Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 1d

For my mind, anyone saying that a new road or adding capacity to a junction will "unlock thousands of new homes" needs to be very stringently asked "how".

Linking a road scheme as necessary to unlocking land for housebuilding should be a huge red flag for the media to probe.

2 9 43

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

Engineer Like A Girl @engineerlikeagirl.bsky.social · 1d

I think it's always interesting to reframe stats to the cost of NOT doing the thing.

20's Plenty for Us @20splenty.bsky.social · 1d

In Wales, Cornwall, Edinburgh, London and so many places when most 30mph roads were changed to 20mph, people injured or killed by motor vehicles reduced by 20%+. With minimal change to journey times and £2bn saving in insurance costs it's a huge win. bit.ly/4gIBPlJ

1 26 84

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

Mums for Lungs @mumsforlungs.bsky.social · 3d

Are you heading to a primary school open day soon? Can you ask a Q about travel & #AirPollution?

💚 Do you have a sustainable travel policy?
💚 Do you discourage people from driving to school?
💚 Do you enable #ActiveTravel?

Some facts about an active #SchoolRun: www.mumsforlungs.org/news/make-th...

A background image of children cycling, overlaid with two text boxes. A green one says "School open day questions". A pink one says "Do you have a sustainable travel policy?"

5 11

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 4d

For those who prefer the format of the original Ranty Highwayman blog, my work post on side road junction design is also there. It's the same piece of course!

therantyhighwayman.blogspot.com/2025/10/what...

What makes side road junctions pedestrian-friendly?

Here is something a little unusual as I am cross-posting a blog post from my City Infinity website , because I think it needs as wide an aud...

therantyhighwayman.blogspot.com

5 25

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

Wandsworth Cycling Campaign @wandsworthcycling.bsky.social · 5d

Hammersmith bridge is open to pedestrians and cyclists, boosting sustainable cross-river traffic.
One of the excellent routes it enables is featured in Jon Stone’s latest video on his 'London Cycle Routes' YouTube channel: Hammersmith to Roehampton in Wandsworth.

youtu.be/GRAk1bSHlgU

🚲 A brilliant new way to cycle from Hammersmith to Roehampton without traffic

YouTube video by London cycle routes

youtu.be

5 8

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

City Infinity @cityinfinity.bsky.social · 5d

We're pleased to report on a project that Mark has been working on with Robert Weetman for Manchester City Council.

This post sets out some ideas that developed from this work and which will hopefully start to explain what "pedestrian-friendly" is, and how we can design better side road junctions.

What makes side road junctions pedestrian-friendly?

ForewordThis post has a companion written by Robert Weetman. We have been working collaboratively on something which we think needs to be more widely known, but we also thought it might be fun and …

cityinfinity.co.uk

2 14 34

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

City Infinity @cityinfinity.bsky.social · 10d

Here's a little description of what "forgiving kerbs" are all about from @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social, including a short video of such a kerb line in action.

www.linkedin.com/posts/markph...

#thursdaythoughts | Mark Philpotts

You may have heard the term "forgiving kerb", but what does that actually mean? Well, it's quite easily shown with a video - in this one it's me on a West Midlands cycle hire bike on the top end of th...

www.linkedin.com

5 8

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

MagBeb @magbebronne.bsky.social · 10d

It's easier to blame the loss of parking on cycle lanes than on fellow motorists, isn't it?

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 11d

“Expanding the average car length from 5 meters (16.4 ft) to 5.5 meters (18 ft) decreases street parking spots by 9.3%, while an additional expansion to 6m (19.7 ft) causes a further loss of 7%…the growing share of larger vehicles has caused many on-street parking spots to effectively disappear.”

Meet the Montreal Mayor Who Declared War on SUVs

Oversized vehicles are devouring street parking spaces in the Canadian city. So one borough’s mayor is fighting back with bigger fees for hefty trucks and SUVs.

www.bloomberg.com

1 5 13

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

Living Streets @livingstreets.bsky.social · 10d

Our poll results are in... parents' top three things to do with their kids are:

🌱 Spending time outdoors (68%)
🎲 Playing games (65%)
🚶 Going for a walk (60%)

Active Travel Commissioner @chrisboardman.bsky.social wants to get more families active this #InternationalWalkToSchoolMonth

A green speech bubble graphic. Text reads: It’s powerful that two in three of the top things that grown-ups love to do with their children is being outside and getting active, especially for the school run. Easy, safe and attractive journeys for all are what we need to deliver. - Chris Boardman CBE, National Active Travel Commissioner.

1 5 9

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

Sundance @sundance.bikesky.social · 11d

Playgrounds are car infrastructure

5 17 100

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

ADPH London @londonadph.bsky.social · 11d

ADPH London’s new Active Travel & Health statement is out! A practical resource for public health teams to lead change locally. It sets out the case for walking, wheeling & cycling to improve health & reduce inequalities.
📥 Read more: bit.ly/4pNLZ8T
#ActiveTravel #PublicHealth
@willnorman.co.uk

3 6

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

Will Norman @willnorman.co.uk · 12d

A recent survey showed:

✅ 74% of bikehangar members cycle 🚲 more since having a space

✅ 77% have either reduced their 🚘 use, sold their 🚘, or chosen not to own a 🚘

✅ 90% say since having access to secure bike 🚲storage, it’s made it easier to choose cycling 🚲

2 8 35

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

Melissa & Chris Bruntlett @modacitylife.com · 11d

The wait is FINALLY over!

Our new book “Women Changing Cities: Global Stories of Urban Transformation” is NOW AVAILABLE worldwide through RIBA Publishing wherever fine books are sold.

