Forget the gym, make active travel your New Year resolution

21 December 2017

You don’t have to join the gym in the New Year to work off the Christmas turkey. We recommend introducing active travel into your daily routine to improve your health and fitness. Swopping the car for the bike can also save you time and money.

To demonstrate, Sustrans award-winning ‘Leading the Way’ Workplaces programme has produced two short films which compare driving to work with both cycling and running the same journey. The films show a typical car journey to work in Derry~Londonderry, with the aim to inspire commuters to reconsider whether driving is really the more convenient, beneficial mode of transport.

Our Workplace Active Travel Officer Michele Murphy said: “The videos demonstrate that by using sustainable travel modes to get to work, such as cycling, walking or running, they not only save you time but can also be good for your health and well-being.

“Research has shown that organisations who promote active travel and other physical activity initiatives in the workplace are more likely to have reduced absenteeism, experience lower staff turnover and report higher levels of job satisfaction. According to a recent study cycling to work lowers your risk of premature death by as much as 40 per cent.”[i]

Derry City and Strabane District Council – on behalf of the Public Health Agency (PHA) – commissioned Sustrans this year to run the workplace active travel programme ‘Leading the Way’ in the North West for staff in the Western Health & Social Care Trust (WHSCT), PHA and the Council itself. This programme encourages staff to travel to and from work by sustainable means: walking, cycling, car-sharing and public transport. It mirrors a similar workplace programme which has been running for three years in Belfast.

The programme runs various initiatives to encourage staff to be more active for their journeys to and from work and throughout their working day. 

Michele said: “In November we ran an online Step Challenge in the WHSCT and PHA. Fifty teams signed up with 246 staff participating in the event. At the end of the fortnight challenge a total of 28,277 km were stepped, with the teams burning 1.4 million calories – the equivalent of nearly 6,000 doughnuts!”

The Leading the Way programme won the ‘Active Travel Workplace of the Year’ trophy at the prestigious Healthy Streets Awards in London in October. 

Walking or cycling is a great way to help individuals get active and work towards the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines of 150 minutes moderate intensity physical activity each week. For advice on getting more active, visit the PHA’s website www.choosetolivebetter.com which also has tips on setting targets and more ways to move more and move more often.

Watch the ‘running versus driving’ film Watch the 'cycling versus driving’ film Find out more about what we do in workplaces in Northern Ireland

 

[i] A University of Glasgow study of more than a quarter of a million people over five years, published in the BMJ in April 2017 showed that cycling to work lowers the risk of dying early by 40 per cent, and reduces the chance of developing cancer by 45 per cent. Similarly a daily bike ride to the office nearly halves the risk of heart disease.

 

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Street Talks return: Should cars be priced off London's roads?

21 December 2017

#StreetTalks is back for 2018. On the 23 January we’ll be discussing whether or not vehicles should be priced off London’s roads with a panel of leading experts. 

The free event will take place at The Gallery, Alan Baxter Associates in central London. Doors will open from 6:00pm. Attendees must register through Eventbrite and entry will be first come first serve on the night.

The talk will feature Gary Raccuja, who won the Wolfson Prize for Economics for his proposal ‘Paying for road use could be miles better’. Debating the issue alongside him will be Joe Irvin (Chief Executive of Living Streets), Natalie Chapman (Head of Policy for the Freight Transport Association and Deputy Chair of LCCI’s Transport Committee), and London Assembly Member, Caroline Pidgeon MBE (Deputy Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee).

“ Should we be aiming for a car-free London? Is pricing cars off the road the right thing to be doing? ”

- Matt Winfield, Acting Director for Sustrans in London

The panel will pay close attention to Gary Raccuja’s proposal to replace fuel and vehicle duties with a pay-per-mile charging scheme. The Chair is to be confirmed.

Audience members will, as always, get the chance to ask the panel questions and voice their opinions. 

Matt Winfield, Acting Director for Sustrans in London said: 

“Should we be aiming for a car-free London? Is pricing cars off the road the right thing to be doing? With an air pollution crisis and competing pressures on London’s streets, these are the big questions our expert panel will be addressing.

