Gareth Hooper
@garethhooper.bsky.social
Advocate for active travel and clean air. Cyclist. Rower. Runner. Quantitative analyst in healthcare 🌐 Birmingham
@zackpolanski.bsky.social's ability to communicate through social media has been fabulous. As a member of the Green Party, I'm beginning to worry sloppy use of social media may undo the hitherto successes he's had. Reform is dying, Greens must hold Labour to account in an erudite way
“Paris has embarked on a grand transformation, planting 155k trees, adding hundreds of kms of bike lanes, pedestrianising 300 school streets and banning cars from the banks of the Seine. Parking has been turned into green space…Fewer parents fear their child being run over when they walk to school.”
How Paris swapped cars for bikes – and transformed its streets
Under Anne Hidalgo – mayor for 12 years until last week – the French capital added bike lanes, cut traffic and reclaimed public space, but not without resistance
theguardian.com
National Highways are at it again, this time they have the intention to infill a bridge in Hertfordshire... www.change.org/p/save-bridg...
Sign the Petition
Save Bridge 2062 from being infilled
change.org
I can't work out if this is intended as a punishment to Lisa Nandy, who clearly hates the job; or a punishment to the entire UK culture sector, which is suffering as a result of that. Maybe both?
None of these measures will be effective. Meanwhile, Paris has made the streets in front of 300 schools permanently car free. Not all cities value the children of their communities equally.
Six Birmingham schools set for new road safety measures
Roads near the schools are set for work such as speed humps and yellow lines to boost safety.
bbc.co.uk
The bus experience in Birmingham Franchising doesn't stop this. Enforcement does
This is what Burnham meant by he won't "out-Green the Greens". I hope there's a huge move to active travel to try and offset this disaster
Caroline Lucas@carolinelucas.bsky.social · 3w agoHard to think of a more deeply damaging start to Burnham’s premiership than giving green light to new oil & gas in N. Sea, if true. It won’t lower bills or lead to greater energy security but will drive an even hotter planet. What a terrible signal to give to rest of the world #ClimateVandalism
If true, how does Shabana make the bond markets sleep easier at night?
Adam Bienkov@adambienkov.bsky.social · 3w agoThe Times reporting that Andy Burnham succeeded in persuading Shabana Mahmood to become Chancellor because it would give her more control over cutting immigration
Birmingham not mentioned. But Manchester is @richardparkerwm.bsky.social West Midlands falling further and further behind....
Simon Kuestenmacher@simongerman600.bsky.social · 3w agoHow common is cycling across major European cities? My beloved Munich does well within Germany but gets smoked by good old Groningen. Infrastructure matters. Better infrastructure leads to more cycling.
Brum? @bhamcitycouncil.bsky.social @brumgreens.bsky.social @birminghamlibdems.bsky.social @brumcjc.bsky.social @johnmunro.bsky.social @betterstreetsforbirmingham.org @birminghamfoe.bsky.social @brumroadsafety.bsky.social @birminghamdispatch.bsky.social @unibirmingham.bsky.social @mybcu.bsky.social
Lior Steinberg@steinberg.nu · 3w agoFix the schools - and you'll fix the city. Meanwhile, Paris has now 300 "rue aux écoles". These are school street where walking, playing, relaxing and cycling is allowed, and driving is forbidden. Around 50% of all public nursery and elementary schools in Paris now have a school street in front.
Reminder: this is tomorrow! 🚉 11am–3pm at the Platform for Community in St Mary’s Church gardens, Moseley. Come and say hello!
Better Streets for Birmingham@betterstreetsforbirmingham.org · last mo.🚉 We’re delighted to be taking part in the FREE Moseley Village Railway Station Family Fun Day! Come and meet our volunteers at the Platform for Community outside St Mary’s Church and chat about making Birmingham’s streets safer, healthier and better for everyone. We hope to see you there!
“So big outdoor watch parties aren’t just the fun option – they’re a boost to community spirit and a stimulus for local economies...” Like it. Would love if it was used to kick start regular neighbourhood street parties or made the idea of using street space for shared experiences a norm.
