co.uk/walks

Record leap in CO2 fuels fears of accelerating global heating CO2 in air hit new high last year, with scientists concerned natural land and ocean carbon sinks are weakening

Record leap in CO2 fuels fears of accelerating global heating

- CO2 in the air hit new high last year, with scientists concerned natural land and ocean carbon sinks are weakening
@wmo-global.bsky.social

#climatecrisis
Story by me
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Government told to prepare for 2C warming by 2050 The Climate Change Committee said the UK should make climate change adaptions beyond the Paris Agreement.

"People in the UK are already experiencing the impacts of a changing climate, and we owe it to them to prepare, and also to help them prepare. Adaptation in the UK is not keeping up with the increase in climate risk. The impacts on the UK are getting worse and (the government) needs more ambition”

Switching 50km/h speed limits to 30km/h would protect cyclists while barely affecting commutes, research finds One expert says a cyclist hit by a car travelling 50km/h has about a one-in-ten chance of surviving, while at 30km/h it was a nine-in-ten chance

New study from Melbourne finds reducing residential speed limits from 50km/h to 30 km/h on local roads would protect cyclists from danger, make riding less stressful and get more people cycling while not causing traffic delays for cars.

no surprise

Modelling the impact of lower speed limits on residential streets for cyclist level of traffic stress and car travel time in Greater Melbourne Reducing speed limits to create safer, lower-stress environments for cyclists is a widely proposed policy but often faces resistance due to concerns a…

Full study is available open access here.

Switching 50km/h speed limits to 30km/h would protect cyclists while barely affecting commutes, research finds One expert says a cyclist hit by a car travelling 50km/h has about a one-in-ten chance of surviving, while at 30km/h it was a nine-in-ten chance

New study from Melbourne finds reducing residential speed limits from 50km/h to 30 km/h on local roads would protect cyclists from danger, make riding less stressful and get more people cycling while not causing traffic delays for cars.