From Paris to Bogota, from Manila to Montreal—when women lead, cities thrive: www.modacitylife.com/women-changi...

3 41 150

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

Josiah Mortimer @josiah.writes.news · 12d

Some good news.

London is meeting legal limits for toxic NO2 pollution for the first time – almost 200 years earlier than predicted – following the Mayor’s "world leading air pollution policies," City Hall announces.

The Ultra Low Emissions Zone - and similar policies - really do work.

24 1.4K 4.8K

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 12d

“An example of the town of the future is Coventry.... Traffic and pedestrians are kept apart and the roads are planned to let traffic flow smoothly”

(Our Land in the Making, 1966)
Artist: Ronald Lampitt

Illustration of the precinct shopping centre in Coventry, with its shiny 1960s architecture, walkways and colourful flower planters

14 55 320

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

𝚃𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚜 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚎 🚇 @taras-grescoe.com · 12d

On Sunday, #Zürich residents voted 52.8% in favor of increasing parking fees for cars according to weight.

The owner of a BMW X2 (Diesel), which weighs 1,675 kilograms, will now pay equivalent of €717 Euros per year to park on a public street. (Before, about €321.)

Direct democracy!

20 140 590

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

Melissa & Chris Bruntlett @modacitylife.com · 12d

Two decades after the Cheonggyecheon motorway removal, this waterway is now deeply embedded in Seoul’s identity: as a place to meet, walk, breathe and enjoy. For other metropolises dealing with aging auto-infrastructure, it is living proof of what’s possible when a city dares to let go of the road.🔚

Nighttime photos of the Cheonggyecheon Stream in Downtown Seoul, a former motorway restored into a linear park with wide footpaths, terraced seating, accented lighting, and abundant greenery.

1 5 40

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

Melissa & Chris Bruntlett @modacitylife.com · 12d

Critics initially worried removing a major artery would cause gridlock. But in practice, impacts were mitigated through expanded public transport, traffic control measures, and changes in road usage. Some traffic “evaporated” rather than being displaced. Bus and metro use increased post-restoration.

1 5 36

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

Melissa & Chris Bruntlett @modacitylife.com · 12d

In the heart of Seoul, a ribbon of water now threads through where an expanse of asphalt once stood. The Cheonggyecheon Stream restoration, which replaced a major elevated motorway with an ecological and recreational corridor, has become a powerful case study in placemaking and traffic evaporation.🧵

7 59 220

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

Kate Bevan @katebevan.com · 12d

Drivers, don't do this. To anyone on a zebra crossing, not just little kids going to school. You're supposed to *stop*, not slow down to a crawl and play chicken with the pedestrians. Related, if a driver does this to me, I start walking extremely very slowly, all the while maintaining eye contact.

Alex Hern @hern.bsky.social · 12d

Three weeks into the school run and my new radicalising thing is cars ever so gently rolling forward as my daughter scooters over the zebra crossing. What are you doing. Take your foot off the accelerator there’s a fucking four year old in front of you

20 23 150

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

Will Norman @willnorman.co.uk · 12d

Fantastic progress being made by Camden Council team in the pedestrianisation of Camden High Street.

Removing the traffic has made it so much safer - and now the street is being made welcoming and fun.

4 34 230

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 12d

World’s major cities hit by 25% leap in extremely hot days since the 1990s

Capitals from London to Tokyo need urgent action to protect people from deadly high temperatures, analysts say The world’s biggest capital cities are now sweltering under 25% more extremely hot days each year than in the 1990s, an analysis has found. Without urgent action to protect millions of people from high temperatures, more and more will suffer in the dangerous conditions, analysts said. From Washington DC and Madrid to Tokyo and Beijing, the analysis shows a marked rise in hot days as the climate crisis intensifies. Overall, the assessment by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), found the number of days above 35C in 43 of the world’s most populous capital cities rose from an average of 1,062 a year from 1994-2003 to 1,335 from 2015-2024. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

9 49 100

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 12d

A better world is possible

Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 13d

Paris celebrated the opening of its 300th “school street”: landscaped & pedestrianized or semi-pedestrianized blocks situated in front of schools. Most have been completed since 2020.

Paris passe le cap des 300 rues piétonnes près des écoles pour être « plus accueillante aux enfants »

La municipalité, qui a organisé samedi une fête dédiée, tire un bilan positif de ces espaces piétonnisés aux abords des établissements scola

leparisien.fr

1 76 490

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

Doug Gordon @brooklynspoke.bsky.social · 13d

Here's one of Barcelona's famous superillas, or superblocks, on Rocafort-Consell de Cent. All of this used to be asphalt and space for moving and storing cars. Now it's green, quiet, calm, and safe.

paved sidewalk with grey squares next to green space on left and cafe tables and trees on right.

Light brown sand/park with trees overhead.

Grey pavement and green space and picnic tables.

3 56 310

Reposted by Wandsworth Living Streets

Leo Murray @crisortunity.bsky.social · 13d

“Private car use also exacerbates inequity, with most of the benefits accruing to car users and most of the harms falling on others, particularly the most disadvantaged.”

Transport and Health Science Group @transporthealth.bsky.social · 13d

The harms from transport are due to private cars/vans and lorries - Cacophony (noise), Carbon emissions, Casualties from collisions, Community severance, Concern and social isolation, Congestion, Contamination (of air and ground), Conurbation design and Couch potatoes www.fph.org.uk/blog/cars-as...

Cars as commercial determinants of health

Transport is important for health.

www.fph.org.uk

12 24