Street Life Spring/Summer 2013

Street LifeSpring 2013 WWW.LiVingSTrEETS.Org.UK

InsIde:Why we love 20 mphMeet the new ChairHelp us save lollipop people

Discover where walking can take you

MAY iS nATiOnAL WALKing MOnTH

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COnTEnTS

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03 • Letter from our Chief executive04 • Why we love 20 mph06 • Islington – a 20 mph success08 • We want you to walk this May!10 • Walk to school campaign news11 • What we’ve been up to across the UK12 • Interview with Archie Robertson15 • save our lollipop people16 • dates for your diary

Street Life spring 2013

03Welcome •


Spring TO YOUr FEET FOr nATiOnAL WALKing MOnTHWelcome to our spring issue. It’s been a long winter and we lobbied hard for local councils to keep our pavements ice-free and safe to walk on. Our campaign raised the issue in media from Hull to Hampstead. Over a thousand of you sent letters or emails to councils and we engaged over 10,000 people via our website, Facebook and Twitter. did your council grit your pathways or make you grit your teeth? Tell us how you, your family and friends fared through the icy periods by emailing our media coordinator [email protected] or give her a call on 020 7377 4914.

After overseeing six very successful years of growth, Living streets Chair, Michael Loveday, has reached the end of his term as the head of the Board of Trustees. Many thanks to Mike for all he’s done and best wishes for the future. We are delighted to welcome Archie Robertson as our new Chair. He brings a unique combination of skills and experience which you can read about in the interview on page 12.

May is our annual flagship event, national Walking Month. On page 8, read about our new challenges and how you can join in whether it’s walking to work, to school, to the shops or with the dog. Thank you for your support and good luck with your walking ‘feats’.

There is gathering momentum across the UK for 20 mph speed limits where we work, live, shop and play. if you would like to see slower speeds in your local neighbourhood, read about how you can let your councillor know why you ‘love 20 mph’ on page 4.

Living streets is the national charity that stands up for pedestrians. With our supporters, we work to create safe, attractive and enjoyable streets, where people want to walk.

Tony Armstrong, Chief executive

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• Policy and Campaigning

WHY WE LOVE 20 MpH

in January this year, the government issued new guidance to help local councils set more appropriate speed limits on local roads. The document was a clear signal for local authorities to implement more 20 mph speed limits, even referring to their introduction as a ‘priority for action’.

Recently there has been an expansion in the implementation of 20 mph limits in our towns and cities. In London, the Borough of Islington has led the way and is now on course to introduce a borough wide 20 mph speed limit including on borough controlled main roads.

eager to capitalise on the current momentum, Living streets’ ongoing campaign for 20 mph speed limits where we live, work, shop and play was boosted in March as we launched our latest email action to supporters.

Campaigns are usually most successful in groups. Visit www.livingstreets.org.uk/love-20mph to write to your council and find out about local campaigns in your area.

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Policy and Campaigning •

Our campaign webpage has a simple tool for you to email your local council leader and ask what they are doing towards introducing 20 mph in your area and making our streets safer.

Living streets’ Tom Platt, who is leading the 20 mph campaign, said:

“Already over 10 million people live in local authority areas which are adopting or have adopted 20 mph speed limits. national government guidance essentially gives a green light to local authorities to introduce area wide 20 mph limits, so we really need to demonstrate the breadth of community support. The latest British Attitudes survey showed that 71% of people supported the implementation of 20 mph speed limits and local government needs to be made aware of that.”

Living streets believes that introducing slower speeds where we live, work and shop is the single biggest change that will make streets people-centred places rather than corridors for traffic. 20 mph has been shown to reduce pedestrian casualties, road traffic incidents, noise and pollution levels, therefore making it more viable to implement other measures which make our neighbourhoods more sympathetic to walking, such as pedestrian crossings or installing benches. Tom is encouraged by councils in some boroughs introducing 20 mph limits on their main roads too.

