Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Mark Nelson

SPACE for Heaton @spaceforheaton.com · 9h

In October 2022 modal filters were installed on streets in Heaton as part of a trial.
Thanks to a permanent traffic counter it was possible to see what effect that had on one of the boundary roads.
Traffic was down every week, by ~500 vehicles per day.
Then the filters were removed...
1/3

A chart showing the percentage change in traffic from before to after implementation of the LTN. All bars except two show a negative change, indicating a drop in traffic.

1 2 4

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 10h

I like the sound of that!
Having just spend the previous three hours thinking about leaving the house it might provide the missing motivation.

1 2

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 10h

That might be why the roads are so busy...

2

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 10h

There were. I think they may have been linked now as more has been build but the first part to be built by the A1068 had no way out other than duel carriage way with no pavement for a couple of years.
Less than 2km from the station and shops and about 500m from the cycle network too, but no link.

1 3

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 11h

The town right next to that junction has a very good cycle network in older parts of it. It hasn't been extended as the town has grown though, doesn't link to the hospital mentioned. There are no links across the duel carriageways surrounding the town either.

2 1 12

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 22h

The last student house I lived in for catalogue of church essentials through the door which included wine.
We did consider ordering some as it was pretty cheap, but I think decided it wasn't strong enough in the end (and also wasn't beer 🙄) www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Kenyan Catholic Church drops Mass wine after it becomes common in bars - BBC News

The previous brand was said to have lost its sanctity due to its widespread use outside the church.

www.bbc.co.uk

1

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 1d

What's really needed is more viable alternatives to driving, which ¾ of a billion pounds could go some way to providing.

8

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 1d

¾ of a billion pounds to change a junction, that won't fix queues on the A189 and just moves the queues on the A19 to the next junction, which then needs fixing too, contributing to the enormous cost.
That's the cost of two and a bit Northumberland Lines (currently still not fully open).

A image from proposals for Moor Farm roundabout which show after the proposed changes there will still be queues on the south bound A189 and queues on the A19 will stretch from the A1 to Dudley Lane in the morning peak.
From the document Northumberland Strategic Road Network Infrastructure Study: https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/NorthumberlandCountyCouncil/media/Planning-and-Building/planning%20policy/Studies%20and%20Evidence%20Reports/Infrastructure%20Studies/Highways-England-Northumberland-Strategic-Road-Network-Infrastructure-Study-May-2016.pdf

4 4 12

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 4d

All the ☀️ this year means my solar array had already generated more ⚡at the end of September than the whole of last year.
It also meant free energy for almost 6 months for the first time, missing out by £5:30, as exports covered imports, gas and standing charges from April onwards.

The image is a bar chart showing solar generation by month for the last 5 years. 2025 has been higher or equal to the previous couple of years for most months so far.

The image is a pie chart showing electricity by source. Solar 55%, Grid 45%

3

Reposted by Mark Nelson

Roads.org.uk 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @roads.org.uk · 8d

We think road numbers are beautiful. Not everyone agrees, but we defy you not to be amazed by this incredbile visualisation of all Great Britain's classified roads. #roadnumbers www.roads.org.uk/blog/colouri...

Colouring by Numbers

A data visualisation of British road numbering produces surprisingly beautiful results.

www.roads.org.uk

7 11

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 8d

What's a 'side'? Sounds like an interesting concept.

1

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 10d

I watched that earlier. Never realised in all the times I've passed it.
I did notice another more obvious one last autumn hidden in a hedge that I passed quite a few times previously without seeing.
maps.app.goo.gl/PjGT1rgGc1mm...

maps.app.goo.gl

1

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 11d

Ale and rice pudding is the sort of nutrition advice I could get behind, though I don't worry many records.

Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 11d

We especially enjoyed the dietary advice from one of the pioneering racers - mine's a glass of Burton ale! 🍺 #NSHD #cycling #beer

Newspaper excerpt which reads: "A glass of Burton ale is refreshing during training, and just a sip or two during a ride. Bovril is also a capital food in a liquid form, and I drink a great deal of it. Rice puddings also form one of the items upon my bill of fare while I am attempting to break records."

3

Reposted by Mark Nelson

Alison Stenning @alisonstenning.bsky.social · 14d

Great headline:

“Newcastle protest: 100 anti-migrant protesters drowned out by counter march”

www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2114...

100 anti-migrant protesters drowned out by counter march in UK city

There are hundreds of people in the city centre.

www.express.co.uk

1 8 53

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 14d

Did you make it home?

1

Reposted by Mark Nelson

Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 19d

Any journalist quoting this absurd, invented £234 billion number cited by Farage/Reform should make absolutely clear that it has been withdrawn by *its own authors* (the Centre for Policy Studies) after they admitted it contained several major errors (1/3)

Farage pledges to expel hundreds of thousands of migrants
Reform says mass deportation would save £234bn as it warns ‘Boriswave’ of migration will take critical toll on welfare system

50 600 1.2K

Reposted by Mark Nelson

The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 19d

After this morning's ramping up of cruel rhetoric, it's time to refer to them as "the far-right party, Reform UK Ltd".

1 10 30

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 20d

I've had an interesting morning at Northern Trains Heaton Train Maintenance Depo open day. Lots of train to see from a perspective you don't usually get and various stalls to explain things.

Picture shows a number of hydraulic lifts lined up next to a train in a maintenance shed.

A view from a walkway taken half way along an Azuma looking back at a shorter Trans Pennine trains and an even shorter local train.

A close view of the front of a Trans Pennine train with it's nose cone removed to expose the coupling mechanism.

A view from the driver's seat of a train that's inside a maintenance shed.

3

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 20d

Just pretending to drive a Pacer.

View from the driver's seat of a Pacer train.

5

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 20d

As it's the weekend, just for fun I looked at how the total number of Micras licenced to be on the road compares to the number of Range Rovers for the last ten years.

That's quite a lot of space lost in the cause of doing the same thing more excessively.

I bar chart with two series on it. The 1st show the total number of Micras licenced in GB by year. It starts high in 2015 and decreases each year after. The 2nd shows Range Rovers, which starts around half the number of Micras and increases, passing Micras in 2019 to end up roughly double in 2025.

6

Reposted by Mark Nelson

Dave Jones @cleanpowerdave.bsky.social · 24d

I had to triplecheck this because I didn't believe it...

All of the world's discovered reserves of fossil fuels = the same energy as just 5 days of sunlight hitting the Earth🤯

Solar power is basically unlimited🤷‍♂️

14 44 150

Reposted by Mark Nelson

Rosie Collington @rosiecollington.bsky.social · Sep 11

this is ridiculous

10 190 540

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · Sep 8

Summer 2024...

www.newcastle.gov.uk/citylife-new...

A new two-way cycle lane will be built along the stretch of Pilgrim Street between Mosley Street and Market Street and new paving and resurfacing will also take place.

The full programme of works is due to be completed in summer 2024, with further improvements to the Market Street junction expected to be carried out at the end of the Pilgrim Street works.

1 1

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · Sep 7

I'm so used to dismissing annoying popups and notifications that I instantly clicked the button without reading it despite knowing it was happening and wanting to know what it said, which is a bit of a design fault.
I assume it said 'this is a test', but I'll never know!

1

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · Sep 7

Yeah, I'm fine thanks. If they are doing it to me they are probably doing it to other people, who might feel a bit more intimidated though.
I've got very clear images, and they were on a hire scooter which may help, so I'll see what happens.

2