Cycling in the face of adversity: Liz's story

Ahead of her biggest challenge yet, world ranked Para-cyclist and Hand cycling Triathlete Liz McTernan tells her inspiring story of how she’s facing adversity head on through cycling, following a life-threatening spinal cord injury.

Like most people, I learnt to ride a bike as a child, but being one of five children, and being very petite, my older brothers’ hand-me-down bikes were never suitable for me to ride, being ten-speed with drop handlebars and a horizontal crossbar and impossible for my short legs. It was not until adulthood that I actually owned my first bike, and that was sadly short-lived. My reliable Raleigh was stolen after I left it at Reading station one day, having been offered a lift to work from a passing colleague. My daily commute from Chilworth, outside Guildford, to Reading College then involved speed walking in order to catch my train on time, as I couldn’t afford to replace it and I didn’t want a daily commute by car.

On June 19th, 2005, six months after my 40th birthday and less than a year after buying a new home in Lincolnshire, I had a very traumatic accident which very nearly cost me my life and left me a C7/T9 incomplete paraplegic.

I spent four months in hospital, missing my daughter’s 10th birthday and my son starting at Secondary School. I came home to my inaccessible house in a wheelchair and thought my life as I knew it was over.

If someone had told me then, that within five years I would be representing Great Britain internationally in sport, I would never have believed them.

How bikes came back into my life

After sustaining a life changing spinal cord injury (SCI), bikes eventually came back into my life in 2011, but not in any shape or form that I was familiar with. In fact, my first handcycle was secondhand from America and arrived in a box, looking like a mechano kit. As I had no idea how to put it back together, I took it along to my local bike shop and they commented that it was ‘upside down and back to front’ which referred to the way the drivetrain is set up.

On a hand bike, the derailleur is on the front drive wheel, with the front mechanism for the chain rings under the hand pedals. Pedalling is done symmetrically, which allows the rider to steer and pedal at the same time and put more power into the revolutions.

The first time I ventured outdoors on my hand bike, I asked my daughter, then aged 14, to accompany me. I’d made sure that despite being a single parent, they always had bikes of their own, even if they were secondhand. We lived in rural Lincolnshire and having bikes meant they were able to cycle to see school friends who didn’t live in our village, avoiding me having to be a constant car taxi service. Despite choosing what I considered an easy route, I barely managed 3km that first day, which was a frustrating start to what I hoped would be a new sporting lifestyle to enable me to lose weight, get fit and get outdoors.

I’d bought the hand bike to compete in Para-Triathlon, where the use of a recumbent hand bike is mandatory in my classification category. A few months later, I added another set of wheels to my collection in the shape of a racing wheelchair, kindly part sponsored by the sci charity Aspire. Much to my amazement, six months after starting the sport, I beat the current World Champion in both the swim and the bike sections at my first European Championships and my second ever Para-Triathlon race.

Representing Great Britain

After two years of representing GBR at International level and winning medals, I was itching to tackle the Holy Grail of triathlon, a full Ironman, but it would be five years later that I actually started training and racing the full distance. In the meantime, I’d switched to Para-Cycling, as my Para-Triathlon category was not chosen to make its debut at the Rio Paralympics in 2016. I became European Champion in 2015 and won double bronze medals at a UCI World Cup in Bilbao in 2016, as well as numerous Podiums at International races round the world.

In 2017 I qualified for and raced at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. I had been confident that my training had been good enough to tackle the arduous 112 mile bike course, but I sadly missed the combined swim/bike cut off by only 1:51 minutes and was not allowed to continue the race. Absolutely gutted, I immediately signed up for Ironman Cozumel six weeks later and smashed out a world record time for a female handcyclist of 13:01:16hrs. But of course this wasn’t enough for me, there was still Kona to conquer, the mecca of triathletes.

This year, I had to go through the qualification process again, and I am due to fly out to Hawaii at the end of September to race the biggest race of my life on October 13th. I’m training hard to be the best I can be, putting in the miles on the hand bike on the roads of Lincolnshire and on the indoor trainer. Tackling 112 miles on any bike is hard, and the course in Kona is hilly, hot and humid, but I’m feeling more confident in my abilities to tackle the race again this year.

