Adam Tranter

@adamtranter • 23,219 subscribers

Urbanism + Active Travel. Founder @fusionmediasvs, co-host @podstreetsahead. Was Cycling & Walking Commissioner for @andy4wm. Views all mine. Substack in bio 👇

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The Embankment cycleway (CS3) in London was purposefully built to be wider than was usual in order to future proof it. Some said it would hardly be used. Now there’s a decent case for widening it further.

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Just as you thought food delivery companies couldn't inflict any more misery on society: Instead of using lowly-paid gig economy contractors to deliver groceries, they're replacing humans with robots, who, in turn, force humans off the pavement into road traffic.

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$What if I told you we could make crossing the road easier, more comfortable, and make walking more attractive for short journeys? What if I told you this could be done at a fraction of the cost of the usual way, by using "simplified" or "side road" zebra crossings? What if I told you the studies have shown they have high levels of compliance, even without the usual Belisha beacons? What if I told you the presence of these simplified crossings is merely reinforcing pedestrian priority already detailed within the Highway Code updates? What if I told you civil servants and Government ministers use them every day (the video shown is outside the Department for Transport offices), but only because one local authority decided to take a risk and try them out (credit Westminster City Council), despite official guidance not permitting them. What if I told you they could cost as little as £300, compared to between £50,000-£100,000 for a full zebra crossing with Belisha beacons. What if I told you they were already commonplace all across Europe? What if I told you, starting March 11, 2026, Welsh local authorities can install simplified zebra crossings at side road junctions in 20mph zones? (because: Devolution) It's about time England got a move on and permitted them through updating The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016. The Government could also publish the long-awaited Manual for Streets 3, while they were at it.$

What if I told you we could make crossing the road easier, more comfortable, and make walking more attractive for short journeys? What if I told you this could be done at a fraction of the cost of the usual way, by using "simplified" or "side road" zebra crossings? What if I told you the studies have shown they have high levels of compliance, even without the usual Belisha beacons? What if I told you the presence of these simplified crossings is merely reinforcing pedestrian priority already detailed within the Highway Code updates? What if I told you civil servants and Government ministers use them every day (the video shown is outside the Department for Transport offices), but only because one local authority decided to take a risk and try them out (credit Westminster City Council), despite official guidance not permitting them. What if I told you they could cost as little as £300, compared to between £50,000-£100,000 for a full zebra crossing with Belisha beacons. What if I told you they were already commonplace all across Europe? What if I told you, starting March 11, 2026, Welsh local authorities can install simplified zebra crossings at side road junctions in 20mph zones? (because: Devolution) It's about time England got a move on and permitted them through updating The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016. The Government could also publish the long-awaited Manual for Streets 3, while they were at it.

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Adam Tranter

Shorts

The Embankment cycleway (CS3) in London was purposefully built to be wider than was usual in order to future proof it. Some said it would hardly be used. Now there’s a decent case for widening it further.

Just as you thought food delivery companies couldn't inflict any more misery on society: Instead of using lowly-paid gig economy contractors to deliver groceries, they're replacing humans with robots, who, in turn, force humans off the pavement into road traffic.

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Watch Anya Live

Bicycles are hugely space efficient, which is why they make a lot of sense in congested cities. This video demonstrates why there aren’t traffic jams in bike lanes.

You might think that a man who drove into 100 people, using his car as a weapon, would NEVER be able to drive again. It turns out he will be able to, around three years after leaving prison by taking an extended retest. Why should he ever be able to get behind the wheel again?

“Nobody will cycle in bad weather.” The Netherlands:

Samson Leonard Biddle, 37, failed to stop for police, driving dangerously. Eventually, tactical contact stopped him. Upon being arrested, he refused to give a specimen. You might not be hugely reassured that he received just a 6-month suspended sentence and 4-year driving ban.

It is a miracle that the mother and her child escaped serious injury in this incident in Solihull. I am concerned that the driver has not been arrested and have asked the Police for more information. If we are to reduce danger on our roads we need to learn from every collision.

Car brand BYD's new SUV ad pokes fun at people walking and cycling, comparing them to Horse &amp; Carts. It joins a long list of car ads that sell a false promise of convenience and aspiration while punching down at sustainable transport modes. So I made it a bit more realistic...

This is the UK premiere of a new genre of video. Robotaxi companies will rush out excuses. There will be many, many more examples of this kind.

Sensitive content

If you want to understand how much, as a society, we’ve slowly normalised road danger, watch this clip from tonight’s BBC News at Six. I personally don’t think horrific crashes like this should be in the light-hearted “and finally” section.

So disappointing to see the lack of political will now in Birmingham for safer streets. After questions from Babiker Yahia, whose 4-year-old daughter Mayar was killed by a driver in April 2024, only one candidate (after a pause) backed 20mph limits on all residential streets.

Very important line here from Louise Haigh on road safety: "We treat road safety in a way as if it is somehow a natural accident. If the number of people being killed or seriously injured on our roads, were being killed in any other way, we'd be treating it as a pandemic."

Thank you to everyone this year who submitted video evidence to West Midlands Police. Drivers make up the majority of submissions, but whether you’re walking, cycling, driving or using public transport, you’re making the roads safer when you make a report. Here are some recent results 👇

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The SUV that many think of as safe for their kids is actually not safe at all.

In 1972, the Amsterdam neighbourhood of De Pijp saw clashes between parents who wanted safer streets for kids and drivers who wanted to cut through. I went to visit yesterday, 51 years later. The traffic filters and playgrounds remain. It is a place many people want to live. 🧵

We can all do our bit to call out dangerous driving and make it clear it's not welcome in our communities. I'm really grateful to Birmingham's Green Lane Masjid & Community Centre for producing this hard-hitting film on road safety. One mistake behind the wheel can change lives forever.

An important point made by former active travel minister Trudy Harrison today: In schools, when you ask how many kids cycle to school: no hands go up. When you ask how many kids would like to cycle to school: all the hands go up. 🙋‍♀️🙋🏻‍♂️ We owe it to kids to enable them.

A quarter of our car journeys are under 2 miles. When more people cycle, everybody wins.

From the BBC Archive: Will CARS Spell the Death of Birmingham City Centre? (1964) I'm afraid it did. Birmingham planners bet big on cars in the 1960s, reshaping the city around traffic flow—not people. The result? A hollowed-out centre, struggling retail, and urban decline.

There's a lot of talk about growth but rarely any discussion on how we enable children to live prosperous, happy and productive lives. It will have benefits both now and in the future. The school run is the epitome of inefficiency. These kids know there's a much better way.

70% of wheelchair users said pavement parking was a regular problem, forcing them into the road. London can ban pavement parking; why can't the rest of the country? There seems to be widespread support for it; for example, 78% of Daily Express readers back a ban. Let's do it.

I was recently asked on Active Travel Cafe what one thing I'd change to boost active travel. Undoubtedly, it would be to overhaul the cumbersome and restrictive "business caseification" of schemes. This adds cost and slows the transition to sustainable transport. It needs fixing.

Car brand BYD's new SUV ad pokes fun at people walking and cycling, comparing them to Horse & Carts. It joins a long list of car ads that sell a false promise of convenience and aspiration while punching down at sustainable transport modes. So I made it a bit more realistic...