Ruth Kelly goes soft on illegal parkers!

Mirror.co.uk, UK - 16 Aug 2007

Minister: Council action over illegal parking to be curbed
New Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly is "of the view that clamping should only be used in limited circumstances", according to Government guidelines.

Wheel clamps and parking tickets are to be cut down under plans welcomed by drivers yesterday.Only persistent illegal parkers will see their vehicle impounded after 15 minutes.

Ruth Kelly is wrong and wrong again as the public consistantly put inconsiderate parking at the top of their list of antisocial behaviour! uYou just have to look at the sheer number of offences that I have photos of on this site. The culture is of complete disrespect for other citizens particularly the elderly and disabled people.

Housebuilders win battle against green technologies

Guardian Unlimited, UK - The Department for Communities and Local Government is to in effect abolish the so-called "Merton rule", under pressure from housebuilders who do not want ...

CLAMP DOWN
Mirror.co.uk, UK - 16 Aug 2007
Parking tickets and wheel clamping to be cut
Minister: Council action over illegal parking to be curbed
New Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly is "of the view that clamping should only be used in limited circumstances", according to Government guidelines. ...

Leave the car at home - Link between car use, obesity and carbon dioxide emissions

Promote walking!!! Join Living Streets

A New IEEP report makes link between car use, obesity and carbon dioxide emissions
Aug 13, 2007

A new report by the Institute for European Environmental Policy and Adrian Davis Associates published on August 13, 2007 highlights the extent to which car use is implicated in the increase in obesity as well as rising carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

UNFIT FOR PURPOSE: HOW CAR USE FUELS CLIMATE CHANGE AND OBESITY
How trends in walking have changed.
One fifth of all journeys (22 per cent) are under one mile, a distance that can be easily carried out by foot. However in 1975/76 the proportion of journeys under one mile made by foot was 86 per cent, in 1985/86 and 1994/95 it was 81 per cent, and in 2005 it fell to 76 per cent. The
majority of the remainder of trips under one mile (21 per cent) were by car.

Therefore, if today all main drivers (amounting to more than 26 million people) reverted to the walking patterns they had before owning a car (ie miles walked by people with no car), at least 11.1 Mt CO2 could be saved, amounting to 15.4 per cent of total emissions from passenger cars.

Since 1975, the cumulative impact on CO2 emissions of new main drivers halving their walking reached 5.80 Mt CO2 in 2005, equal to approximately 22.2 per cent of the overall increase in CO2 emissions deriving from passenger cars in the last 30 years

The main points of the argument from the report :

Since the Second World War, the continuous increase in car ownership has led to a dramatic decline in walking as a means of transport - muscle power gave way to fossil power.
This report calculates that just by returning to the average distance walked by people in the UK without cars, the rising tide of obesity can be almost halted.

At the same time, a substantial share of individuals' contribution to national carbon dioxide emissions could be avoided.

The report goes on to argue that this could and should be done through renewed efforts to promote walking as transport. This would be vastly cheaper than dealing with the consequences of the obesity epidemic and climate change.

Some key findings from the report:
40% of all journeys in the UK are under 2 miles in length – distances easily covered by up to 30 minutes of brisk walking. Nonetheless, 38% of these journeys are currently by car.
If a typical British adult were to walk just an hour more per week (equivalent to the difference in walking between a typical driver and a non-driver) this would counteract a weight increase of 2 stones over a decade, and a longer-term slide into obesity.
This alone could make a major contribution to halting the trend of increasing obesity across the UK.
The extra walking could displace at least 11 million tonnes of CO2 from cars – amounting to 15.4% of the total emissions from passenger cars.

Lead author, Dr Adrian Davis commented "the substitution of car use for walking is a major contributor to the steep rise in obesity, as walking is the most obvious way for most people to burn calories. A small daily reduction in walking over a decade or more has a profound and damaging impact on body weight."

Carolina Valsecchi from IEEP added that "the twin crises of obesity and climate change are clearly interlinked through the switch from muscle power to engine power for transport. Concerted action is needed to reverse both these trends. Our research demonstrates that something as simple as walking short trips now made by car would be make an important contribution to tackling both obesity and climate change".
Download the full press release (PDF 38KB)
Get the full report
See also the report in the Guardian
Halt school run and get in trim, says report Rachel Williams Tuesday August 14, 2007 The Guardian Cars should be banned from the school run where the distance is walkable to fight obesity in parents and children, the authors of a new report suggest.