“It’s about creating places. A main road may have residential buildings, shops or a school on it, so it operates on many levels beyond just being ‘a road’. All the evidence suggests that a safer and more pleasant environment encourages people to walk more, and reducing the dangers and pollution associated with traffic is a good way to start.”

www.livingstreets.org.uk/love-20mph


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A CApiTAL iDEA – 20 MpH in iSLingTOn

There was much cheering in Living Streets’ headquarters when the news came through recently that the London Borough of islington had agreed to implement borough wide 20 mph speed limits on main roads under Council control.

It represented the end of a long road for Islington Living streets’ Group Chair, Caroline Russell, who began campaigning over a decade ago, motivated by the death of a young child on her local main road.

On the very rare occasions I do need to drive through Islington, I take great pleasure in driving at 20 mph.”

• Policy and Campaigning


Islington Living streets Group Chair and 20 mph campaigner, Caroline Russell

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“I think our first breakthrough was when they agreed to a 20 mph zone in the Highbury Fields area. It showed there was massive community support and people realised what a difference it would make. even if they drive, most people walk or cycle those streets at some point.”

Galvanising that groundswell of support, across a wide spectrum of constituencies, and securing alliances would appear to have given local politicians of all parties confidence to press ahead. Caroline says,

“The council carried out a consultation and there was such overwhelming support that they employed people to knock on doors and seek out negative comments. There weren’t many. We’d knocked on those doors already and made the case and the majority of residents were in favour.”

In 2010, a budget was allocated for implementation of 20 mph limits on residential roads to fill in the gaps between the existing zones, and Caroline is full of praise for the council officers for a rigorous and well-thought out strategy.

The campaign successfully pressed on to secure 20 mph speed limits on council controlled main roads in January and is now focused on the busy routes controlled by Transport for London. It’s early days and the biggest challenge now is ensuring enforcement, but Caroline is optimistic.

Policy and Campaigning •

“We hope the council is planning a public relations campaign and encouraging the police to carry out on-the-spot enforcement so it should start to bed in, but just having the signs sets up a different expectation. It’s really about changing a mind set and demonstrating that it doesn’t add to journey times and it improves the whole area for everyone.”


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08 • Get Walking

nATiOnAL WALKing MOnTHnational Travel Survey results published in December 2012 showed a 24% decline in the number of walking trips per person since the mid-90s.

We want to buck that trend and encourage everyone to get moving during the third annual national Walking Month in May 2013. It’s a whole 31 days dedicated to highlighting the benefits of walking, and includes Walk to Work Week (13-17 May) and Walk to school Week (20-24 May).

This year our focus is on the benefits of walking: whether that’s getting a clearer head, a fatter wallet, finding hidden treasures, getting in better shape, sharing some family time or making new friends.

If you want to take part and get your family, friends, colleagues and neighbours walking with you, you can find information and resources to help you promote national Walking Month at www.livingstreets.org.uk/nationalwalkingmonth

Take up the challengeOn the Living streets website, there’ll be a range of fun feats to challenge your feet. each feat is linked to one of the benefits we’re highlighting, and there’ll be opportunities to win prizes.

We’ve also produced a fundraising guide full of tips, ideas and information to help you get fundraising for your favourite charity - as well as ideas for celebrating your successes. download the guide from www.livingstreets.org.uk/nwmfundraising

Walking for 30 minutes each morning can transform your fitness levels, reduce stress, and vastly improve your concentration levels for the day ahead, so what’s stopping you?

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Street Life Spring 2013

Get Walking •

Walk to Work WeekWalk to Work Week (13-17 May) is an opportunity for employees across the UK to fit more walking into their working day.

Participants can log their walks and see calories burnt, CO2 saved and compete against colleagues, and also achieve our Walk to Work Week feats.

Last year UK workplaces collectively logged 70,000 of the 128,271 miles recorded during national Walking Month.

