Congleton Sustainable Travel
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congletonsustrav.bsky.social
Congleton Sustainable Travel
@congletonsustrav.bsky.social
Begun in 2023 as part of Friends of the Earth’s Congleton Climate Action group.

Cong SusTrav is working to maintain and improve local facilities for users of pavements, cycles, buses and trains.

We're here too:
https://www.facebook.com/cw12climateaction/
Excellent. Maybe England in about 20 years???
November 26, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Off to Leeds later, to speak at the @teammodeshift.bsky.social annual conference tomorrow. Amongst much else, I'll be sharing this graph, based on our 2025 paper.

Almost everybody thinks it's important to be able to travel without a car, but they underestimate how much everyone else agrees
November 24, 2025 at 9:02 AM
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
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
us06web.zoom.us
November 23, 2025 at 12:29 PM
One day this might be news about Cheshire East.
Another Town Council in Westmoreland & Furness supports #20splenty.
Almost every day, new 20mph schemes are announced around the UK. Sometimes whole counties and local authorities, sometimes towns or villages. It really is the decade where 20mph is becoming the urban/village norm.
Town council declares support for 20mph speed limit scheme
Kendal Town Council has declared its support for the progression of the 20mph scheme.
www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk
November 21, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Fascinating thread here - especially the video.
This week is Road Safety Week & a chance to talk about Barbara Castle!

Barbara was Transport Minister for three years yet she was able to introduce the Breathalyzer, a proper integrated transport strategy & more!

This was done despite fierce opposition.

📸 Photo from the Parliamentary Achieve
November 19, 2025 at 6:50 PM
A member had to take avoiding action for the 4th time in recent months at the pedestrian lights on Market St. The driver coming from High St didn’t notice their red light. Until yelled at. Shocked expression. 😮 Perhaps they’ll pay more attention next time? 🤞

Photo from an old Google Streetview.
November 19, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Let’s have roads designed for children not for speedy driving @cheshire-east.bsky.social
Road deaths are falling (good) but are still monstrously high (unacceptable): there were four deaths a day on UK roads in 2024.
This is avoidable - we need political willpower to get there.
#VisionZero

www.gov.uk/government/s...
Reported road casualties Great Britain, annual report: 2024
www.gov.uk
November 19, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Exactly. Let’s have vision zero and people-first speed limits.
At any time more children are NOT "in front of schools" than "in front of schools". And 4 times more were killed/injured whilst NOT "travelling to/from school" than "travelling to/from school".
"20mph just in front of schools" is a dying strategy that has no credibility. bit.ly/4o4jwdA
School gate risk
We support those communities that want 20mph where people are
bit.ly
November 18, 2025 at 10:41 AM
This week is road safety week. But roads are inert and innocent. It’s road users’ actions to blame for collisions, injuries, death. Let’s have vision zero dialogue, and not blame roads. Let’s act to achieve vision zero @sarahrussellmp.bsky.social @20splenty.bsky.social @cheshire-east.bsky.social
“Helsinki hasn’t registered a single traffic-related fatality in the past year…Citing data that shows the risk of pedestrian fatality is cut in half by reducing a car’s speed from 40 to 30km/hr, city officials imposed the lower limit in most of Helsinki’s residential areas & city center in 2021.”
November 17, 2025 at 4:36 PM
We need people-first road design too.
This week is road safety week. But roads are inert and innocent. It’s road users’ actions to blame for collisions, injuries, death. Let’s have vision zero dialogue, and not blame roads. Let’s act to achieve vision zero @sarahrussellmp.bsky.social @20splenty.bsky.social @cheshire-east.bsky.social
“Helsinki hasn’t registered a single traffic-related fatality in the past year…Citing data that shows the risk of pedestrian fatality is cut in half by reducing a car’s speed from 40 to 30km/hr, city officials imposed the lower limit in most of Helsinki’s residential areas & city center in 2021.”
November 17, 2025 at 8:52 AM
This week is road safety week. But roads are inert and innocent. It’s road users’ actions to blame for collisions, injuries, death. Let’s have vision zero dialogue, and not blame roads. Let’s act to achieve vision zero @sarahrussellmp.bsky.social @20splenty.bsky.social @cheshire-east.bsky.social
“Helsinki hasn’t registered a single traffic-related fatality in the past year…Citing data that shows the risk of pedestrian fatality is cut in half by reducing a car’s speed from 40 to 30km/hr, city officials imposed the lower limit in most of Helsinki’s residential areas & city center in 2021.”
Helsinki just went a full year without a single traffic death
The capital city is Finnish’ed with car-related fatalities.
www.politico.eu
November 17, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Good scheme @cheshire-east.bsky.social We do have known pockets of poor health/quality of life/shorter Iives in Congleton and CE overall. Free bikes for children would give them independence and health and enable trips beyond their immediate surrounding.
November 15, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Yes wishful thinking. @cheshire-east.bsky.social
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...
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…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 15, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Exactly this!
"but if you ban cars from my street how will I get a sofa delivered?"