“At Sustrans we enjoy being at the forefront of the real issues facing London. That’s why we run Street Talks, to discuss the big issues facing our streets and the way Londoners travel.” 

Have a suggestion for a future talk?

If you’d like to make a suggestion and recommendation for talks, topics and speakers for the year ahead, email us at London@sustrans.org.uk

Historically, Street Talks was coordinated by the Movement for Liveable London.

Register for Street Talks 23 January 2018 Sign-up to be first to hear when registration opens for future Street Talks events

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Early Christmas present for Chester

20 December 2017
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Our volunteer group on the Chester Millennium Greenway celebrated the launch of their new base this week, when a 20ft shipping container equipped with a range of hand tools, arrived on the popular cycle and walking route.

Volunteers and staff braved the bad weather to enjoy a festive “bulbs and baubles” workday, planting bulbs around newly planted fruit trees. Afterwards they sheltered in their new base, decorated with festive baubles, to enjoy hot chocolate, biscuits and mince pies.

The container, which was funded by Network Rail, will allow volunteers to carry out regular maintenance and practical conservation tasks on the greenway without the need to rely on our maintenance team for equipment. A new bike trailer will also help to transport tools across the greenway, allowing volunteers to carry out tasks all along the route.

Along with the fruit trees and container, our Greener Greenways project has also landscaped the area; improving access by providing a new path, creating fencing and planting a new hedge which will help the area blend into its surroundings.

Volunteer Jayne Rodgers explains what the new base means to her group:

“We are really pleased with the new container and its marvellous contents. Having access to the tools and equipment nearby and somewhere to meet and spend time over a cuppa is really worth a lot to us volunteers. It’ll allow us to arrange a lot more workdays and be able to engage with the community more and hopefully sign up more volunteers to help out not to mention the attention we attract and the publicity we hope to achieve for Sustrans and the volunteers. We’re really looking forward to when the recently planted trees, bulbs and seeds are flourishing in the Spring.”

Chester Millennium Greenway is a former railway track which runs eight miles between Chester and Connah’s Quay and is part of the National Cycle Network. Esmée Fairbairn Foundation awarded £400,000 funding over three years to Sustrans to continue and expand wildlife conservation work across more than 400km of cycle and walking routes in the National Cycle Network, including sections of the Sea to Sea.

Find out more about volunteering for us

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Stockport volunteer wins Sustrans award

19 December 2017

A Stockport-based volunteer for Sustrans has won the charity’s North of England award for outstanding commitment to volunteering.

Ian Barker is a retired engineer from Heaton Moor who enjoys cycling, walking and the outdoors. He is volunteer group coordinator for Sustrans’ Fallowfield Loop cycle and walking path and runs Thursday ‘Task Days’ to help keep the popular path clear for users and to manage the habitats along the route to protect and attract wildlife. He is also a volunteer on the Trans-Pennine Trail.

Ian said:

“I was surprised to get the award but as I watched the photos I realised how much the Trans-Pennine Trail volunteers in Stockport and the Fallowfield Loop Friends & volunteers had achieved over the last year, to enhance our sections of the National Cycle Network.

“The enjoyment comes from working and chatting with similar-minded volunteers from all walks of life and choosing tasks that you feel capable of or in trying new ones, while getting exercise. It’s great to see the improvements we’ve made to these green corridors benefit both people and wildlife and there are often appreciative comments from locals and passers-by.”

Abigail Pound, Sustrans Volunteer Coordinator for the North said:

“Ian has been a wonderful asset to the volunteer team. His regular ‘task days’ with local people along the Fallowfield Loop are helping to create a wildlife haven along this popular commuter route and build better links with local communities along the path. He’s always ready to help out in a whole variety of tasks in Sustrans work throughout the North, from scything to tree clearance to photography. We’re really grateful for the support of Ian and all the volunteers in the North, we couldn’t do our work without them.”

Sustrans has over 4,000 volunteers in the UK, with 798 in the North. There are many varied volunteer opportunities – including maintaining traffic-free sections on the National Cycle Network, to helping to conserve wildlife, to photography and videography skills.

