Streets Ahead Streets Ahead Podcast

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-person events, head to laura-laker.com/book.
-
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 can you take 1 minute to give us a rating and write a review? It helps us more than you probably think.
Episode edited by Clare Mansell.
Support Streets Ahead on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 mixed: "LTNs have succeeded in improving air quality on internal roads but this benefit has not always been shared with boundary locations which show a mix of minimal reductions, no reductions and some increases in emissions of air pollutants."
The fourth location for the LTN review was Wigan, in addition to London, Birmingham and York.
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 can you take 1 minute to give us a rating and write a review? It helps us more than you probably think.
Episode edited by Clare Mansell.
Support Streets Ahead on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 can you take 1 minute to give us a rating and write a review? It helps us more than you probably think.
Episode edited by Clare Mansell.
Support Streets Ahead on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 (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 can you take 1 minute to give us a rating and write a review? It helps us more than you probably think.
Episode edited by Clare Mansell.
Support Streets Ahead on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 fans. She talks to wanna-be cargo bike parents, disabled cyclists and those behind the new cycle hangar, to discuss why cities need more of this kind of thing - and what happens when it's not there.
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! 
We’re also on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: https://twitter.com/podstreetsahead
If you're reading this, please can you take 1 minute to give us a rating and write a review? It helps us more than you probably think.
Episode edited by Clare Mansell.
Support Streets Ahead on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 was curious about the superblocks programme which involved some of the city’s streets being pedestrianised, leaving others as thoroughfares for motor traffic, and introducing things like greenspace and seating to the inner roads. Starting in 2022, streets in the Eixample district were transformed for walking and cycling, with a focus on cutting air pollution, overheating in summer and improving accessibility.
On those streets, people can still drive in and out, but through traffic is discouraged. While I was there I met Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, a researcher and professor in urban and transport planning, environment and health, and Director of the Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative, and Head of the Climate, Air Pollution, Nature and Urban Health at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health. Mark has quantified, in his research, the toll poor urban and transport planning has on the environment and health - and some of it is pretty scary. Mark was a delight to interview and I’m excited to share this episode with you.
You can find some of Mark Nieuwenhuijsen’s research here:
Street pedestrianization in urban districts: Economic impacts in Spanish cities https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S026427512100367X  
Superblocks’ impact on health, local climate and economy https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019315223?via%3Dihub 
PASTA research https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/6/1/e009924
Mark's current research can be found here https://ubdpolicy.eu/
About the current Superblocks https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/superilles/es/content/asi-seran-las-nuevas-plaza-y-ejes-verdes-eixample 
We’re also on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: https://twitter.com/podstreetsahead
If you're reading this, please can you take 1 minute to give us a rating and write a review? It helps us more than you probably think.
This episode was edited by Clare Mansell
Support Streets Ahead on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.