This time Ned and Laura go behind the walls of Pentonville Prison for this very special episode. Listeners may remember Stef Jones, founder of XO Bikes, who trains ex-offenders in cycle maintenance in south London to help them turn their lives around.  With UK prisons full to bursting, people like Stef, along with prison staff themselves, try to break the cycle of reoffending that sees an estimated 55% of those released going on to re-offend. That figure is halved if someone has a job to go...

Our last episode, an interview with Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh MP, caused a bit of a storm and went viral. Laura's interview was picked up by a host of UK national media including BBC News, The Sun, GB News, The Times and more. We discuss how the story happened, what it means for active travel - and why the wider media picked up on it so extensively. Helping us navigate this is Henry Zeffman, the BBC's Chief Political Correspondent and contributor to BBC Newscast. By the...

Louise Haigh MP, the Secretary of State for Transport, joins Laura Laker on Streets Ahead for an insightful discussion on the future of active travel in the UK. From her own cycling experiences to the role of walking and cycling in tackling public health and climate challenges, Haigh outlines her vision for a national integrated transport strategy that prioritises active travel and discusses "unprecedented funding", as well as her support for councils implementing Low Traffic Neighbourhoods....

In this episode Laura travels to Paris, to meet one of the campaigners behind a successful push to put cycling at the heart of the city's transport plans for the 2024 Olympics. Paris en Selle is one of a cohort of campaign groups who staged an 'Olympic relay' protest that inspired Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo to roll out cycleways linking every one of the city's 35 Games venues. This would mean visitors and staff could get to events in a healthy, sustainable way without overwhelming the existing...

This time we're talking with our guest about life across the Pond. If early US cities were inherently walkable, what on earth happened? Is an active travel revolution possible in such a car-centric nation? Why are there parking minimums in new developments? And what on Earth is Euclidian zoning?! John Simmerman, of the Active Towns podcast and YouTube channel, joins Adam and Laura at the start of a two month European odyssey, to talk about his work promoting active lives in the US. John spent...

Adam's left his job, Ned's won an award, Laura's touring the country, oh, and there's a general election in the UK. It's been quite a hectic few weeks at Streets Ahead. By the way, if you want ad-free listening, behind-the-scenes and bonus content and to help support the podcast - head to (https://www.patreon.com/StreetsAheadPodcast). We’ll even send you some stickers!  We’re also on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: https://twitter.com/podstreetsahead If you're reading this,...

Laura's got a book out and we're here to plug it, 1) because it's brilliant and 2) because it'd be awkward if we didn't. Potholes and Pavements: A Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network is the story of the UK's fitful, sometimes painful transformation from a car-dependent nation of villages, towns and cities into a connected, bikeable network of communities. It's out on 9th May at all good bookstores. Go and get a copy! Buy: https://linktr.ee/lauralakerpotholesandpavements For...

In a special emergency episode, Ned and Adam try to make sense of the Plan for Drivers announcement. What does it mean for active travel and public transport? Will it actually change anything? What are the politics behind the announcement? You can read the Low Traffic Neighbourhood review here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/low-traffic-neighbourhood-review In the episode, Adam mentioned there wasn't reference to air quality on boundary roads. The report actually said the view is...

From lost panniers, stolen bikes and a proposed HS2 cycleway - this is our podcast without portfolio (our favourite kind) where we chew the fat on active travel. By the way, if you want ad-free listening, behind-the-scenes and bonus content and to help support the podcast - head to (https://www.patreon.com/StreetsAheadPodcast). We’ll even send you some stickers!  We’re also on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: https://twitter.com/podstreetsahead If you're reading this, please...

Okay, it's not strictly active travel - but it is walking, sort of. In this short bonus episode, Laura and Adam go Mudlarking on the Thame's foreshore and find Medieval pottery, clay tobacco pipes, a Boris bike and a traffic cone. Thanks to Chris from the Thames Explorer Trust for being our guide. There’s also some extra bonus content on our new Patreon. That’s right - if you want ad-free listening, behind-the-scenes and bonus content and to help support the podcast - head to...

Cycling is booming in London, and in cities around the world, as are cargo bikes. With prices ranging upwards of £2,000, theft is a real and present concern for owners, and a major barrier to more people experiencing the joy and convenience of owning a larger bike, whether for work, carrying children, or as a mobility aid. In this episode Laura travels to north London for a celebration of possibly the UK's first on-street dedicated secure cargo bike parking, joining about 50 other cargo bike...

Welcome to this special episode, in which it’s just Laura, her suitcase and one amazing guest, sat on a bench in the middle of one of the city’s famous Superblocks. There’s also some extra bonus content on our new Patreon. That’s right - if you want ad-free listening, behind-the-scenes and bonus content and to help support the podcast - head to (https://www.patreon.com/StreetsAheadPodcast). We’ll even send you some stickers!  In late 2023 Laura travelled to Barcelona by train from London. She...

