Never ending story of anti-social behaviour that no one will tackle!

Rhiwbina Village - people park where suits them best with no regard for others.

Same on Beulah Road - white lorry man obstructs the pavement and White Van man at it as usual!

Shock tactics

Shock tactics in TV anti-speeding driveBelfast Telegraph - Some of the most horrifying images of road carnage ever filmed will be broadcast on television tonight, as the DoE's latest anti-speeding campaign gets under way - and the commercial is so graphic it cannot be shown until after the 9pm watershed.

Police chief resorts to traffic shock tactics Apr 26 2007 icWales
Controversial police chief Richard Brunstrom used a photograph of a decapitated motorcyclist today to drive home his anti-speeding message.

One image showed the man’s head, with the eyes still open, on a grass verge. It was still cased in a red and white helmet, with the visor raised. Laura Wright, South Wales Echo

It would be more useful to half more humps and less moaning about them - only the other night in the echo we had 'Bumps are a waste of £22,500!' in other places there has been calls for action and nothing happens as in this story 'Horrible accident was waiting to happen'
Mar 15 2007 Staff Reporter, Pontypridd Observer .............."Just how many casualties are acceptable before action is taken?" Is this a reasonable question? Why are there no traffic calming measures here?

Perhaps our engineers and councillors responsible for traffic calming could visit other places for examples of good practice such as York. Pleas alone, however horrific won't stop speeding.

More thought needed for passenger Transport

In the Western Mail Professor Stuart Cole, director of the Wales Transport Research Centre at the University of Glamorgan, says that much thought must be put into passenger transport director of the Wales Transport Research Centre at the University of Glamorgan, says that much thought must be put into passenger transport....

too true......try tackling the routes too.. try getting from Cardiff to Brecon..not possible except on sunday and as soon as you get there its time to go back..... Cardiff to Abergavenny then Service X43 leave Cardiff at 10.45 and arrive Abergavenny at 13.15! TWO hours and 30 mins later! If you want to get home the same day you would have to leave at 13.20..FIVE minutes if you are lucky in ..can't spend much in that time..quicker by train but no public transport link to the centre... Abergavenny

Nick Jones New traffic commissioner for Wales

The Secretary of State has appointed two new traffic commissioners. Sarah Bell has been appointed as traffic commissioner for the Western Area with effect from 12 June 2007. Nick Jones has been appointed as traffic commissioner for the West Midlands and Welsh traffic areas with effect from 1 May 2007. Media-Newswire.com -

Sarah Bell will replace Philip Brown who transfers to the South Eastern and Metropolitan Area from 1 May 2007, replacing Christopher Heaps who will be retiring on 30 April. Nick Jones replaces David Dixon who retired on 31 March.

Geoffrey Simms retired as traffic commissioner for the Eastern Traffic Area on 31 March. This post is currently vacant and will be readvertised shortly.

1. Traffic commissioners are responsible for regulation of the road haulage and passenger transport industries. They administer the licensing system for operators of heavy goods vehicles and public service vehicles. They determine the fitness of drivers of these vehicles to hold vocational licences. They administer the bus registration system for local bus services and can take action against operators who fail to run services in accordance with registered particulars. They also hear appeals against impounding of illegally used heavy goods vehicles.

2. Traffic commissioners are appointed to one of eight traffic areas - six in England and one each in Wales and Scotland. Nick Jones will act as commissioner for two areas ( West Midlands and Welsh ) in continuation of an established practice.

Public Enquiries: 020 7944 8300
Department for Transport Website: http://www.dft.gov.uk

Bus Users UK

I have just read with great sadness about the sudden death of BUS USERS UK’s Officer in Wales Leo Markham. Leo, who was 59, was taken ill with heart trouble on 4 April on the return journey from a Bus Users’ Surgery in Wrexham and died in hospital on Easter Monday, 9 April. Leo had headed BUS USERS UK in Wales for the last six years and since August 2005 had been co-ordinator of the TrawsCambria inter-urban bus network as well as project managing the Beacons bus network.