It’s been quite a journey from my first tentative 3km ride, to completing my first Ironman, and competing in Hawaii, but wheels really can take you on the best adventures.

Hear other inspiring stories like Liz’s at our Cycling to overcome adversity: an evening of inspiring talks with Sustrans event in London on Thursday 27 September 2018.

• Cycling
• Lifestyle

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8239590 https://www.sustrans.org.uk/blog/cycling-face-adversity-lizs-story
via IFTTT

source https://ukresinboundsurfacing.tumblr.com/post/178508835458

Safer Streets Bill will reduce speed in built-up areas and would benefit people who walk and cycle

The benefits of 20mph are well known but worth repeating. Image credit Jonathan Bewley ©2018

We support a nationwide default speed limit of 20mph on residential streets

The launch of the Safer Streets Bill to make 20mph the standard speed on residential streets in Scotland is great news for people who walk and cycle.

When it comes to saving lives and reducing injury on our roads, the benefits of 20mph speed limits are well known but worth repeating. Road casualty data from the Department for Transport shows significantly lower casualty rates on 20mph roads, and a 2009 study of London speed limits found that the introduction of 20mph zones was associated with a 42% reduction in road casualties.

Reduction in road casualties and accidents avoided 

Meanwhile, evidence from the South Edinburgh pilot area also points to a 20% reduction in casualties. These kinds of numbers cannot be ignored.

Just last week, a study by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health outlined how repeating the success of the South Edinburgh pilot nationwide would lead to a 9.5% reduction in injuries and deaths on our roads across the whole of Scotland, leading to a saving from accidents avoided of £27.1 million per year.

The city-wide roll-out of 20mph speed limits across the Scottish capital, supported by Scottish Government Funding through Sustrans Scotland’s Community Links Programme, underline the success of slower, safer streets.

We’re still awaiting the thorough evaluation of Edinburgh’s rollout of 20mph speed limits, but already we know that in the past year road casualties are down by 24% and those killed or seriously injured are down by a third. This is consistent with all the evidence that says that 20mph speed limits reduces both the number of collisions and their severity. We look forward to more detailed evaluation from City of Edinburgh Council in due course.

This is why Sustrans Scotland support a nationwide default speed limit of 20mph on residential streets. Local authorities will still be able to designate streets as 30mph if they think they are safe and there is a need for people to travel faster. But by making 20mph the new ‘normal’, it will offer a sensible assumption that streets are for people first and everyone has a right to be a feel safe.

Reasons to implement 20mph speed limits on a national scale

We think that 20mph is right for our streets. And there are a range of reasons why you would do this on a national scale.

Firstly, making 20mph speed limits more consistent across the country will make it clearer to people what the speed limit is, and help people in vehicles to adjust to slower streets.

This approach will save councils money. Currently, Scotland has a bit-by-bit approach to designating 20mph areas that can be expensive for local authorities to implement. A nationwide approach prevents local authorities from having to follow long-winded, complex procedure and allows Scotland to run a national public awareness campaign instead of multiple smaller campaigns as happens now.

We also know that 20mph streets also help to meet the national priority of getting more people travelling on foot or on a bike and that helps towns and cities thrive. Lower speeds on roads help people to feel safer and more likely to choose to walk or cycle for everyday journeys. Lower speeds also make retail areas more pleasant for journeys on foot or by bike, which can have a positive impact on trade. The Scottish Government is right to encourage people to walk and cycle more and this Bill enhances that aim.

Our vision is for active travel to be an easy, safe and attractive choice for everyone throughout the UK. Sustrans Scotland will support the Bill’s passage through Parliament and we hope as many MSPs as possible will support this, to ensure a safer and more active nation for everyone.

