Sam Wakeling
@samwake.bsky.social
Loves streets. Make them safe. Set them free. Sheffield. Abolition.
Works at Living Streets.
Free free 🍉
🔗 sam.wakeling.me
Works at Living Streets.
Free free 🍉
🔗 sam.wakeling.me
Pinned
Sam Wakeling
@samwake.bsky.social
· Jan 4
What do you dream of your local streets being like?
For me it is making them welcoming public spaces for everyone to enjoy and move in without fear from traffic (including the remaining vehicles which are there).
I drew this of my local South Road, Sheffield.
For me it is making them welcoming public spaces for everyone to enjoy and move in without fear from traffic (including the remaining vehicles which are there).
I drew this of my local South Road, Sheffield.
Reposted by Sam Wakeling
We saw it early in the pandemic, in every climate shock & now in Minneapolis. The impulse of most people in a crisis is to share, connect & protect, often at risk to the self. Capitalism and existing power structures have trouble comprehending it and then often try to undermine it
January 16, 2026 at 3:14 PM
We saw it early in the pandemic, in every climate shock & now in Minneapolis. The impulse of most people in a crisis is to share, connect & protect, often at risk to the self. Capitalism and existing power structures have trouble comprehending it and then often try to undermine it
Reposted by Sam Wakeling
I was familiar with South Africa's nuclear program but somehow had never heard of Renfrew Christie.
True dedication to a good cause. Years of prison incl. solitary confinement. He even got an Oxford PhD so that he could learn more about the country's power system to help sabotage it.
True dedication to a good cause. Years of prison incl. solitary confinement. He even got an Oxford PhD so that he could learn more about the country's power system to help sabotage it.
Holy hell, what an obituary
Renfrew Christie Dies at 76; Sabotaged Racist Regime’s Nuclear Program
www.nytimes.com
January 16, 2026 at 5:31 AM
I was familiar with South Africa's nuclear program but somehow had never heard of Renfrew Christie.
True dedication to a good cause. Years of prison incl. solitary confinement. He even got an Oxford PhD so that he could learn more about the country's power system to help sabotage it.
True dedication to a good cause. Years of prison incl. solitary confinement. He even got an Oxford PhD so that he could learn more about the country's power system to help sabotage it.
“Look for the helpers” is so often a good move when the worst things happen.
And what I’m seeing in MN is a whole load of helpers.
It’s hard for ice to last beyond winter. 🔥
And what I’m seeing in MN is a whole load of helpers.
It’s hard for ice to last beyond winter. 🔥
January 15, 2026 at 10:02 PM
“Look for the helpers” is so often a good move when the worst things happen.
And what I’m seeing in MN is a whole load of helpers.
It’s hard for ice to last beyond winter. 🔥
And what I’m seeing in MN is a whole load of helpers.
It’s hard for ice to last beyond winter. 🔥
Shout out to the man in such a rush he close passed me only to have to wait to turn right just ahead. I tapped on his roof as I passed and he suddenly had time to follow me beeping and yelling for five minutes.
Hope you got where you needed to safely and in time.
Hope you got where you needed to safely and in time.
January 15, 2026 at 8:18 AM
Shout out to the man in such a rush he close passed me only to have to wait to turn right just ahead. I tapped on his roof as I passed and he suddenly had time to follow me beeping and yelling for five minutes.
Hope you got where you needed to safely and in time.
Hope you got where you needed to safely and in time.
“We have never trusted the government with our lives, and we will not start now. We will be the ones to decide how we give our lives to justice and liberation.”
Inspiring courage and apparently influencing not granting Elbit a £2bn military contact. 🔥
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Inspiring courage and apparently influencing not granting Elbit a £2bn military contact. 🔥
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Three Palestine Action protesters end their hunger strike
Four more who had paused opt not to continue after government opts against giving contract to Elbit Systems UK
www.theguardian.com
January 14, 2026 at 9:40 PM
“We have never trusted the government with our lives, and we will not start now. We will be the ones to decide how we give our lives to justice and liberation.”