Physically active employees are less likely to suffer from major health problems, less likely to take sick leave and less likely to have an accident at work. so discover where walking can take you this Walk to Work Week and sign up to take part at www.livingstreets.org.uk/walktoworkweek

Walk to School WeekWalk to school Week (20-24 May) is an opportunity for parents and children to try walking to school and this year strider is throwing down the gauntlet with his five day walking challenge.

each day will focus on a different benefit of walking. On Monday it’s important road safety messages; on Tuesday, discovery – exploring your local environment; Wednesday is health day, teaching children the importance of being physically active; Thursday shows them how much greener walking can be on eco-friendly day and Friday is for socialising and how much fun you can have walking with your friends.

Parents tell us that when they walk with their children, the journey to school is less stressful, their petrol bill goes down, their children perform better at school and that they, and their children, feel healthier and fitter. It’s a great opportunity to give it a go.

For more information about Walk to school Week visit www.livingstreets.org.uk/walktoschoolweek

• Walk to school

Learning resources in a class of their ownLiving streets’ campaigns to get children walking to school form a large part of our work. With rising obesity rates and falling physical activity levels, it’s more important than ever to encourage our children into good habits for their future health and wellbeing.

We help over 1.9 million children a year to enjoy walking to school through our Walk to school campaign, but we know we need to keep things fresh in order to extend our reach. earlier this year we launched our free learning resources for teachers who are running Walk once a Week (WoW) in their schools, helping them introduce the benefits of walking alongside some useful educational content. The theme for WoW this year was Around the World and activities have been focused on eleven countries as Walk to school mascot strider has walked his way around the globe.

WoW resources for Autumn 2013 are available from June. Visit www.livingstreets.org.uk/shop

On THE WALK TO SCHOOL10


Free your feet with your fingertips!The days of the sound of chalk squeaking across a blackboard have long gone and technology is now firmly established in the classroom. The new WoW interactive whiteboard tool allows children to log their walks to school with a touch of the fingertips. There are a whole host of advantages such as enabling teachers to view walking across the whole school in one place and automatically calculating which children have earned a reward badge for the month. Trials are still underway and the launch is due in autumn of this year.

Badge of honourAs we go to print, the final rush of entries for the annual WoW badge design competition has just come in. The theme for 2013/14 is A Journey Through Time and clearly children across the country have been inspired. designs have included egyptian pyramids, dinosaurs, the Great Fire of London, the Blitz and the moon landing.

eleven designs will be chosen – one for each month of the school year – and made into badges using recycled yoghurt pot material. The winners will be presented with certificates at a special ceremony in London in June.

For updates on the latest resources available for free, sign up to the Walk to School bulletin at www.livingstreets.org.uk/wtsnews.

Parliamentary Under-secretary of state for Transport, norman Baker, tries the new interactive whiteboard


11national news •

nEWS FrOM SCOTLAnD AnD WALES

ScotlandHead of Living streets scotland, Keith Irving, reports that the scottish Government has committed to reducing drinking and driving limits to 50mg/100ml, in line with the most of the rest of europe.

Living streets scotland led a partnership of organisations to support the proposals while suggesting the cut should be to an effective zero of 20mg/100ml.

Keith said: “This is a significant issue in scotland, especially for pedestrians. Over the past five years, an average of 30 people each year have lost their lives because of drinking and driving. This is a bold step by the Government that is likely to come into force in given the evidence of the estimated reduction in road casualties that would result from its implementation.”

It could be a year before any legislation comes into effect. You can read Living streets’ consultation response at http://bit.ly/11LYv8l

WalesThe Welsh Active Travel Bill (ATB) has now entered the Welsh Assembly and Living streets’ Policy and Public Affairs Manager, dr Kevin Golding-Williams, has been campaigning hard to make sure the pedestrian voice is heard.