Contact your local MSP to tell them that you support the Safer Streets Bill

• Leadership
• Liveable cities
• Policy

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8239590 https://www.sustrans.org.uk/blog/safer-streets-bill-will-reduce-speed-built-areas-and-would-benefit-people-who-walk-and-cycle
via IFTTT

source https://ukresinboundsurfacing.tumblr.com/post/178416201243

Helping children with coordination difficulties master riding a bicyle

In this programme, bike riding is broken into small steps. Each child is allocated a cycling ‘coach’ who works with them on 10 skills.

The children are practising the bike safety check

Learning to walk with the bike is one of the 10 skills taught

Nine-year-old Ada who participated in the programme, made drawings to illustrate how she felt before and after she learnt to cycle.

In this blog, Dr Mellissa Prunty, Lecturer in Occupational Therapy at Brunel University London, presents a pilot programme set up to help children with dyspraxia learn to cycle. At the end of the one week programme, all children and their parents reported an improvement in the child’s perceived cycling ability.

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD/’dyspraxia’)

Children and young people with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have significant difficulties with motor coordination which impacts on activities of daily living. They are less physically active, have poorer levels of physical fitness and are at greater risk of obesity compared to typically developing peers.

Learning to ride a bike is an important rite of passage for children, the benefits of which could counteract secondary issues associated with DCD by providing a source of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and opportunities for social participation.

While children with DCD have difficulties with learning key childhood skills, bike riding is the one skill that most children with DCD really want to learn. Research has shown that children with DCD are able to learn skills through direct teaching and practice of the task, with the help of therapists or coaches. The trouble is there is no written guide or well defined, replicable intervention for teaching children with DCD how to cycle.

We have been working closely with another community-based cycling group in Oxford to develop ways of evaluating the effectiveness of cycling interventions for children with DCD. This blog presents the work of a university-based cycling group at Brunel University London.

“ I’m happy because I’m not left out…before all of my friends could ride a bike and I couldn’t so I couldn’t join in…I ride my bike with my Dad, we can have a race and I beat him every time because I’ve been practicing lots. ”

- Molly, 11 years old

Brunel University London Cycling Group

The cycling group at Brunel University London is a highly structured one-week cycling intervention that can be delivered by either Allied Health Professionals and/or cycling instructors in the community. Drawing on specific teaching principles, the intervention involves presenting bike riding in small steps and progressing at rates that appropriately challenge each child as an individual.

The group is run by an Occupational Therapist for four mornings over half-term for two hours a day in the safe space of Brunel University London Sports Centre. Each child is allocated a cycling ‘coach’ (occupational therapy student) who works with the child on 10 skills:

1. Put on helmet
2. Bike safety check
3. Walk with the bike
4. Mount and dismount
5. Walk while seated
6. Scooting
7. Use of brakes
8. Independent pedalling
9. Steering
10. Cycling indoors

The coaches use techniques such as breaking the task down into small achievable parts, adapting the task by making it easier or harder, demonstration, verbal feedback, repetition/practice, positive reinforcement and modifying the bike such as taking pedals off, lowering the saddle etc.

Pilot effectiveness

In our initial pilot work, eight children with DCD took part in the group, seven of which learned to cycle independently. All children and their parents reported an improvement in the child’s perceived cycling ability on the last day.

What the children and their parents thought

We followed up with the children to see what the benefits were six months later.

Pilot programme participants Ada and Molly were happy to share their story.

Molly, 11 Years Old

The Content of the Cycling Group: "First we learnt to walk with the bike and how to put on [our] helmet, then we learnt more about walking with the bike, and on the third day we were like scooting with one leg, and the next day I learned how to do it with two legs, and then I just started riding a bike.“ 

The Benefits of Learning to Cycle: "I’m happy because I’m not left out…before all of my friends could ride a bike and I couldn’t so I couldn’t join in” …"now sometimes I go cycling with my friends"…"I ride my bike with my Dad, we can have a race and I beat him every time because I’ve been practicing lots.“

“ I feel very very happy…I’ve drawn myself being happy because I can ride a bike now and I’m shouting to my mummy and daddy and my sister I can ride a bike now. ”

- Ada, 9 years old

Molly’s Mother

About the Cycling Group: “It’s about giving them a place where everyone is at the same stage. None of them know how to ride, so they don’t feel like they have to know anything in advance and breaking it into steps is the most important thing because before that Molly wouldn’t have been able to, she wouldn’t have been able to ride.”