Inspiring courage and apparently influencing not granting Elbit a £2bn military contact. 🔥
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Inspiring courage and apparently influencing not granting Elbit a £2bn military contact. 🔥
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Reposted by Sam Wakeling
🚸 School Streets give children space to stay active and healthy, while reducing air and noise pollution, and improving safety. They activate our streets for joy. In this report, we lay out ways the City can make the program more effective and ambitious.
www.openplans.org/school-stree...
www.openplans.org/school-stree...
School Streets for All in NYC — Open Plans
www.openplans.org
January 14, 2026 at 8:19 PM
🚸 School Streets give children space to stay active and healthy, while reducing air and noise pollution, and improving safety. They activate our streets for joy. In this report, we lay out ways the City can make the program more effective and ambitious.
www.openplans.org/school-stree...
www.openplans.org/school-stree...
Reposted by Sam Wakeling
Globally, no single day in 2025 was cooler than its 1991-2020 average.
climate.copernicus.eu/global-clima...
climate.copernicus.eu/global-clima...
January 14, 2026 at 12:44 PM
Globally, no single day in 2025 was cooler than its 1991-2020 average.
climate.copernicus.eu/global-clima...
climate.copernicus.eu/global-clima...
I found this really clarifying. It is common to be stuck in any of these three camps.
So we need to find ways to make the change that is clearly necessary both possible to deliver and safe enough to embrace.
indyjohar.substack.com/p/the-collis...
So we need to find ways to make the change that is clearly necessary both possible to deliver and safe enough to embrace.
indyjohar.substack.com/p/the-collis...
The Collision: Defending the Built Life, Delivering the Possible, and Insisting on the Necessary
I keep seeing the same conflict replay across domains—housing, climate, AI, public services.
indyjohar.substack.com
January 14, 2026 at 4:52 PM
I found this really clarifying. It is common to be stuck in any of these three camps.
So we need to find ways to make the change that is clearly necessary both possible to deliver and safe enough to embrace.
indyjohar.substack.com/p/the-collis...
So we need to find ways to make the change that is clearly necessary both possible to deliver and safe enough to embrace.
indyjohar.substack.com/p/the-collis...
Phone Shop, and look up. Sheffield city centre.
So often worth enjoying what is above the most ordinary of shop fronts.
It’s neither grim up north, or grim upstairs.
So often worth enjoying what is above the most ordinary of shop fronts.
It’s neither grim up north, or grim upstairs.
January 13, 2026 at 1:22 PM
Phone Shop, and look up. Sheffield city centre.
So often worth enjoying what is above the most ordinary of shop fronts.
It’s neither grim up north, or grim upstairs.
So often worth enjoying what is above the most ordinary of shop fronts.
It’s neither grim up north, or grim upstairs.
What if being reliant on driving, whether for your work, or caring responsibilities, where you live, or anything else, means you need safe roads more not less?
Road safety, not in spite of people’s need to drive, but because of it?
Road safety, not in spite of people’s need to drive, but because of it?
January 10, 2026 at 1:17 PM
What if being reliant on driving, whether for your work, or caring responsibilities, where you live, or anything else, means you need safe roads more not less?
Road safety, not in spite of people’s need to drive, but because of it?
Road safety, not in spite of people’s need to drive, but because of it?
Instead of hoping that more police enforcement would reduce danger on our roads, what if we asked the opposite question:
What needs to be done in order to reduce the need for police enforcement on our roads?
I’d start with things like mandatory speed limiters and safe street design.
What needs to be done in order to reduce the need for police enforcement on our roads?
I’d start with things like mandatory speed limiters and safe street design.
“It is everyone’s responsibility to be law-abiding and safe”
Says the govt road safety strategy description of a Safe System.
It’s a worrying sign.
I believe the better you are applying the Safe System the less you rely on everyone following the rules.
Says the govt road safety strategy description of a Safe System.
It’s a worrying sign.
I believe the better you are applying the Safe System the less you rely on everyone following the rules.