Feel inspired by our award winning volunteers? Find out more about volunteering with Sustrans

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20mph zones must stay in in Bath and North East Somerset

18 December 2017
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We have called called on Bath and North East Somerset Council to keep its 20mph zones following comments regarding safety on roads with the reduced speed limit.

In a statement released today we have called on local authorities across the country to heed evidence showing that 20mph zones are safer.

James Cleeton, Sustrans’ Director in the South of England, said:

“There is a well-established body of evidence that shows slower speeds mean fewer collisions and that when collisions do happen injuries are much less severe. A study published in the British Medical Journal looking back over 20 years of data concluded 20mph zones had halved the number of children killed or seriously injured.”

“Lower speed limits make our streets safer, more inclusive and attractive for all. We strongly support the need for universal speed limits for all urban areas across the UK.”

Our statement also follows findings publishing this year by the Department for Transport showing that eight out of ten drivers are ignoring the 20 mph speed limit.

Dr Adrian Davis, Professor of Transport and Health at the University of the West of England in Bristol, also responded to the comments made, saying: 

“20mph speed limits have been tested in many local authority areas since the first significant UK trial in Scotland in 2000. Evidence to date shows that they reduce speed and casualties. It is, however, simply not appropriate to evaluate the road safety effects on casualty numbers after one year given likely random variations over such small lengths of time. Between three and five years of data is required. It is unscientific to make any such conclusion after just one year regarding effects on casualty numbers. To do so is likely to be misleading.“

James Cleeton makes it clear that Sustrans supports the Government’s guidance, saying:

“This is something local authorities should be investing in so all of us can enjoy safer streets.”

Read our blog to find out why we support 20mph limits 

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Residents invited to preview new walking and cycling path extension to Shawfair

15 December 2017
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Local residents are being invited to preview a new walking and cycling route extending the existing path from Roslin to Lasswade onto Shawfair, as works pause over the Christmas period.

The 3km traffic-free route, delivered by Sustrans Scotland in partnership with City of Edinburgh Council, Midlothian Council and contractors RJ McLeod, will be open to the public from Saturday 23rd December to Sunday 7th January. The route will then close again so that final works can be carried out.

Visitors will get the chance to see how the route, running along the disused railway path, will link communities living in Lasswade, Danderhall and Shawfair in Midlothian.

It is hoped the new path, which is being funded by Transport Scotland through Sustrans Scotland’s National Cycle Network development fund will encourage residents and visitors to explore the area by foot and bike.

Sustrans Scotland Principal Engineer and Project Manager Paul Cronin said:

“This project aims to deliver a valuable extension to the existing walking and cycling network within Edinburgh and Midlothian.

“With new housing developments set to start in the area over the next few years, we anticipate this path will become a key route for local residents who wish to walk and cycle.

“We hope the local community will enjoy the path over the Festive period, and be encouraged to use it in the New Year for journeys by foot or bike.”

Finishing works will recommence from 8 January, with the path expected to be complete by the end of January 2018.

Find out more about our work in Scotland 

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The DfT's £200 million package is a step in the right direction

14 December 2017

Today, the Department for Transport has announced a £200 million package to help improve the condition of local roads, including:

£46 million to help repair potholes £151 million for the local highways maintenance incentive fund £500,000 competition for connected technologies £4 million for the Cycle Rail scheme an extension to three cycle and walk to work pilot projects.

Responding to the announcement, Xavier Brice, CEO of Sustrans, walking and cycling charity said:

“The £200 million package is a step in the right direction by the Government to make it safer and easier for people to walk and cycle – and hopefully a harbinger of more to come.

“We know there’s a clear public desire to cycle more, and a huge demand for safe and high quality infrastructure to help more people choose cycling as their daily transport mode.

“If local authorities are to meet the Government’s target to increase levels of walking and cycling, more meaningful funding is needed, through a rebalancing of road budgets to fund a broader range of transport options.”

For further information and to request interviews contact:

Anna Galandzij, Senior Press Officer at Sustrans, 07557 915 648, anna.galandzij@sustrans.org.uk
Amy Jones, Press and Media Officer at Sustrans, 07768 035318, amy.jones@sustrans.org.uk

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