Molly has since joined a Cycling Club. “She has joined the local [mainstream] cycling club and goes there every Saturday for two hours. Of course, at the beginning, she wasn’t the with the advanced riders because they divided them into a beginners group that were confident in braking and going uphill, but she has moved through that group now and she really really likes cycling.”

Ada, 9 Years Old

Ada made drawings to illustrate how she felt before and after she could cycle.

When talking about the picture before she could ride a bike, Ada said:

“This is me being sad…because I’m the only one in my class that couldn’t ride a bike. I saw other children riding bikes and I wanted to ride too because it looked fun because they knew how to ride a bike…in my picture I’m saying I want to learn to ride a bike like other children”

When talking about the picture after she could ride a bike, Ada said:

“I feel very very happy…I’ve drawn myself being happy because I can ride a bike now and I’m shouting to my mummy and daddy and my sister I can ride a bike now.”

Ada’s Mother

“I was really happy, obviously I was quite emotional, from a point where you know she has difficulties with her movement. I think I partly thought it’s one of those things she may not be good at or do, but over the course of the week you can see her confidence building, her gradually doing better and then towards the end actually cycling. You know it was quite an emotional experience and she was really chuffed with herself as well.”

Future Directions

In partnership with our colleagues in Oxford, we are looking at ways of formally evaluating these types of cycling interventions to examine their effectiveness.

By supporting children with DCD to learn how to cycle it may increase social participation and physical activity in this group.

It may also create a bridge into the mainstream Bikeability programmes for children who need additional input before entering Level 1.

• Cycling
• Schools
• Young people

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8239590 https://www.sustrans.org.uk/blog/helping-children-coordination-difficulties-master-riding-bicyle
via IFTTT

source https://ukresinboundsurfacing.tumblr.com/post/178291048863

Five reasons to shake up the way you travel in time for World Car Free Day

Incorporating active travel such as walking and cycling into your daily trips is key to tackling air pollution and protecting the environment. Image Credit: Jonathan Bewley

Physical activity can increase mental alertness, energy, positive mood and self-esteem, as well as reduce stress. Image Credit: Jonathan Bewley

Travelling in an environment with no congestion or air pollution may seem like a far-fetched desire but it doesn’t have to be.

It’s possible for us all to make small changes to the way we travel, such as walking or cycling for more journeys, and ultimately help contribute to a cleaner, greener environment.

To coincide with World Car Free Day (22 September) Chris Bennett, our Head of Behaviour Change, shares his top five reasons to shake up the way you travel for everyday journeys.

1. Fewer cars on the road will help clean up our toxic air

Incorporating active travel such as walking and cycling into your daily trips is key to tackling air pollution and protecting the environment. This is because road transport is responsible for 80% of the pollution where legal limits are being broken. And, what’s more, those who travel by car can experience five times higher pollution levels than those who cycle and three and a half times more than those walking the same route. 

2. Congested roads are a headache for everyone involved

In 2017, 327.1 billion miles were driven on Great Britain’s roads, a 1.3% increase from the previous year. We won’t see this figure decrease, along with the congestion that comes with it unless we see a rise in walking, scooting, cycling and car-sharing. In addition, giving people a choice about how they travel by providing safe, convenient and affordable alternatives to driving will help to ease our road traffic congestion.

3. Cycling, scooting or walking is an easy way of building physical activity into your daily routine

The UK is currently facing an obesity crisis with one in three adults not getting enough exercise. According to government guidelines, children and young people aged 5 to 18 need at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day, while adults should get a minimum of 150 minutes a week. Walking or cycling are a great way of combatting the obesity crisis as they allow you to build exercise into your daily routine without having to think about it.