Road to nowhere

Road to nowhere ic Wales -
Business traffic is often snared up by individuals using their cars for short journeys. More than 60% of trips taken in Wales are shorter than five miles. These short hops are clogging our town centres and motorway junctions, and there is a strong ...

Lisvane inconsiderate parking

icWales - Highest profile crime in Lisvane... poor parking
At this week's PACT meeting, the police said that Lisvane, in Cardiff, had reported ... After complaints of inconsiderate parking near schools by parents, ...
After complaints of inconsiderate parking near schools by parents, children have been brought on board to help enforce the law.

Llysfaen Primary pupils will become young traffic wardens to confront parents parking illegally and are having a competition to write a letter to send home to say what dangers the dangers are. Residents didn't understand why parents couldn't walk their children to school and criticised why they came so early to get a parking spot close to the school gates.PC Rogers suggested that parents could park a bit further away to make sure they don't become hazards.
Walk to school campaign

MORE than 50 per cent of children do not walk to school regularly and
as the number of children being driven to school increases, childhood
obesity, air pollution and road danger also increase. The Walk to School
campaign aims to encourage parents, pupils and teachers to think about
how they travel to school and increase the number of people making
the school journey on foot. The campaign now has the support of more
than 65 per cent of local authorities.
This year National Walk to School Week takes place from 21 to 25
May. The theme is ‘Strider Saves the Planet’ and focuses on reducing
the pollution caused by driving to school.You can find more information
about organising events duringat:
www.walktoschool.org.uk Walk to School week
or by contacting Andrew Fielding at Living
Streets on 0207 820 1010.

Wales to become car park

Wales to become car park!
The Spoof (satire) - 20 Apr 2007Some of the best specialists in this field feel that this is the only way forward to resolve traffic congestion over the next century".

Transport Minister, Douglas Alexander, has unveiled radical plans to tackle the UK's congestion problems. This plan has been heralded as a new dawn in car parking and could arguably be the largest "Park and Ride" project on the face of the planet.

SWANSEA ROAD SAFETY CAMPAIGN ZIGZAGS ITS WAY TO TOP

Story by JASON.EVANS@SWWMEDIA.CO.UK
A Hard-hitting Swansea road safety campaign for schools has been named the best in Britain. Swansea Council's campaign features children dressed in high-visibility clothing laying in the road to form human zigzags.Pictures of the striking image have been made into banners and distributed to schools across the county.Council safety bosses hope the banners will help drive home the message to motorists about the dangers of parking outside schools.

Jeff Green, Swansea Council's road safety officer, said: "We are delighted to have been recognised by our colleagues in local authorities throughout the UK."This very worthwhile road safety scheme helps highlight the dangers schoolchildren face as a result of thoughtless parking on yellow zigzag lines outside schools."

Mr Green said it was a message that some parents were still failing to learn."Many parents continue to park directly outside schools when they are dropping off their children," he said."What we hope to do is to highlight the danger that can be caused by vehicles obstructing the entrance to schools."One of the schools backing the publicity campaign is Gwyrosydd Primary School in Treboeth.Head teacher Jonathan Atter said: "I hope this important campaign will help raise the issue of inconsiderate parking outside schools."Many parents attempt to park directly outside the school gates and either don't realise the dangers they are causing or simply don't care."

Getting away with speeding - no surprise there then! Actually 20 is PLENTY

Less than half of speeders prosecuted Autocar, UK - A BBC radio programme will tonight reveal that more than half of speeding drivers caught by speed camera in London get away without any kind of prosecution ...

Speed cameras miss half of speeders Auto Trader UK, UK - Stuart Milne. Less than half of motorists caught on camera speeding or jumping traffic lights are being prosecuted. Cameras in London photograph half a ...

Speeding: getting away with it News - What Car?, UK - Many drivers who are caught speeding or going through red lights are not being prosecuted, according to a new investigation. ... Perhaps we need to thing of more original ideas for traffic calming? See Living Streets and 20 is PLENTY campaign

Transport link environment fears for the sports village

How do we get to the sports village?

