Blog ARCHIVE
Welsh roads review: one year on
Is the love still there? So here we are, St Valentine's day, 2024, a year to the day on which the Deputy Minister for Climate Change reshaped the future of road building in Wales. When he published the roads review and delivery plan, Lee Waters made three things clear: There...
Healthy Travel Choices Give Children More Freedom
This blog is part of our healthy travel choices series. Previously, we looked at road safety. Here, we are focusing on how it would give children more freedom. Having healthy travel options gives people more choice as to how they travel. These options do not mean being forced to travel...
What to expect from 2024
2023 was a bit of a rollercoaster with transport decisions often making the headlines. Sadly, forward thinking decisions were far and few between. The £2 bus fare cap stands out as one of very few highs. Instead depressing decisions and unannounced u-turns were delivered regularly throughout the year. So much...
2023 Transport review – Part 3
Autumn of 2023 In this final part of our review of the year, we focus on the final months of 2023. Read part one of our review here and part two here. Part 3: September to December 2023 September 2023 A default 20mph speed limit on restricted roads was introduced...
Transport review 2023 – Part 2
The Summer of 2023 We look back at the summer of 2023 in this second of our three part review of the year. Missed part one? You can read about what happened in the first four months of 2023 here. Part 2: May to August 2023 May 2023 The Road...
Our transport review of 2023
2023: What a year! In years to come, 2023 will be remembered as the year of missed opportunities, when healthier travel choices were bypassed for more roads. With more people cycling and walking during the pandemic, this was the perfect time to lock in that improvement. Instead the Government opted...
The Journey to 20mph in Wales
A Brief Look at the History and Development of 20mph Speed Limits in Wales In September, Wales made a bold step towards a safer and more sustainable future by becoming the first nation in the UK to introduce a default 20mph speed limit in residential areas. This marked a significant...
Healthy Travel Choices Can Improve Road Safety
Healthy travel choices for all means everyone has options in how they travel for different journeys. It does not mean being forced to travel in a particular way. Taking this approach would benefit everyone. For people who walk, wheel, cycle and use public transport (or those who want to) for...
Planning wrongly attacked for road delays
Once again, the Secretary of State has delayed his decision on granting planning permission for a major road scheme, this time the £1.5 billion A66 Northern Trans Pennine. He has said he will decide by 7 March 2024, pushing it closer to the general election next year. Transport Action Network...
TAN vindicated on inadequate roads policy
In the aftermath of Rishi Sunak’s cancellation of HS2 north of Birmingham, there’s a lot of change and uncertainty. While the Department for Transport (DfT) tries to make sense of this, three important reports were published. 1. National Infrastructure Assessment The first was the Second National Infrastructure Assessment, published by...
Network North: The Great Train Robbery
Investment in transport impacts us all, yet doesn’t often hit the political headlines. All that changed during the Conservative Party conference. However, rather than thinking about the long term, as they claim to, the Government has tried to create political divisions, scrapped HS2, and diverted money from public transport into...
Plan for drivers has little substance
The Conservatives have clearly decided to make transport the latest front in the culture wars with ‘The plan for drivers’ announced at their party conference in Manchester. Looking behind the headlines however, while there are a few genuinely new initiatives, most involve extending the scope of existing promises, not delivering...
UK’s climate action driven off course
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s much leaked speech claimed the UK will take a more ‘pragmatic’ approach to climate change and getting to net zero. Yet, his speech failed to recognise that the UK is already off course and the latest proposals will make things worse. Just six months ago, the...
Don’t declare war on public health
The news that Labour has apparently scrapped its commitment to roll out clean air zones across the country is worrying if true. According to the Royal College of Physicians, air pollution is responsible for around 40,000 premature deaths and costs the UK over £20bn every year. It has been linked...
Transport in the headlights
Hardly a week goes by without there being some momentous story involving transport. As with most things at present, evidence or rationality often plays little part in the debate. This is despite many of these issues having far reaching consequences affecting public health, inequalities and often involving vast sums of...
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