4. Not only is it great for your physical health, it can also boost mental wellbeing

According to the Mental Health Foundation, physical activity can increase mental alertness, energy, positive mood and self-esteem, as well as reduce stress and anxiety.  

5. It benefits us all

There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating the economic benefits of cycling and walking, from cleaner air and improved health to increased tourism and retail activity. In England alone, 10 billion annual journeys are undertaken every year by bike and on foot, with an estimated combined economic value of £14 billion. 

We have lots of information and advice to help you start cycling and walking

• Air Quality
• Cycling
• Environment

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8239590 https://www.sustrans.org.uk/blog/five-reasons-shake-way-you-travel-time-world-car-free-day
via IFTTT

source https://ukresinboundsurfacing.tumblr.com/post/178291048363

How can transport best support future generations?

Religious background is more important than a faith school education for academic success, new study finds

The academic advantages associated with a faith school education are short lived, and are mainly explained by home background, new research shows.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8239590 http://www.cls.ioe.ac.uk/shared/object-link.ashx?objectid=4717&objectType=news&objectTitle=Religious%2bbackground%2bis%2bmore%2bimportant%2bthan%2ba%2bfaith%2bschool%2beducation%2bfor%2bacademic%2bsuccess%252c%2bnew%2bstudy%2bfinds&params=57574321b47fd7c68c8cc3406b735d8a8cb3b623ee04c357f1
via IFTTT

source https://ukresinboundsurfacing.tumblr.com/post/177991867403

Future transport – how can we best invest to support mobility?

Innovative technologies do not have a good track record in supporting inclusivity

Cycling and walking should be at the heart of future urban mobility strategy. Andy Cope, our Director of Insight, responds to the UK Government’s Future of Mobility call for evidence.

The challenges and opportunities of technologies in transport are many. The appeal of electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, shared mobility, new business models and innovation in data use is that they all offer exciting possibilities and real opportunity. But this is tempered by the risk and uncertainty of unproven solutions that they may have negative impacts:

• Electric cars displace emissions rather than eliminating them (tailpipe to power station chimney stack).
• The air quality emissions from combustion are reduced but the brake and tyre emissions may be increased.
• There is emerging evidence of a ‘rebound’ effect whereby the owners of electric vehicles drive more than they otherwise would because the impacts (and costs) are perceived to be less. Ultimately, an electric car is still a car, and they impact on place and on safety in the same way as conventional cars.

Our position in a nutsehell 

The UK’s Government call for evidence through the Future Mobility Grand Challenge encompasses many new and exciting technologies. Sustrans’ position is that in the excitement of the possibilities of new technologies, we must not rule out the aspiration for future mobility to rely more heavily on well-established technologies. Cycling and walking should be at the heart of future urban mobility strategy.

The urban infrastructure required to enable cleaner transport, automation, data and connectivity, new modes, and elements of shared mobility and new business models require significant new infrastructure to even give them the possibility of proving effective. And the benefits of this investment are uncertain.

Autonomous and electric vehicles are still vehicles, and they still impact on the ‘pleasantness’ of urban space. Solutions that have a better impact on urban space, liveability, noise, congestion, public health, etc., should be prioritised. Walking and cycling fit the bill. Investment required in urban infrastructure to better support walking and cycling is non-trivial. But it is probably dramatically less than the investment required to, for example, make the streets legible to autonomous vehicles.

Transport deserts

Innovative technologies do not have a good track record in supporting inclusive society.

The consequences can be dramatic. For example, a mapping of the MAAS (Mobility as a Service) provision in Los Angeles clearly shows that areas where users are less wealthy, they are not served by transportation services. In a paradigm where securing and selling data about users is the primary driver for transport provision, an inevitable consequence is that wherever the data of potential users is deemed less valuable, provision is sketchy.

The areas with poor transport provision, aligning exactly with more deprived communities, have been dubbed ‘transport deserts’ by some observers.