Apr 18 2007 Gerry Holt, South Wales Echo A Cardiff conservation group is calling on the council to radically reassess plans for the International Sports Village. Cardiff Friends of the Earth is warning the village in Cardiff Bay will fail unless it has adequate transport links, particularly for those without cars.

The group claim proposals for alternative transport plans have been rejected or shelved, including a new railway station at Cogan linked to a pedestrian or cycle bridge and cycle lanes on the Cogan Spur. Marc Buehner, of the group, said: 'It is completely unacceptable for a modern development to be so reliant on the car. As well as negative health and environmental effects, congestion on approach roads will make the village less appealing, leading to some facilities becoming less viable.'

The group is organising a cycle-ride demonstration to press for a bridge over the River Ely at 11am on Sunday, starting at Cogan station.

Reduce the carbon footprint of our cities by favouring walking and cyling

Good ideas and examples :-
By the 1970s, Groningen was dealing with unprecedented traffic jams. Efforts to widen streets merely shifted congestion from one part of the city to another. It was like suffering from clogged arteries and only resorting to bypass surgery rather than trying to make lifestyle changes.

Groningen in the Netherlands boasts the highest rate of bicycle use in the nation, amounting to nearly 60% of all trips.

They set up a network of bike paths and bike lanes, lowering speed limits, and other infrastructure including four-direction green intersections. These are intersections where motor traffic completely stops and bicyclists are given their own turn to travel in any direction —either straight ahead or onto another street. What’s more, those who ride a bike to work are given special tax credits, and employers will often cover the cost of a bicycle as a business expense. You could call it getting a “company bike.? Tax credits actually save the government money, since the cost of a tax credit is still much lower than it would be to maintain roads overcrowded with single-occupancy automobiles.
They limited automobile movement. The city streets are more or less laid out as a series of concentric rings that get smaller as you get closer to the center of town. Traffic engineers cut the city into quadrants like a pie, then installed bollards so cars cannot drive from one end of town to the other without first driving outside of the “pie? — driving around downtown and entering through another quadrant. This city action discourages driving a car downtown. Buses and bicycles, however, are not restricted. The result is a downtown that is friendlier for walking and bicycling...as well as shopping.

When the city first tested the plan, local businesses feared that they would lose business. What happened was the exact opposite. The downtown became more attractive, and business owners soon called for the plan to be expedited, theyfound that those who arrive by bicycle tend to be better customers. While they may buy fewer items per trip, the trips are more frequent. Often, the biking customers spend more due to increased impulse-buying.

We need to impress upon our local governments and neighbors that purely car-centric cities do not make good economic sense. The maintenance costs are just too high — and that results in higher taxes.

In the picture Woonerf, indicated by the sign on the right. This is translated as "living street" meaning cars must travel at speed of pedestrians. Sidewalks are merged with the road creating the feeling that motorist is entering the yard of the residents and to watch out for children playing, etc.

See more pictures on http://uniqbike.vox.com/ uniqbike
unique useful innovative transportation

TECHNIQUES FOR URBAN SUSTAINABILITY
Traffic Calming BY JEFF KENWORTHYInstitute for Sustainability and Technology Policy, Murdoch University

Lib Dems promise to get Wales moving

"GET WALES MOVING!" Lib Dems
I have asked the Lib Dems what they will do about inconsiderate parking.

I wrote 'When will you decriminalise parking and stop parking on double yellow lines and on the pavement.

Please look at my albums of pics - Whitchurch Village has always got cars parked on double yellow lines stopping the bus pulling in. Sophie Howe -New Labour -was campaigning outside Iceland in Whitchurch on Sat and told me 'It is a police matter' & she had 'rung the police several times about the problem,' so in the 7/8 years she has been a councillor in Whitchurch she couldn't do a thing about it! Will the Lim Dems put an end to this and parking on the pavement?