January 10, 2026 at 8:46 AM
Instead of hoping that more police enforcement would reduce danger on our roads, what if we asked the opposite question:
What needs to be done in order to reduce the need for police enforcement on our roads?
I’d start with things like mandatory speed limiters and safe street design.
What needs to be done in order to reduce the need for police enforcement on our roads?
I’d start with things like mandatory speed limiters and safe street design.
Reposted by Sam Wakeling
Love that this paper documents how:
"Parents’ and children’s enjoyment, curiosity, and sense of adventure encouraged additional travel, transforming routine journeys into playful and memorable family experiences"
Thinking about bike journeys as playful and connecting seems pretty powerful to me.
"Parents’ and children’s enjoyment, curiosity, and sense of adventure encouraged additional travel, transforming routine journeys into playful and memorable family experiences"
Thinking about bike journeys as playful and connecting seems pretty powerful to me.
In their latest article @labibazzouz.bsky.social @profchristianbrand.bsky.social explore how e-cargo bikes (ECBs) don’t just replace car trips — they create new personal and family-oriented travel that is joyful, social, and meaningful.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
January 9, 2026 at 10:03 AM
Love that this paper documents how:
"Parents’ and children’s enjoyment, curiosity, and sense of adventure encouraged additional travel, transforming routine journeys into playful and memorable family experiences"
Thinking about bike journeys as playful and connecting seems pretty powerful to me.
"Parents’ and children’s enjoyment, curiosity, and sense of adventure encouraged additional travel, transforming routine journeys into playful and memorable family experiences"
Thinking about bike journeys as playful and connecting seems pretty powerful to me.
The human cost of prioritising motor traffic for gritting over pavements is easy to see if you are looking.
How about local media do a Live reporting page telling the human stories of some of those needing hospital treatment on an icy day?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
How about local media do a Live reporting page telling the human stories of some of those needing hospital treatment on an icy day?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Ice injuries cause Sheffield minor injuries unit to shut
There is
www.bbc.co.uk
January 9, 2026 at 9:15 AM
The human cost of prioritising motor traffic for gritting over pavements is easy to see if you are looking.
How about local media do a Live reporting page telling the human stories of some of those needing hospital treatment on an icy day?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
How about local media do a Live reporting page telling the human stories of some of those needing hospital treatment on an icy day?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Sam Wakeling
Just in case you think I am somehow exaggerating, this was their framing at the top of the hour, all morning.
January 8, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Just in case you think I am somehow exaggerating, this was their framing at the top of the hour, all morning.
Reposted by Sam Wakeling
Forensic analysis of objective video evidence. This is how you serve readers searching for clarity.
January 8, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Forensic analysis of objective video evidence. This is how you serve readers searching for clarity.
This is excellent at illustrating the problem.
But then the solution can’t be “look harder”.
We’ve just seen that we will continue to miss things.
So instead it shows the need to design out conflict (eg cycle tracks, LTNs) so we aren’t relying for safety on what we know isn’t reliable.
But then the solution can’t be “look harder”.
We’ve just seen that we will continue to miss things.
So instead it shows the need to design out conflict (eg cycle tracks, LTNs) so we aren’t relying for safety on what we know isn’t reliable.
Probably one of the best road safety adverts from TfL.
If you've never seen it before - I can guarantee you will watch it twice.
If you've never seen it before - I can guarantee you will watch it twice.
January 8, 2026 at 2:21 PM
This is excellent at illustrating the problem.
But then the solution can’t be “look harder”.
We’ve just seen that we will continue to miss things.
So instead it shows the need to design out conflict (eg cycle tracks, LTNs) so we aren’t relying for safety on what we know isn’t reliable.
But then the solution can’t be “look harder”.
We’ve just seen that we will continue to miss things.
So instead it shows the need to design out conflict (eg cycle tracks, LTNs) so we aren’t relying for safety on what we know isn’t reliable.
“Overnight the pavements were emptied of cars”.
Scotland shows how this can be done. And the life-changing effect it has had.