Green league for environmental performance

Those of you going back or new to university this autumn have a lot of work to do especially in Wales! The Green League

From 1 to 100 one being the best...

71 -University of Wales Institute, Cardiff [University of Wales]

82 Cardiff - poor environmental performance

Failed
97 Aberystwyth [University of Wales]

97 Lampeter [Part of the University of Wales

Help strengthen roads campaigning

Transport 2000’s Road Block network.
Thanks to efforts of campaigners and the work of Rebecca Lush, the road-building scandal is now starting to get the media attention it deserves. Recent articles in the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/transport/Story/0,,2138044,00.html) and the New Statesman (http://www.newstatesman.com/200708090012) have blown the lid off the cost of the road-building programme – both the cost to the taxpayer and the cost to the environment. We need to keep the pressure on the Government and get these ridiculous policies ditched once and for all.

You can help do this by supporting Transport 2000 and adding your voice to Britain’s biggest environmental transport campaign. The more support we get, the more we can do to put an end to the Government’s short-sighted, environmentally destructive road-building policies.

More and more people across the country are asking transport 2000 for help in stopping road schemes that threaten to blight their neighbourhoods, destroy landscapes and increase noise and air pollution. We’ve been helping as many as we can – but we can only do so much with the resources we have. That’s why your support is so important to us.

We are also determined to continue lobbying the Government for alternatives to building more roads. We’re fighting for more investment in public transport, more freight moved by rail and more policies and programmes that give people real alternatives to driving. Our website - www.transport2000.org.uk – gives full details of all our campaigns.

Please support Transport 2000 today – you can do so online

WAG is planning a new toll motorway across the Gwent levels near Newport

M4 Motorway Widening Scheme - From Junction 29(Castleton) to
Junction 32 (Coryton)
Local information: Maes y Bryn Road / Junction 30
With approval from Cardiff Council, from Monday 6th August 2007, a construction plant crossing near the Site Compound is to be built. This will allow excavated material from the Coryton to Cardiff Gate section now being widened, to be moved by dump trucks and other site vehicles to reach the Rhymney River landscape filling area. Control will be manually operated
temporary traffic lights. The crossing will be in use between 09:30 and 15:30 outside peak travelling hours. This arrangement is due to continue for at least one year.
Cardiff Council is the Local Highway Authority for Maes y Bryn Road and Junction 30 roundabout. Welsh Assembly Government is responsible for the Slip Roads connecting with the M4 motorway. The plant crossing will allow continued access to Deen’s Dutch Garden
Centre in Wales and along Maes y Bryn Road, together with access to Cefn Mably Park and Alfred McAlpine’s Site Compound.

Further information can be obtained from the M4 Widening Public Liaison Officer:
Tel: 07805 619615 By e-mail: M4liaison@alfredmcalpineplc .com
Or visit our web page http://www.m4widening29to32.com/

Freedom of Information website

Stop speeding with Life size cardboard kids!!!

Right before Mike Wood's house in on Main Street in West Salem, Ohio, the speed limit changes from 55 to 35 -- which makes sense, as he lives in a residential neighborhood full of children. However, most drivers don't bother slowing down, making Mike's front yard a dangerous place for his kids to play.
Then he had an idea -- why not remind motorists of the lives they were putting in danger by racing through the neighborhood at such high speeds? That's when Mike made life-sized, cardboard cut-outs of his kids, and placed them a few feet from the curb.
Not only did people start slowing down, but, ironically, a few drivers even shouted at him from their car windows, chastising him for letting his children play so close to a busy road.
Apparently the idea has caught on, and is being posted on law enforcement websites around the country. Mike has even started selling the signs to other concerned parents.
I think most of us fail to think of the consequences when we're driving too fast, hurrying to get someplace on time. This is a great way to remind all drivers that -- no matter what you're late for -- it just isn't worth the risk.

See video!
http://video.wnbc.com/player/?id=136014

E-consultation on Cardiff local Development Plan

The Cardiff council has adopted a new system to improve consultation on new planning policy documents with their stakeholders via the internet. It is the intention of the council to undertake a consultation on a preferred strategy later this year.