JOIN Living Streets if you agree that we should:

Create communities free from fear of traffic
Excess traffic speed kills. Especially at risk are the vulnerable - pedestrians, cyclists, children and elderly. But excess speed also kills the life of our streets as fear of accidents means children are kept indoors, people are less likely to walk to local amenities and community interaction is inhibited. We want:
Comprehensive speed management plans for all of our cities, towns and villages
20mph speed limits on all the community streets where we live, shop, work and play

Speed control through widespread traffic calming and enforcement techniques

Stop pavement parking
Vehicle parking on pavements, at pedestrian crossing points and alongside dropped kerbs is on the increase. This poses a major barrier to walking, particularly for those with mobility difficulties. In London pavement parking has been banned and decriminalised so that local authorities rather than police can enforce the ban.

We want:
The Welsh Assembly to give councils effective powers against pavement parking and anti-social parking Councils to decriminalise procedures and introduce fines for bad parking

Design streets for all
For decades roads have been designed predominantly for traffic, ignoring the needs of walkers even where there are more people travelling on foot than in vehicles. Streets and public spaces should be more than traffic corridors, for instance as playgrounds, meeting places and markets.

We want:
More space for walking and cycling, less for cars and lorries
Streets classified and redesigned by their use as play, residential, mixed or distributory

Give walking a higher profile

Walking is a vital ingredient of health and social inclusion as well as a key component in environmental and transport policies. The contribution walking makes to our communities must be recognised by the Welsh Assembly and local authorities.

We want:
A joined-up national policy framework for walking in Wales
A major role for walking and sustainable travel in national, regional and local transport policy

Councils to produce Walking Strategies linked to Health Improvement Programmes like
Walking Works Wales is a new Living Streets initiative, funded by Health Challenge Wales

Upgrade walking networks
Local pedestrian networks are often in a poor state after decades of neglect, leaving inadequate footway widths, safety hazards, unnecessary obstacles to movement and visual clutter. Basic standards of accessibility for disabled users, as expected to follow from the Disability Discrimination Act, are not being met.

We want:
Community Street Audits of key walking routes to schools, community facilities and public transport

Resourced improvement programmes for upgrading footpaths and public space

Better walking access in new developments

Shops and essential services need to be within a 15 minute walk of homes to be truly accessible on foot. We want new developments to achieve a mix of housing with shops and essential services nearby to minimise the need to travel. New areas and planning proposals should be designed to ensure walkability, with direct, attractive and safe path networks to key local facilities.

We want: Walkability testing for all new development proposals, by local authorities at the planning application stage.

The Welsh Assembly Government to highlight the needs of pedestrians to developers, planners and engineers through guidance, training and awareness raising

Promote walking
Walking is easy, cheap, and often social. We need to encourage people to walk as part of their daily lives.

We want:
The Welsh assembly Government to continue to strongly promote the advantages of walking for health, transport and the environment by supporting more walking initiatives

Local authorities and community plan partners to adopt walking as a key measure of the success of Community Plans and Joint Health Improvement programmes

A series of sustainable travel towns introduced across SWales to test approaches to active travel, with walking and walkability as key components of the approach

Make public transport accessible
Walking is an essential part of public transport trips but often pedestrian routes to bus stops are inaccessible, particularly for those whose mobility is impaired. The quality of pedestrian access in and around many rail and bus stations is also poor. Under the Disability Discrimination Act it is unacceptable for this to continue. We believe a better pedestrian environment will encourage more walking and public transport use, helping to ease congestion and improving health.

We want:
Walkability Audits of all bus and rail stations and main routes to them

Go and tell your election candidates what you want them to do

Sun 15th April, Swansea - televised BBC hustings meeting. Email debatewales@bbc.co.uk or ring 08700 100 775 for information or to get tickets.

- Tue 17th April - Cardiff North - Rhiwbina Baptist Church, 7.30 pm - organised by Evangelical Alliance (contact: Jim Stewart, tel: 07921 080464).

- Wed 18th April, Cardiff - Temple of Peace, Cardiff, 7.30 pm - organised by Cardiff Stop the War Coalition/United Nations Association.