The Government must take a strong hand in ensuring the adequacy of service provision resulting from future transport technologies. This intervention should reflect a recognition of the data harvesting imperatives of some future transport technologies, and should include adequate coverage of excluded communities (spatial and categorical). There is a high risk that adequate and equitable provision may require considerable subsidy.

The Government should ensure that subsidised development of some of these technologies mitigates against any need for future subsidy in delivery – that is to say, the Government should not subsidise development of technologies without a built in safeguard against non-inclusivity, which it will then need to pay to fix.

Privacy challenges from new technologies

We are also very concerned by the extent to which innovation in transport technologies is led by the harvesting and sale of personal data. It is our understanding that, for example, bike share schemes operate largely on the basis of a profit made from sales of personal data. It is critical that we understand how emerging technologies operate in respect of the use of personal data – not in terms of the way they use data to operate (although understanding this is also important), but in terms of the role that data use plays a role in the business model and commercial operation. 

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) regulation is helpful in providing a structure for data use, but there is still a lot of work to be done to really understand the ways that data derived from transport users may be used, both legitimately and abusively, in the future.

We agree with the top-line missions cited in the consultation – safer streets, improved access to transport, cleaner freight and liveable cities. However, there is not strong evidence that the technologies identified can help to achieve those missions as well as some other approaches. Some of the assertions presented in relation to the role of technologies in supporting these missions are very debatable. Self-driving vehicles are by no means proven to be safer to other road users, and many observers take the opposite view.

We need simpler, people-centred solutions 

Evidence is currently stronger that new technologies and business models reduce access to transport for some communities and groups; cleaner freight can be achieved by the use of, for example, cargo-bike distribution, as demonstrated in many cities in Europe. 

The assertion that technological innovation can improve safety in cities is not supported. Rachel Aldred of the University of Westminster points to the heightened risks to pedestrians and cyclists of greater use of satellite navigation technology by drivers (satellite navigation devices often direct drivers down more lightly trafficked routes preferred by walkers and cyclists); the claim that parking spaces can be removed by increased use of shared mobility is largely false, and based on a model with massively heroic assumptions.

The case for future transport technologies to support positive outcomes is not well made, and there may be considerable disadvantages associated with some.

The best way to ensure that future urban transport systems support people’s wellbeing, and support flourishing, healthy communities, is to invest in transport mechanisms that can be shown to directly impact outcomes relating to these areas. There is an extremely strong case for the role that walking and cycling have across a wide range of areas. The benefits are vast and include a boost in health and wellbeing through increased physical activity, air pollution and carbon emission reduction, inclusivity, economic vitality, serenity, ambience, heritage and a number of other outcome areas.

• Air Quality
• Cycling
• Leadership
• Policy
• Walking

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8239590 https://www.sustrans.org.uk/blog/future-transport-how-can-we-best-invest-support-mobility
via IFTTT

source https://ukresinboundsurfacing.tumblr.com/post/177988699063

The long roots of childhood, and how they explain economic inequalities across the whole of life

In my inaugural lecture earlier this summer I asked the question, what are the root causes of the economic inequalities in our society, and why have these been so difficult to budge?

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8239590 http://www.cls.ioe.ac.uk/shared/object-link.ashx?objectid=4718&objectType=news&objectTitle=The%2blong%2broots%2bof%2bchildhood%252c%2band%2bhow%2bthey%2bexplain%2beconomic%2binequalities%2bacross%2bthe%2bwhole%2bof%2blife&params=57574321b47fd7c68c8cc3406b735d8a8cb3b623ee04c357f1
via IFTTT

source https://ukresinboundsurfacing.tumblr.com/post/177979237383

Greener neighbourhoods may be good for children's brains

Children living in urban greener neighbourhoods may have better spatial working memory, according to new research by UCL Institute of Education (IOE).