To be registered as a user of the new online system of consultation for the Cardiff Local Development Plan - send you email address by Tues. 14th August 2007 to
developmentplanconsultations@cardiff.gov.uk
so you will be able to view documents and representations online.

Make a Difference on 4x4s

By Sian Berry Ecology/Science
From The New Statesman :: print :: email this page

This time last year, we were having a little party at Alliance Against Urban 4×4s HQ after Ken Livingstone announced plans to charge 4×4s (and other gas-guzzlers) a £25 congestion charge just a few weeks after we delivered our petition calling for almost exactly that. Now the hard work really begins as the plan is going out for public consultation this week.

In case you missed them, the proposals aim to introduce a new daily charge of £25 for cars in vehicle excise duty band G, covering cars that emit more than 225 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre. There are also improved discounts for cleaner cars, with all vehicles in bands A and B (emitting less than 120 g/km of carbon dioxide) becoming totally exempt from the charge.

I don’t think anyone can argue that they need a 4×4 or 200 mph sports car in the centre of London and, in the absence of real action from central government, taking the lead and promoting cleaner cars on our own initiative is completely appropriate. The new rate will include all but a handful of 4×4s and every Bentley and Ferrari in town and will even remove their 90% resident’s discount, meaning owners of pointless status symbols will each pay a whopping £6,500 more per year just to have their machines parked in the zone.

I’m being harsh, but it’s an important issue. These cars aren’t harmless; the quantity of carbon dioxide emitted from even the least wasteful band G car is immense. If you have such a car, think about this: 225 g/km is the weight of a brick – of gas! – coming out of your exhaust pipe every five and half miles.

Zero Carbon Britain

Zero Carbon Britain

Centre for alternative technology

Act NOW! The Planning White Paper (PWP) consultation closes on August 17th.

, PWP will lead to a massive expansion in airports, major roads, large centralised nuclear and fossil power stations … all at a time when we desperately need to be cutting back on transport emissions and moving towards a much more efficient decentralised energy system.

In short – PWP is terrible news for climate. Please take action by responding to the PWP consultation before August 17th at:
http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/local/planning/press_for_change/planning_white_paper/

Thanks!
Simon Bowens
Transport and Climate Campaign
Friends of the Earth

Green Film Competition

20 is enough to Save our childrens lives

Put children before Traffic -
20 mph isn't novel, it makes sense. Stop this needless slaughter.'Reclaim streets' call after tot dies ic Wales, - --- And it wants councils to consider novel schemes, such as 20mph zones or even closing off some residential streets to traffic during after-school hours to allow children to play outside. Mike Greenaway, director of Play Wales, said, “Playing out allows ...
A 20 mph Canton and Cardiff: why?
20’s Plenty is Cardiff Green Party’s campaign to bring all residential street traffic speeds down to 20 miles per hour across the city of Cardiff, as part of a wider vision for creating the kind of streets in which we really want to live. This has now started to be implemented in other UK cities.

Communities grow where the streets belong to people, not just to vehicles. Streets should be places in which you can hear yourself speak in which you can safely walk or cycle with your children. Our streets should not be grim thoroughfares serving only fast-moving vehicles.
The Green Party believes the benefits of 20 mph should be felt throughout the city on its residential streets, in the streets where we live, shop and stroll. When traffic is slowed, existing 20mph zones show that people begin to enjoy their environments and use the local amenities more. Main routes would remain at current speed restrictions.

Demo after toddler killed by car BBC News, UK - Members of a Cardiff community have protested about traffic speed after a three-year-old boy died after being hit by a car which failed to stop. ...
Our streets need to be reclaimed for children ic Wales, - 30 Jul 2007
IT IS a sad state of affairs when something so basic as ensuring our streets are safe for children to play requires campaigning, a day of action and pleas ...
Residents give council EIGHT weeks to actic Wales, by David James, South Wales Echo ROAD blockading campaigners spurred on by the death of a three-year-old boy have told Cardiff council: “You’ve got eight ...