- Wed 18th April, Newport - King's Hotel, 7.15 pm - organised by Friends of the Earth.
- Sun 22nd April, Llandudno - televised BBC hustings meeting. Email debatewales@bbc.co.uk or ring 08700 100 775 for information or to get tickets.

- Wed 25th April, Newport West - Bethel Church, Stow Hill - organised by Evangelical Alliance (contact: Jim Stewart, tel: 07921 080464).

- Wed 25th April, Clwyd West - Capel Salem, Colwyn Bay, 7.30 pm - organised by Evangelical Alliance (contact: Peter Levers, tel: 01492 531984).

- Thu 26th April, Cardiff Central - Glenwood Church, Llanedeyrn, 7.30 pm - organised by Evangelical Alliance (contact: Jim Stewart, tel: 07921 080464).

- Sun 29th April, Cardiff - televised BBC hustings meeting. Email debatewales@bbc.co.uk or ring 08700 100 775 for information or to get tickets.

Make walking safer! Walking is more dangerous than going by car, the Social Trends analysis said.

From Social Trends analysis
Measured mile for mile, motorcycles are the most dangerous way to travel, followed by walking, and then bicycles. Motorcyclists are killed at the rate of 169 for every billion miles travelled, it reported. Some 59 pedestrians are killed for every billion miles walked, while 56 cyclists are killed for each billion miles travelled.

Only four car passengers are killed for every billion miles driven. The comparative safety of car passengers means the school run has cut the number of children killed on the roads. The report said: "There has been a steady fall in the number of children killed or seriously injured in road accidents." It noted a fall of 11 per cent in a single year between 2004 and 2005, and a reduction of 68 per cent since 1980. In 2005, 3,500 children were seriously injured or killed in road accidents.

Make walking safer! Welsh elections are coming up so call on the person you vote for to make a commitment to making walking safer - more crossings, speed bumps and traffic calming are urgent.

The parents who want their kids to be safe are making walking more dangerous for the children who walk! Many of these are the most poorest children.

Note that Bus and coach fares rose by 168 per cent between 1997 and2006 in the UK, compared with a rise in the ‘All items’ retail prices index of 93 per cent - doesn't encourage people to travel by public transport.
Make walking safer - join Living Streets

Walking is more dangerous than going by car, the Social Trends analysis said.

From Social Trends analysis
Measured mile for mile, motorcycles are the most dangerous way to travel, followed by walking, and then bicycles. Motorcyclists are killed at the rate of 169 for every billion miles travelled, it reported. Some 59 pedestrians are killed for every billion miles walked, while 56 cyclists are killed for each billion miles travelled.

Only four car passengers are killed for every billion miles driven. The comparative safety of car passengers means the school run has cut the number of children killed on the roads. The report said: "There has been a steady fall in the number of children killed or seriously injured in road accidents." It noted a fall of 11 per cent in a single year between 2004 and 2005, and a reduction of 68 per cent since 1980. In 2005, 3,500 children were seriously injured or killed in road accidents.

Make walking safer! Welsh elections are coming up so call on the person you vote for to make a committment to making walking safer - more crossings, speed bumps and traffic calming are urgent.

The parents who want their kids to be safe are making walking more dangerous for the children who walk! Many of these are the most poorest children.

Note that Bus and coach fares rose by 168 per cent between 1997 and2006 in the UK, compared with a rise in the ‘All items’ retailprices index of 93 per cent - doesn't encourage people to travel by public transport.

Assembly election and New Labour Environmental Policy

ASSEMBLY ELECTION TIME 2007
Labour CLAIM THEY will meet head on the challenge of climate change, by building a sustainable Wales that is cleaner and greener by minimising Wales’ carbon footprint, supporting environmental technology and developing an integrated public transport network. Not managed much so far. Traffic Congestion? Want to cycle, not if the Welsh Assembly can help it, they don't do cycle lanes - they do do roads. See below the campaign for a cycle/pedestrian bridge over the river Ely.

