Snowfall across the UK has shown how our streets could be very different places to live, says UK charity Sustrans.
With many vehicles immobile or travelling slower than usual due to the snow, children have had the chance to claim back their streets for play and more people are walking to school and work rather than relying on their cars.
Sustrans launched its ‘Quality Streets’ campaign earlier this month, calling for 20mph speed limits in residential streets across the UK www.quality-streets.org.uk
Malcolm Shepherd, Sustrans' CEO said: ‘Snow is a very real demonstration of how, when cars are slowed right down or taken off the roads completely, children take the opportunity to play freely outdoors, neighbours socialise, and people connect with their surroundings more. This is precisely the vision we have for Quality Streets.
‘The lack of opportunity for children to play safely in their own street and people to travel more safely on foot or bike is contributing to an obesity epidemic which puts the UK near the top of the world’s fat league tables.
‘Too many residential streets are clogged by traffic when they could be safe public spaces where children can play safely outside their front doors and travel independently. The Government announced last week that it plans to measure UK quality of life and well-being in 2012, and having streets that are made for people to live in rather than traffic to drive through, could have a significantly positive impact on that.’
Visit www.quality-streets.org.uk before the end of February, 2011 to lobby your local councillor for a 20mph street.
The Sustrans website - www.sustrans.org.uk - has a free online map service to discover how to get around everyday on foot or by bike. Search for local or national routes, plot journeys, or find what the local area has to offer from schools, supermarkets and local landmarks to car clubs, bus stops and bike shops.
Sustrans is the UK ’s leading sustainable transport charity. Its vision is a world in which people choose to travel in ways that benefit their health and the environment. It is achieving this through innovative but practical solutions to the UK ’s transport challenges.
This year Sustrans is marking the fifteenth anniversary of the National Cycle Network. On 11 September 1995, an award from the Millennium Commission enabled Sustrans to embark on the first 2,500 miles of a 6,500 mile National Cycle Network. The Network now extends to just over 12,600 miles and carries one million walking and cycling journeys every day.
Sustrans is calling on UK governments to invest in doubling the number of journeys under five miles made by foot, bike and public transport to four out of five by 2020. Its current campaign for Quality Streets, www.quality-streets.org.uk, highlights the importance of slower speeds and encourages people to lobby their councillors for 20mph speed limits across whole villages, towns and cities.
Wouldn’t life be great if the street outside your front door felt like your own space? Somewhere to chat with your neighbours, kick a ball with the kids, get about by foot and bike? Somewhere to give us all a better quality of life - a quality street. Sign up to our Quality Streets campaign and improve your local environment.
Sustrans makes smarter travel choices possible, desirable and inevitable. We`re a leading UK charity enabling people to travel by foot, bike or public transport for more of the journeys we make every day. It`s time we all began making smarter travel choices. Make your move and support Sustrans today.
Source: Sustrans
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