Get the delivery guys to park in the loading bay at the end of the street and bring it the short distance from there.
November 14, 2025 at 8:07 PM
One of our members has been invited to a coffee afternoon with Congleton MP Sarah Russell during upcoming road safety week. They will raise a number of issues with her - what would you like to be discussed?
November 14, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Anyone in Congleton want to solve the school run? Get in touch.
Great to join mums, dads, kids and teachers today scooting and cycling to school on the Solve The School Run bike bus and to celebrate Rosendale Road School Street’s 1st birthday. Thanks to @willnorman.co.uk for joining us this wet and soggy but joyous morning! @solveschoolrun.bsky.social
November 14, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Let's suggest this for all relevant consulations @cheshire-east.bsky.social
Sadly missed it but absolute credit to @lb-southwark.bsky.social running a 'Guided Cycle Consultation' where Officers actually got out & cycled with residents to consult changes. People saying it was the best consultation they've ever seen. FANTASTIC progress that every Council should copy.
November 12, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Bikenomics. A word with a ring to it. 🙂

dutchcycling.nl/knowledge/ex...
DCE - Rethinking Transport Infrastructure Investment Through the Lens of Bikenomics
dutchcycling.nl
November 12, 2025 at 9:52 AM
A new badly needed local bus service to link the centre with retail outliers, plus resume serving people on the west side of town. Thanks @cheshire-east.bsky.social for funding this. If enough people use it to make it commercially successful, it could run and run.

www.dgbus.co.uk/service-upda...
Service Updates | D&G Bus
www.dgbus.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Now there’s a thought…
Design vehicles to fit the streets rather than streets designed to fit the vehicles.
November 10, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Good to have evidence, even if from abroad. @kaywesley.bsky.social pass it on to your cllr colleagues please, since it seems you’re the only one on here. Also @sarahrussellmp.bsky.social pass it on to your MP colleagues.
If you’re media covering bike-lanes, watch this news story.

If you’re a downtown business association discussing bike-lanes, watch this news story.

If you’re anyone hearing the LIE that bike-lanes are bad for business, watch this story.

And please SHARE THIS STORY so others can watch it too.
WATCH: Seriously, if you’re following ANY bike-lane debate, you HAVE TO WATCH this news story. You actually can’t make this up. Ford claims without evidence that bike-lanes are bad for small business, and THE ACTUAL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION obliterates him with data.

Safe bike-lanes mean business.
November 8, 2025 at 4:41 PM
We do have one like this in Congleton town centre. Marvellous. Others only change once there’s a gap in the traffic. 🙄 Or that’s what it feels like in the pouring rain.
Unless there's an unbreakably valid safety reason why not, all button-operated pedestrian crossings should activate the lights in pedestrians' favour instantly when pressed.
November 8, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Let’s hope the devolved Cheshire & Warrington authority will implement 20mph in Cheshire East. 🤞
It was no surprise that the award winning Welsh 20mph default urban/village limit was heavily featured in the RSGB national conference today. A 25% reduction in casualties, £45 reduction in insurance all make it a great example of how 20mph limits make better places to be.
November 5, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Yes please in Cheshire. @cheshire-east.bsky.social
November 4, 2025 at 9:05 AM
N.B. These are protected cycleway lanes, not white paint cycleway lanes. @cheshire-east.bsky.social
“In May 2025, Scotland’s largest city [Glasgow] reached a milestone that would make any transportation planner in Portland or Montreal do a double take: during the morning rush hour, there were more bicycles than cars traveling along Victoria Road, a major artery…” Via @momentummag.bsky.social
When Bikes Outnumber Cars: What Scotland’s Cycling Surge Can Teach North America
Scotland’s largest city reached a milestone that would make any transportation planner in Portland, or Montreal do a double take.
momentummag.com
November 3, 2025 at 5:42 PM