Lethal Weapon

Lethal weapon

There’s a lethal weapon
Gleaming bright
Polished
Deadly as dynamite

There’s a lethal weapon
Hold on tight
Safety off
Death’s in sight

There’s a lethal weapon
Guessed it right?
It’s you in your car
On the road tonight

Wreckage

We can repair wrecked cars
We can’t repair wrecked lives
We can replace wrecked cars
We can’t replace dead children, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives…

Poems by David Midmer in memory of his son Nathan, killed aged 22 on 23 December 2000. A pedestrian, he was struck and run over by a car.

Campaign to reclaim streets

It's holiday time, but traffic and 'stranger danger' have driven children indoors Anushka Asthana, education correspondent Sunday July 29, 2007 The Observer
Only two out of 10 British children play in the streets and parks close to their homes each day, compared with seven out of 10 when their parents were growing up - even though campaigners have long maintained that outdoor play is essential to every child's upbringing.

Play in Cardiff
National Playday fun in Heath Park

Just in Heath park - need more committment than that. Streets should be traffic free and allow children out of their houses to play. With this rise in numbers of obese boys soon it will be too late.

....There'll be fun for all next Wednesday (2nd August) in Heath Park as Cardiff Council's Children's Play Service brings all the fun of national Playday to one of the city's most popular parks. National Playday is an initiative supported by the Children's Play Council and has being going for over eighteen years with over 100,000 children taking part each year across the UK.

Play Wales

Play Day in the Vale of Glamorgan

When is it?
An annual event held every year on the first Wednesday in August.

What is it?
National Play Day is a celebration of the child's right to play and each year has a different theme. This year's theme is 'Our Streets Too'.

Saftey first
In the Vale we’re trying to encourage traffic to slow down. Children and young people will be on school holidays and will be using the streets to access local parks and shops, as well as playing on the streets.

What's on offer
Play Schemes and Play Ranger Schemes will be celebrating the event with a range of fun-filled activities. Please see Play Rangers and Play Schemes.

For more information
Telephone: 01446 704809
or email joajones@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk
National Children’s Bureau website: www.ncb.org.uk

Copenhagen - a happier country!

I was in Denmark last week and the only parking problem was for bikes.

The traffic lights count down the length of time you have to wait to cross.

Back in wales the headlines are


More die from drink driving in Wales
and I am not surprised as even the local pubs car park is always full. They can't all be not drinking!

High carbon footprint doesn’t equal happiness
says the The Happy Planet Index which used three factors – ecological impact, life-satisfaction and life-expectancy to calculate a figure that reflects both the ecological efficiency and the well-being of a country’s population. The results were surprising - world-wide the Pacific nation of Vanuatu came out first, while in Europe, the high life-expectancy and low carbon emissions of the Scandinavian nations of Iceland, Sweden and Norway meant that they topped the list. Britain meanwhile, with its high carbon footprint and low level of satisfaction among the population, came 21st, falling behind most other western European nations. Denmark came 6th!

Hummers4Bummers - sign the petition!

Sign my petition ttp://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Hummers4Bummers/
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Ban Hummers

We, the undersigned, declare that Hummers which are over-sized, gas-guzzling, garishly painted, mileage-meager, energy-wasting, global-warming, road-hogging, backward-technology-embracing, inferiority-complex-compensating, cup-holder-infested "sports utility vehicles" are unsportsmanlike, non-utilitarian, and downright bad for the planet and should be banned. The H2 gets about 15 MPG, highway, (10 mpg street), large size/width, high maintenance cost, and potentially-destructive use as off-road vehicles.

Improving St Mary Street and High Street, Cardiff

Still time to have a look - I hope the hours for vans etc willb e limited and also that enforcement is improved dramatically.