The Bill will require local authorities to map walking and cycling routes in areas with a population in excess of 2,000 after consultation with local people.

Living streets is sitting on a steering Group helping to develop design guidance to support the bill and will be giving evidence to the enterprise and Business Committee later in the year.

Kevin said, “While this commitment to encouraging active travel is welcome, there is no additional money for local authorities to implement these improvements. ensuring pedestrian priority is not compromised whilst attempting to meet the needs of other groups is the main concern for us.”

You can read our response to the consultation on our website at http://bit.ly/11LYRvq.


12 • Better environments

in THE LiVing STrEETS CHAir Living Streets’ new Chair, Archie robertson, talks to media coordinator Jayne phenton about growing up in Scotland and the journey of his extraordinary career which has taken him back there .

Having spent over 20 years living an alley cat life in the metropolis, I’m fascinated by natives and denizens of more isolated habitats. Living streets’ Chair, Archie Robertson, was born and raised on skye so is familiar with the challenges of accessibility in remote places, and finding a way to afford people mobility seems to have been a thread in his long and distinguished career.

After studying chemistry and economics at stirling University, Archie wanted to be a diver until an early experience proved disenchanting.

“I thought it would be colourful with fantastical creatures and treasure, but diving off the coast of Wales, it was just very dark and murky and not glamorous at all.”

nineteen years working in the oil industry took Archie and his young family all over the globe, during which he witnessed the positive impact of affordable energy on poor communities in countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines.

settling back in the UK, Archie was appointed director of Operations for the newly established environment Agency tackling drought and flood, nuclear emissions and landfill sites, planning and fishing licences.

“It was very demanding, balancing care of the environment with the demands of UK Inc and the needs of real people and places. The decisions we made had a big impact on the community – and vice versa.”

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Street Life Spring 2013

Better environments •

in THE LiVing STrEETS CHAir The influence of infrastructure on people’s day to day lives was a part of Archie’s next role with the Highways Agency, “a chance to run my own show.” Faced with growing car ownership and an overloaded network, Archie saw that expanding capacity would only expand the problem and focused on a strategy of making the motorway network work better and improving communications.

It was at a stakeholder meeting that Archie met Living streets’ President, Terence Bendixson, and became aware of a more pedestrian perspective.

“The way many of our roads have evolved, they’ve become major routes with big trucks driving through villages causing safety and environmental issues. In one such situation in the north, we were able to build a by-pass around the village to divert the major traffic and I thought ‘now children can cross the road in their neighbourhood’ and I think subconsciously that felt good.”

Archie’s current portfolio career allows him to divert his energies to a number of projects including work for the Prince’s Trust in scotland, where he is now based to be near to his grandchildren. I suggested that after a journey that’s embraced the oil industry and road transportation his role at Living streets might be an act of contrition.

Some pupils taking part in WoW recently wore fancy dress for their walk to school. i asked Archie who or which character would be his costume of choice.

“The oceanographer and explorer Jacques Cousteau. He was the reason i wanted to be a diver. His television programmes in the 70s were always shot in exotic locations with beautiful colourful photography of this magical underwater world.”

“Partly”, says Archie. “I suppose because of where I grew up I will always appreciate communities’ desire and need for accessibility, but it’s a question of balance and I think in our cities the balance is wrong. Living streets is a fantastic organisation and a great enabler. I’m excited to be part of a movement which will put walking back at the heart of our communities.”

• Fundraising

We were overwhelmed by the number of entries. It was dispiriting to see so many examples of poor care and maintenance, but after much deliberation we awarded first prize to Jonathan Haw for his photograph of Waterside south in Lincoln.

He cited non-existent or overgrown footpaths, a lack of lighting and poor water run off as the reason behind his nomination.

Jonathan said, “It may look like a little-used back road, but it is actually only a couple of minutes walk from the city centre and the main access to a major office development housing at least 1,000 workers, including some from Lincolnshire County Council - the very authority responsible for highways!”