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8239590 http://www.cls.ioe.ac.uk/shared/object-link.ashx?objectid=4716&objectType=news&objectTitle=Greener%2bneighbourhoods%2bmay%2bbe%2bgood%2bfor%2bchildren%27s%2bbrains&params=57574321b47fd7c68c8cc3406b735d8a8cb3b623ee04c357f1
via IFTTT

source https://ukresinboundsurfacing.tumblr.com/post/177947890493

A cycling and walking revolution is needed to solve the particulate matter problem

More people cycling and walking will help clean up our air, make us all more physically active and reduce congestion for those that need to get around by car

The Government is setting its approach for tackling air pollution from particulate matter through a number of consultations but is again missing a great opportunity to rethink the way we move around.

Technology is amazing, isn’t it? Who doesn’t like that feeling of a new phone with all the extra gadgets? Well, me actually – but I think I am in the minority.

And technology is amazing – it definitely has a role in reducing our carbon footprint in the future through greener energy and in cleaning up our air through a reduction in emissions from motor vehicles as electric vehicles become more reliable and prolific. 

But technology can’t solve everything and it can also advance some pretty bad social trends rather than make them better. For example, it has a limited role in tackling one of the most prolific air pollutants: particulate matter (PM).

Adverse health effects of PM

PM is small particles that get into the air. Once inhaled, these tiny particles can penetrate the walls of our lungs and circulate around the body with harmful effects on our health.  Like many other pollutants, particulate matter can have a short-term impact over a single, highly polluted day or long-term impacts from low-level exposure over a long period of time.

The World Health Organization has stated that there are no safe levels of particulate matter.

PM comes from various sources, including transport. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) estimate that over 12% of PM comes from transport. This may not sound alarming initially, but the effects are.

This is because our exposure to PM increases the closer we get to the roadside. Transport for London found that 60% of PM10 (particles with diameters that are less than or equal to 10 micrometress ) came from transport, with 15% coming from car exhausts and 45% coming from tyre and brake wear. The Government is consulting on this very issue at the moment.

Our roads need fewer not just cleaner cars

The problem is moving people from diesel or petrol engine cars to electric doesn’t address PM from tyre and brake wear and there are a great deal of unknowns.

PM from brake wear may be somewhat reduced because of regenerative braking that many electric vehicles have, in which the car brakes when you take your foot off the accelerator and recharges the battery. However, any positives from this are likely to be negated by the additional wear of tyres releasing PM due to electric cars being heavier than petrol and diesel cars because of the additional weight of the batteries.

This is all by the by though. As Sustrans has said in our consultation response, we believe the Government is missing an opportunity in the Clean Air Strategy by myopically focusing on electric vehicles. We clearly don’t just need vehicles with cleaner exhausts but still lethal brake and tyre dust on our roads, we need fewer vehicles to clean our air and improve our health. The Government has a chance to nudge people into changing the way they travel for short journeys by making walking and cycling the natural choice.

To do this, Government must spend less time on technological fixes that move people from one metal box to another and think outside the box themselves. Now is the time for a revolution in local travel that not only reduces the number of car trips and therefore PM, but also benefits our health through the exercise cycling and walking offer.

Simpler, lower-tech solutions are the best step forward

To achieve this revolution, we need to start making changes to our cities which for decades have been designed to benefit the movement of cars.

Pedestrians and people on bikes should have priority in all town and city centres.

Networks of protected cycle lanes on main roads across our towns and cities should be the norm so that everyone feels more confident getting around on two wheels.

Instead of spending so much time on a technological change in vehicles that doesn’t really address a major source of air pollution at all, the Government should be enacting changes to achieve the targets set out in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy to double cycling and increase walking by 2025.

The changes we propose will truly clean up our air; make us all more physically active and reduce congestion for those that need to get around by car.

As Douglas Adams said: “We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works.”

A cycling and walking revolution works: for improving air quality; public health and the flow of our towns and cities. Why then is the Government so reluctant to truly commit to it?

The brake, tyre and road surface wear consultation is open until 28 September 2018

• Air Quality
• Cycling in cities
• Walking

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8239590 https://www.sustrans.org.uk/blog/cycling-and-walking-revolution-needed-solve-particulate-matter-problem
via IFTTT

source https://ukresinboundsurfacing.tumblr.com/post/177691546943