Don't do traffic wardens either - Can we travel in Wales from South to North qickly. Highspeed trains in Europe have been in the news this week - it takes a hour to get to Merthyr Tydfil from Cardiff and try getting to Brecon by bus, you could be away all day but don't reckon on getting back. Want to go to from Cardiff to Caerphilly by bus, not after 6.30 or on a Sunday. Lousy public transport may affect the economy as well!!!
New Labour promise to increase fines for litter and graffiti and to ensure the establishment of an Anti Social Behaviour Unit (big brother) in every local authority area but this will NOT include tackling more dangerous antisocial behaviour such as inconsiderate parking, parking on the pavement, blocking access to schools for pedestrains and cyclists, parking on cycle lanes, speeding ..Life is hard for the pedestrain or cylist ..See the pictures of Cardiff Bay this weekend above

CARDIFF FRIENDS OF THE EARTH DEMO 22 April

Cardiff Friends of the Earth are organizing a Cycle Demo on SUNDAY, 22nd APRIL (which happens to be Earth Day) to campaign for a cycle/pedestrian bridge over the river Ely.
For all the millions thrown at the International Sports Village, the developers could not be bothered to provide a safe way for cyclists and pedestrians to access the site from Penarth, which is only a stone's throw away across the river. The only option is to chance the Cogan Spur flyover, with its 60mph speed limit and no pavement.

Assembly point is the Cogan Rail Station car park, Penarth, at 11hrs AM. We will then cycle up to Baron's Court Junction, over the Spur (en mass), through the big roundabout at the bottom by Asda, and then back up again on the same route to finish in the car park again.

If you are not a cyclist, you can still come and participate. Although the police do not allow pedestrians on the spur itself, pedestrian demonstrators could assemble in the car park, walk up to the junction with the cyclists, and then stand on the pavement near the Spur. If you could bring a banner or sign, this would have the added bonus of alerting motorists to the purpose of the demonstration. Families and children are particularly welcome. Contact: Marc Buehner mbuehner@mac.com.

RFI0414 Cycle Bridge over River Ely

Picture Local group members try to cross the River Ely

Lib Dems U turn for aggressive Car lobby

Lib Dems do a U turn

Listening to residents’ views on parking: Cllr. Ed Bridges and Cllr. Cathy Pearcy want a workable solution to Gabalfa’s parking congestion problems.
The only working solution is CPZs. Have you listened to the elderly, disabled people, pedestrains and others who don't get as much coverage in the newspapers?

What other options to address parking congestion would be acceptable to the pro car anacharists lobby? None, I'll bet.

The original consultation showed a majority of residents backed the scheme. How is this no longer the case?
Feet first ANOTHER WAY is POSSIBLE
One man Michael Loveday, dedication to ridding the streets of cars and handing power back to pedestrians appears to be working wonders
Chris Arnot Wednesday March 14, 2007 The Guardian

Plans for Cardiff council to take over enforcement of parking controls from the police must carry on if the capital is to kept moving. That is the claim of Cardiff Bus' managing director David Brown recently. Mr Brown believes the abandonment of controlled parking zones should not stop a city-wide 'decriminalised' scheme because it could lead to anarchy as motorists continue to ignore traffic regulations.
Mr Brown went on: 'I don't think the benefits of CPZs were fully understood. That decision has now been taken so we have to move on. 'But there is still clearly unanimous support for enforcement of parking controls and tackling illegal parking.
'That will benefit residents but also the bus company because discourteous drivers parking at junctions or on double yellow lines do slow buses through traffic.


See also Living Streets
Manual for Streets article speaks up for pedestrians

Living Streets on the Manual for Streets is launched, Tom Franklin, Chief Executive of Living Streets, has written a feature for Surveyor magazine on the positive implications of the Manual, and where more could be done.

Guiding Steps to free up the streets
'For decades, our streets have been designed around the needs of cars rather than people. But over the past few years, the excuses for doing so have been running low. Local authorities have come to see the benefits of more people-friendly streets - for communities, the environment and the local economy.'