More positively, it was heartening to receive so many nominations for projects that had brought communities together and revitalised walking neighbourhoods. People clearly care passionately about their streets

and small interventions can have a big impact on the quality of the public realm.

The award for runner up went to Benita Kelly who nominated Abergavenny’s Library square, which has been transformed by local residents. It had been neglected and become a target for anti-social behaviour, but Victorian street neighbourhood launched a campaign and received a grant from their town council towards the improvements. The community worked together to clear the overgrown shrubs, repaint the benches and plant a small vegetable garden.

Congratulations to Benita and all the hard working people in Abergavenny and commiserations to Jonathan!

Jonathan has won a digital camera, so fingers crossed he can capture some shots of a similar improvement to his area in the forthcoming months!

in our last issue of Street Life we invited readers to help us find the best and worst examples of streets maintenance in the UK. We asked people to send us a snap or a video of the place that they loved or loathed, that deserved a blue plaque or gave them the blues.

WinnEr rUnnEr Up

THE STATE OF OUr STrEETS AWArDS – THE rESULTS

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SAVE OUr LOLLipOp pEOpLEWe may all be slightly guilty of looking back on our school days with a healthy dose of nostalgia, but it’s not always down to the rosy tint of our glasses.

A generation ago the majority of children walked to school. A familiar face for many of us when crossing a busy road was the lollipop man or lady. not only do they see children safely across the road; they are a trusted adult presence on the street, increasing security in our community.

Today, road safety budgets across the country are subject to dramatic cuts. As a result, our ‘lollipop people’ are set to become a rare sight. some local authorities are axing them completely.

We know through our Walk to school campaign that safe crossing points are essential so children feel safe and are encouraged to walk, and parents are reassured and feel confident for them to do so. It’s also remarkably cost effective – the cost of a lollipop person is around £50 per week.

We will launch a campaign this summer to remind local authorities and decision makers that a safe passage to school is a child’s right; and that it is their duty to provide it.

We need your support to carry out this vital campaign. In 2011, the number of child pedestrian fatalities rose by 27%. We need to take action now.

We need to show decision makers that people care about keeping lollipop people active in our communities and create a groundswell of support for our campaign. Just £20 could add another 60 voices to our campaign.

Please help us keep children safe and donate just £20 or whatever you can afford today.

By helping us save some of our treasured lollipop men and women, you couldalso be helping us to save children’s lives.

Fundraising • 15


To make a donation to our save our lollipop people campaign please visit www.livingstreets.org.uk/donate

This newsletter is printed on FSC paper. Living streets (The Pedestrians Association) is a Registered Charity no. 1108448 (england and Wales) and sC039808 (scotland), Company Limited by Guarantee (england & Wales), Company Registration no. 5368409. Registered office 4th Floor, Universal House, 88-94 Wentworth street. e1 7sA

DATES FOr YOUr DiArYScotland’s national Active Travel Conference

Living Streets Annual Supporters’ Conference

The Big Lunch

There’s still time to register for this event focused on walking, cycling and connecting communities on Monday 13 May 2013 in edinburgh. It is organised by Living streets in partnership with Paths for All, sustrans and Cycling scotland. Full details at www.walkcycleconnect.org

This year’s supporters’ Conference will take place on saturday 22 June 2013 at the Coin street neighbourhood Centre near Waterloo in London. From 10am-4.30pm, it’s an opportunity to meet other campaigners, share tips and be inspired. To book your place, go to www.livingstreets.org.uk/supportersconference2013

Meet your neighbours, make new friends and get involved with your community at the Big Lunch on sunday 2 June 2013. eight and half million people took part last year including the Prince of Wales and the duchess of Cornwall. Find out how to join them at www.thebiglunch.com

For more events, please visit www.livingstreets.org.uk/events

Street Life Spring/Summer 2013

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Transcript of Street Life Spring/Summer 2013