It has already been done in other places.
The world didn’t stop turning. It works.
People in England and Wales are left far behind by this weak shrug from Westminster.
Scotland shows how this can be done. And the life-changing effect it has had.
It has already been done in other places.
The world didn’t stop turning. It works.
People in England and Wales are left far behind by this weak shrug from Westminster.
“These new powers do not go far enough to protect pedestrians. It’s disappointing not to see a nationwide prohibition.”
Our @charitycat.bsky.social responds to the news that local authorities will receive legal powers to restrict pavement parking. https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/pavement-parking
Our @charitycat.bsky.social responds to the news that local authorities will receive legal powers to restrict pavement parking. https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/pavement-parking
“These new powers do not go far enough to protect pedestrians | Living Streets
bitly.livingstreets.org.uk
January 8, 2026 at 1:54 PM
“Overnight the pavements were emptied of cars”.
Scotland shows how this can be done. And the life-changing effect it has had.
It has already been done in other places.
The world didn’t stop turning. It works.
People in England and Wales are left far behind by this weak shrug from Westminster.
Scotland shows how this can be done. And the life-changing effect it has had.
It has already been done in other places.
The world didn’t stop turning. It works.
People in England and Wales are left far behind by this weak shrug from Westminster.
Reposted by Sam Wakeling
“These new powers do not go far enough to protect pedestrians. It’s disappointing not to see a nationwide prohibition.”
Our @charitycat.bsky.social responds to the news that local authorities will receive legal powers to restrict pavement parking. https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/pavement-parking
Our @charitycat.bsky.social responds to the news that local authorities will receive legal powers to restrict pavement parking. https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/pavement-parking
“These new powers do not go far enough to protect pedestrians | Living Streets
bitly.livingstreets.org.uk
January 8, 2026 at 1:25 PM
“These new powers do not go far enough to protect pedestrians. It’s disappointing not to see a nationwide prohibition.”
Our @charitycat.bsky.social responds to the news that local authorities will receive legal powers to restrict pavement parking. https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/pavement-parking
Our @charitycat.bsky.social responds to the news that local authorities will receive legal powers to restrict pavement parking. https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/pavement-parking
“It is everyone’s responsibility to be law-abiding and safe”
Says the govt road safety strategy description of a Safe System.
It’s a worrying sign.
I believe the better you are applying the Safe System the less you rely on everyone following the rules.
Says the govt road safety strategy description of a Safe System.
It’s a worrying sign.
I believe the better you are applying the Safe System the less you rely on everyone following the rules.
January 7, 2026 at 5:32 PM
“It is everyone’s responsibility to be law-abiding and safe”
Says the govt road safety strategy description of a Safe System.
It’s a worrying sign.
I believe the better you are applying the Safe System the less you rely on everyone following the rules.
Says the govt road safety strategy description of a Safe System.
It’s a worrying sign.
I believe the better you are applying the Safe System the less you rely on everyone following the rules.
Reposted by Sam Wakeling
The only target for the number of people killed on the road should be zero.
With its Road Safety Strategy, the Government has massively overlooked key actions to cut traffic and achieve safer and slower vehicle speeds, which are truly effective at saving lives and essential to reaching this goal.
With its Road Safety Strategy, the Government has massively overlooked key actions to cut traffic and achieve safer and slower vehicle speeds, which are truly effective at saving lives and essential to reaching this goal.
The Road Safety Strategy is an opportunity to address the dangers pedestrians face every day, but the vision should be for zero people to lose their lives. We should not accept that a certain number of people will die on our roads.
livingstreets.org.uk/RSScomment
livingstreets.org.uk/RSScomment
“The vision should be for zero people to lose their lives”
Living Streets comments on the Government's first Road Safety Strategy in over a decade, released today (7 January).
livingstreets.org.uk
January 7, 2026 at 2:41 PM
The only target for the number of people killed on the road should be zero.