And we have reached the end of 2023! What a year that was: we had highs, we had lows, we had some culture wars, we did a podcast in a pub. How was 2023 for you? Ned, Laura and Adam give their perspective. >> Oh, and we're on Patreon! If you'd like to support Streets Ahead, get ad-free listening, behind-the-scenes content AND receive wonderful stickers, please head to: https://www.patreon.com/StreetsAheadPodcast We’re also on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode:...

For this episode, Ned, Adam and Laura navigated east London's cycle lanes and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods to speak in-person, in front of a live pub audience, to Councillor Clyde Loakes, at the Wanstead Tap in Waltham Forest. For the past decade Cllr Loakes has led his borough's transformation for walking and cycling. Waltham Forest is very much no longer a forest, in North-East London, but has become world famous for its Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, people-friendly high streets and for...

In the second of a two-part mini-series on online disinformation Laura, Ned and Adam talk to Shayoni Lynn, whose company specialises in the behavioural science of mis- and disinformation, and how to tackle it. After ministers admitted this autumn making decisions based on ‘online discussions’ that veered towards fringe conspiracy theories, around things like 15-minute cities, and as the climate conference COP28 approaches, our guest has some timely insight into the world of...

This time Ned, Laura and Adam meet Polly Herbert, a solicitor who represents the loved ones of those killed and seriously injured in road traffic collisions. Working for the law firm Hugh James, Polly represented the family of Frankie Jules-Hough, a pregnant mother-of-two who was killed by a speeding driver who filmed himself driving in excess of 100mph, in May. In 2022 judges were given the power to hand greater sentences to those convicted of causing death by dangerous driving. With the...

Disinformation is seeping from social media into public debate, and even politicians are being sucked in - with real-world consequences for democracy. From 15-minute cities, to ULEZ, active travel has found itself on the frontline of the battle for truth - but what is actually happening, and how does it affect us? In the first of a two-part miniseries on the topic, Adam, Ned and Laura talk to Amil Khan, founder of Valent, a company that “deals with disinformation by understanding who is...

Safe Streets Now was born out of growing concerns over what campaigners have called an epidemic of speeding and red light jumping in Birmingham. Better Streets for Birmingham saw residents collect data on speeding and red light jumping in the city earlier this year, a citizen science project that attracted attention with the scale of the significant problem it revealed on the roads. Then, over the summer, a tragic string of hit and run collisions galvanised those concerns. Children were,...

This time Ned, Adam and Laura are talking about roads. Are they good, are they bad, and do we really need to take sides? In a week where the Prime Minister claimed there’s a ‘side’ where driving is concerned, we look to Wales, where they're taking perhaps a more balanced approach to transport.  Lee Waters is Wales’ Deputy Minister for Climate Change. He works in a department that brings together society's most polluting sectors and seeks to reduce their carbon emissions, not least for the...

This time Laura and Adam are Ned-less because there is still a bicycle race happening over in France All cyclists start somewhere - whether it’s wobbling along with stabilisers, or without. In the UK, because we often end up sharing the roads with motor traffic, many of us will also have received training from a professional at some point - under the Bikeability standard, or Cycling Proficiency as it was once known.  In recent years cycle instructors have increasingly voiced concerns over...

Ned and Laura go exploring on foot with Alderman Alison Gowman around the City of London's mid-century raised walkways. Known as Pedways, when they were conceived and built in the 1960s, their architects believed they would be the future of the urban pedestrian experience... except they didn't quite work. More than half a century later, many of them are slightly bleak and under-used spaces, because they failed to meet the needs of pedestrians who, it turns out, will stubbornly take the...

For this special episode Laura Laker chairs a live podcast recording from the annual London Walking and Cycling Conference. The London Walking and cycling conference, for those of you who don’t know, is an annual get-together where London gets to be smug and show off a bit. It started life as the Hackney walking and cycling conference in 2017 and has gone from strength to strength, attracting speakers from all over the world. This year’s theme is: ‘taking walking and cycling to the next...

A pre-budget announcement on HS2 last week revealed a £380m cut to cycling and walking funding. This represents a two-thirds reduction of funding in England, and leaves just £100m for active travel in the current financial year.  Cycling and walking contributed £36.5bn to the UK economy in 2021, according to Sustrans.  Ned, Laura and Adam convene to discuss what's happening and the impact it'll have. We’re on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our...

In this episode, we have a special feature in which Ned travels to his spiritual home in Lewisham Shopping Centre to meet the folks at XO Bikes. Founder, Stef Jones, was mentoring in prison and noticed the same people kept coming back - not that they wanted to. These people were lacking opportunities; prison is 'full of entrepreneurs, shifting the wrong product,' he says. Stef left his ad agency to set up XO bikes, to train, employ and inspire people and support them to change their lives,...