Changing landscapes: Improving St Mary Street and High Street

Over the next two years St Mary Street and High Street will undergo dramatic improvements. These changes mean that the area keeps pace with the transformation taking place in the heart of the city centre.
We are working to create a better place to work, shop and visit by reducing traffic, pollution and noise levels - whilst introducing wider pavements and public art to improve the feel of the area.
From the 6 August 2007 traffic along St Mary Street, from its junction with Mill Lane along to and including High Street until the junction at Castle Street, will be restricted. Only buses, taxis, emergency vehicles and cyclists will be permitted to use the road with the exception of delivery and other service vehicles during set times.
The scheme will have two stages:
An experimental traffic order will start on 6 August 2007. This will allow us to assess the impact of the changes. We will be working on further changes as required, based on our own research and the feedback we will collect during the experimental period. During this time we will make sure that any interested party has the opportunity to comment and give feedback.
If successful, an amended permanent traffic order, based on the experimental order and its findings, will be introduced during 2008.
During the experimental period the area will look much the same as it does now. Once the permanent traffic order comes into place changes will be made to the whole area. People will be able to enjoy the experience of shopping in St Mary Street and High Street with fewer vehicles and improved pedestrian access throughout.
If you have queries, comments or feedback about the scheme either write to St Mary Street/ High Street, Transport, Infrastructure and Waste, Cardiff Council, Atlantic Wharf, Cardiff, CF10 4UW or email: tiw-ch@cardiff.gov.uk
Further information can be found on the Cardiff Council website: www.cardiff.gov.uk/stmaryst or come along to the Public Exhibition in The Old Library, The Hayes, Cardiff on Friday 6th July 2007 (10.00 am - 5.00 pm) or Saturday 7th (10.00am - 1.00pm).
We will continue to update you during this period before the order becomes permanent. All comments and feedback will be reviewed and considered as the experimental order progresses however, we cannot guarantee individual replies relating to specific issues.

Rejected petition - any suggestions?

number10@petitions.pm.gov.uk
No 10 writes to me to say
"Hi,
I'm sorry to inform you that your petition has been rejected. Your petition was classed as being in the following categories: * Duplicate - this is similar to and/or overlaps with an existing petition or petitions Further information: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/banurban4x4s/

So you might sign this one
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Ban the use of private 4x4 vehicles in urban environments. More details -
Submitted by Stuart Billington – Deadline to sign up by: 15 June 2008 – Signatures: 9

If you wish to edit and resubmit your petition, please follow the following link: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Hummers4Bummers/CrGkKbB3JgKHA4LMaZAJ9Cu You have four weeks in which to do this, after which your petition will appear in the list of rejected petitions. Your petition reads: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to: 'implement an energy policy that promotes gas-saving technologies' We, the undersigned, declare that over-sized, gas-guzzling, garishly painted, mileage-meager, energy-wasting, global-warming, road-hogging, backward-technology-embracing, inferiority-complex-compensating, cup-holder-infested "sports utility vehicles" are unsportsmanlike, non-utilitarian, and downright bad for the planet.

Enable local communities to have more say

The Green Party today called on Hazel Blears to take her new proposals on local democracy further by enabling local communities to have a truly meaningful input into the planning and decision-making process.
Communities Secretary Hazel Blears today announced that direct ballots would be held in local areas over "big choices" on local council spending, including choosing priorities between "play areas, youth facilities, traffic calming or more community wardens". Pilot schemes could be extended to allow the petitioning of councils to consider policy proposals from the public
http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/3055

Transport 2000 search for worst linked train stations

Transport 2000 are searching for the UK’s worst linked train stations, by this we mean stations that are difficult to access without a car and therefore isolate many members of the community. We would like to hear from people about their experiences of their journey to the local train station. We want to send a strong message to the government, Network Rail, rail operators, local authorities and bus operators asking them to work together and improve access to our train stations.
Please see the e-flyer below outlining further information on the survey.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to fill out the survey

Vote your station as the “Weakest Link”! Is your local railway station difficult to get to?
Well now is your chance to name and shame that station! Transport 2000 is running a nationwide competition to find out which stations are difficult to access by bike, foot, bus, or by people using a walking aid or wheelchair. In a bid to highlight the need for high level station integration with cycling, walking, buses and taxis as a means of reducing car dependency, the competition will highlight some of the worst integrated stations in the country and highlight some of the exceptional ones as well.

It takes just five minutes to fill in the survey on-line and you will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win travel vouchers of your choice.
The Weakest Link survey can be completed online: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=PcEpPJbr6Jzp7mdXX_2fD3mw_3d_3d
People wishing a paper copy can request one from Tara Melton at Transport 2000 tara.melton@transport2000.org.uk; 020 7613 7716
The competition runs until 8 August and results will be announced 24 August on Transport 2000’s website.