With its Road Safety Strategy, the Government has massively overlooked key actions to cut traffic and achieve safer and slower vehicle speeds, which are truly effective at saving lives and essential to reaching this goal.
With its Road Safety Strategy, the Government has massively overlooked key actions to cut traffic and achieve safer and slower vehicle speeds, which are truly effective at saving lives and essential to reaching this goal.
Taking a rough straight line from current levels of road deaths and serious injuries down to the target 65% reduction by 2035…
Between now and then around:
10,000 people killed
180,000 people seriously injured.
This is what we are told is ambitious.
Between now and then around:
10,000 people killed
180,000 people seriously injured.
This is what we are told is ambitious.
January 7, 2026 at 11:51 AM
Taking a rough straight line from current levels of road deaths and serious injuries down to the target 65% reduction by 2035…
Between now and then around:
10,000 people killed
180,000 people seriously injured.
This is what we are told is ambitious.
Between now and then around:
10,000 people killed
180,000 people seriously injured.
This is what we are told is ambitious.
Today’s press release for govt road safety strategy mentions higher casualties my rates for “children from the most deprived neighbourhoods”. It doesn’t say what will be done to address this.
I would love to see measures to help level down both of these slopes:
I would love to see measures to help level down both of these slopes:
A damning pair of charts.
People on lowest incomes own FIVE TIMES fewer cars than the richest do.
Meanwhile kids in most deprived areas are FIVE TIMES more likely to be injured by cars.
People on lowest incomes own FIVE TIMES fewer cars than the richest do.
Meanwhile kids in most deprived areas are FIVE TIMES more likely to be injured by cars.
January 7, 2026 at 11:27 AM
Today’s press release for govt road safety strategy mentions higher casualties my rates for “children from the most deprived neighbourhoods”. It doesn’t say what will be done to address this.
I would love to see measures to help level down both of these slopes:
I would love to see measures to help level down both of these slopes:
“This is something we can do immediately. So that’s what we have done.”
☑️
☑️
Zohran just went out and fixed the Williamsburg Bridge bike entrance. Just did it. No faffing, no nonsense. Bam. Fixed.
January 6, 2026 at 10:47 PM
“This is something we can do immediately. So that’s what we have done.”
☑️
☑️
Manifesting my hopes for a road safety strategy…
- 20mph UK default limit
- 40mph national speed limit (trunk and motorways, with mandatory max speed limiters)
- unlimited funding for LTNs for any authority willing to do them
- nationalise auto companies and wind down production
- 20mph UK default limit
- 40mph national speed limit (trunk and motorways, with mandatory max speed limiters)
- unlimited funding for LTNs for any authority willing to do them
- nationalise auto companies and wind down production
January 6, 2026 at 8:21 PM
Manifesting my hopes for a road safety strategy…
- 20mph UK default limit
- 40mph national speed limit (trunk and motorways, with mandatory max speed limiters)
- unlimited funding for LTNs for any authority willing to do them
- nationalise auto companies and wind down production
- 20mph UK default limit
- 40mph national speed limit (trunk and motorways, with mandatory max speed limiters)
- unlimited funding for LTNs for any authority willing to do them
- nationalise auto companies and wind down production
“We need to actually keep people safe and that infrastructure does so.”
Humanity in the face of tragedy. Understanding the solutions. Strategic about change at scale.
Things are looking good for NYC.
And I hope we can all benefit from the example.
Humanity in the face of tragedy. Understanding the solutions. Strategic about change at scale.
Things are looking good for NYC.
And I hope we can all benefit from the example.
Huge News: Zohran just promised to finish McGuinness the second it's warm, and to do Universal Daylighting *BEFORE* people are killed
January 3, 2026 at 11:32 PM
“We need to actually keep people safe and that infrastructure does so.”
Humanity in the face of tragedy. Understanding the solutions. Strategic about change at scale.
Things are looking good for NYC.
And I hope we can all benefit from the example.
Humanity in the face of tragedy. Understanding the solutions. Strategic about change at scale.
Things are looking good for NYC.
And I hope we can all benefit from the example.