New local powers to keep pavements clear for those who rely on them most Local councils will be given the power to crack down on problem pavement parking.

DfT has announced that local leaders will be given improved legal powers to make it easier to restrict pavement parking 👍
www.gov.uk/government/n...
DfT will set out guidance in 2026 to help local authorities use these powers appropriately.
@bristolcouncil.bsky.social @mayorhelengodwin.bsky.social

I’m looking forward to local authorities implementing enforcement against #pavementparking. Walking across the street from a school at home time should not be a challenge.

Floating bus stops provision and design

This guidance draws on research published by @livingstreets.bsky.social & @guidedogsuk.bsky.social centred on the experiences of pedestrians & bus passengers at floating bus stops
www.gov.uk/government/p...
@bristolcouncil.bsky.social @westofengland.bsky.social @edplowden.bsky.social

Hello World #firstpost.
Here we are, starting work on Bristol Walk Fest 2026.
Walk providers - sign up by 27 Feb.
Printed programmes at a library or community project near you from beginning April.
Bristol Walk Fest 1-31 May.
Last year we had at least one walk every single day, most of them free.

Reopening public toilets and protecting culture grants in new council budget Spending is set to be adjusted in six areas to make a "direct, positive impact for our city"

@BristolCouncil will “invest in the work needed to put us on the path towards reopening public toilets”.
£270,000 is planned in the budget.
www.bristol247.com/news-and-fea...
This is good news!
In our '50 Ways to Better Walking' BWA calls for improvements to the provision of public toilets

Report feeling unsafe in public spaces (StreetSafe) | Avon and Somerset Police StreetSafe is an online tool that can be used by anyone to anonymously tell the police about public places where they have felt or feel unsafe. Find out more.

You can report feeling unsafe in public spaces anonymously via the StreetSafe app.
Whether it’s the environment e.g. poor street-lighting, or anti-social behaviour, reports to the app are shared with local police & local authorities for action.
www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/report/stree...

Walk and Talk | Avon and Somerset Police Women are invited to meet with female police officers and PCSOs to show them areas in which they feel vulnerable or unsafe in their local communities.

Walk and Talk
Avon and Somerset Police are inviting women to meet with female police officers & PCSOs to show them areas where they feel vulnerable or unsafe in their local communities
avonandsomerset.police.uk/apply/walk-a...
Looks like a good scheme..

Walking does not take place in a vacuum: its performance is influenced by factors such as gender, race, class, dis/ability and age.. we cannot separate women’s walking from where it happens, and the safety of and access to such spaces.
www.bristol.ac.uk/policybristo...
@bristolhealthp.bsky.social

Bristol City Council
Designing for walking
www.bristol.gov.uk/files/docume...
"Provision is needed to allow all users – be they able bodied or mobility impaired, elderly or young, to use streets to walk alongside each other, pass one another, overtake and stop to interact with one another."

@BristolCouncil is developing a new Road Safety Strategy. The Transport & Connectivity Committee has set up a Task & Finish Group to agree principles, objectives & delivery of the strategy.
BWA's input is here:
bristolwalkingalliance.org.uk/wp-content/u...
@BristolHealthP @Brakecharity @EdPlowden

Invitation to participate in a survey by a final year UWE Urban Planning undergraduate. How are walking, cycling, and other forms of active travel experienced across different communities?
Online survey: forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...
Contact: Joash2.Ashong@live.uwe.ac.uk for more details

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Delivering 20 – Making 20mph Work. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. As 20mph limits become a defining feature of safer, more liveable streets across the UK, understanding how to deliver them successfully has never been more important. Delivering 20 – Making 20mph Work brings together leading experts to explore what the latest data, psychology, and policy thinking reveal about how communities can make lower speed limits effective, accepted, and enduring. This focused, one and a half hour session will unpack the behavioural and cultural factors that shape the success of 20mph implementation, drawing lessons from Wales and beyond. Attendees will gain insights from new casualty data, learn from behavioural science research, and hear reflections on the evidence behind national reviews and professional guidance. Topics include: • Data and delivery: Latest Welsh casualty figures and the speed limit exceptions review – compared with DfT 2024 data for England. • Insight Warehouse: Update/report on UK 20mph road mapping - how Local Authorities are already changing behaviour • Professional perspectives: Insights from the CIHT 2024 report on 20mph limits and evolving perceptions of their value. • Behavioural change: Understanding the “Goodwin Curve” and how it applies to implementing 20mph policies. Chaired by Adrian Berendt, this webinar will close with a live Q&A session, giving participants the opportunity to put questions to the panel and explore how best to navigate the challenges of change. Join us to learn how data, behaviour, and communication can combine to make 20mph work. Speakers Adrian Berendt, Director, 20's Plenty for Us CIC Sue Nicholls, Director and Media Coordinator, 20's Plenty for Us CIC Speaker TBC Kate Carpenter, Director of Operational Road Safety, Jacobs Phil Goodwin, Emeritus Professor of Transport Policy at UCL and UWE

England has the highest %age of urban/village roads in GB with unforgiving 30mph limits. When incidents happen the time/space to avoid them turning into crashes/casualties is minimised. England needs a Road Safety Strategy that facilitates and funds 20mph as an urban/village norm like Wales/Scotland

Woman calls for pavement parking ban after falling out wheelchair on school run Aideen Blackborough was left lying in the road after being forced to manoeuvre her way around a vehicle blocking the pavement in Great Barr

Aideen’s story has sparked an overwhelming response, showing the real impact that pavement parking has on people’s daily lives across the UK.

This is why we are campaigning to end pavement parking.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/shaken-birmingham-woman-calls-pavement-32904943

Parisians travel more by bike than by car, study finds Walking and public transport were still the most popular ways to get around the French capital.

Walking was the most popular form of transport in the city centre, wracking up 53.3% of all journeys. This was followed by public transport at 30%.
We need to remember the importance of walking!
www.euronews.com/green/2024/0...

West of England Sustainable Transport Network - Autumn Meeting - Road Safety in the West of England West of England Sustainable Transport Network Autumn Meeting. This meeting will focus on road safety in the West of England and the expanding network.

Road Safety in Bristol & the West of England
West of England Sustainable Transport Network
Autumn Meeting - Thu 27 Nov, 12:30-2pm
with Keir Gallagher, Bristol Council's Road Safety Technical Lead
Online event (Teams)
Register here:
events.humanitix.com/west-of-engl...

Closing Central Madrid To Cars Resulted In 9.5% Boost To Retail Spending, Finds Bank Analysis City of Madrid significantly boosted the takings of its shops and restaurants last Christmas by banning cars from the CBD, finds an analysis by Spain's second largest bank.

Keep this in mind when people claim cars mean business — closing Central #Madrid to cars over holidays resulted in a 9.5% boost in retail spending on its main shopping street: STUDY.

There was also a 71% drop in air pollution.

Via @carltonreid.com in @forbes.com. #citymakingmath #citiesforpeople

BWA campaigns to improve Bristol's walking environment: bristolwalkingalliance.org.uk
Join us - it's free! - to receive our e-newsletter and find out what we're up to, the latest consultations that affect walking in Bristol, walking related events & more...