John Drury@profjohndrury.bsky.social · 3w agoThe collective joy of the big screen - the World Cup and beyond www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
If Burnham is explicitly rejecting neoliberalist, what economic policy is he adopting?
📣 We're delighted to partner with two leading thinkers and practitioners, @cormacrussell.bsky.social & @lisamcnally.bsky.social, to host their provocation paper which we hope will spark much-needed debate on a potential future for neighbourhood health approaches. www.newlocal.org.uk/publications...
Putting the Neighbourhood Back into Neighbourhood Health - New Local
New Local is delighted to partner with two leading thinkers and practitioners, Cormac Russell and Lisa McNally, to host their provocation paper, which we hope will spark much-needed debate on […]
newlocal.org.uk
I gave evidence to the Transport Select Committee yesterday on Speed for its inquiry into the Road Safety Strategy. I appeared alongside Lilli Matson of TfL, Adrian Berendt of @20splenty.bsky.social and Rob Török, emergency doctor. Hope I got my points across. View: parliamentlive.tv/event/index/...
Parliamentlive.tv
Transport Committee
parliamentlive.tv
Still find it fascinating the complete mess of the city she represents isn't seen as a negative thing. It's almost as if the ongoing bin strike (and lack of household recycling for over a year) doesn't get any attention. Just imagine if what is happening in Birmingham was in London.
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 3w agoShabana Mahmood set to be named UK chancellor by Andy Burnham ft.trib.al/B8BshzA
So the one minister with Treasury experience is a no-go because he‘ll spook the markets, while a minister with no treasury experience, who hasn’t expressed a single idea on fiscal policy, and whose main contribution to the economy will be negative won’t be? Sorry, this is just ridiculous.
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 3w agoShabana Mahmood set to be named UK chancellor by Andy Burnham ft.trib.al/B8BshzA
Fair play to Labour, they were dangerously close to becoming reasonably popular. Dodged that bullet, again
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 3w agoShabana Mahmood set to be named UK chancellor by Andy Burnham ft.trib.al/B8BshzA
Canceling West Midlands Railway trains because there's not enough staff is an outcome only of incredibly poor policy West Midlands has comparatively high unemployment and car use. Both of which are we're told are constraining productivity and are priorities for reduction
@richardparkerwm.bsky.social the Camp Hill trains are incredibly unreliable. I've had to stop using them. Taxi drivers doing well out of the cancellations I hear..... @birminghamdispatch.bsky.social
I cycled to work the longer way today. At 5.5 miles, that's further than most UK car trips - yet it took me just 22 minutes We urgently need to unblock and enable the millions of short active trips that are being blocked every day because of our collective car dependency. Our health depends on it
Another LTN to be made permanent, and the first in Bristol @roadcc.bsky.social @peterwalker99.bsky.social @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social @ianwalker.bsky.social @engineerlikeagirl.bsky.social www.bristol247.com/news-and-fea...
East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood to be made permanent
Councillors voted 5-4 to approve the full business case
bristol247.com
Went to pick up some stuff I had framed in Stirchley and walked through this. No trees, no sense of place, too much tarmac, *plastic* cladding. This should have been 5 storey courtyard blocks with terraces overlooking the park & 5 mins from the station. A wasted opportunity.
In a city that priorities health, happiness, wellbeing, sustainability and economic growth it would have looked like this.
Interested in why the Chancellor holds the power on this? I could search the web but much more fun to ask you lot!
Ed Davey@eddavey.libdems.org.uk · 4w agoThe Chancellor has the power to stop Farage's cynical ploy. I've written to her this morning urging her to act. Farage should not be allowed to resign until the investigation into his dodgy dealings has concluded. The people of Clacton deserve the facts first.
CLACTON BY-ELECTION KLAXON Now read Ruth's thread on how, even if Nigel Farage fights and wins a by-election, parliament could still continue its investigation into whether he broke the MPs' Code of Conduct
Ruth Fox@ruthfox.bsky.social · 4w ago🧵 Amid all the speculation about Nigel Farage's 2pm statement, it's worth noting paragraph 40 of the Procedural Protocol to the MPs' Code of Conduct. If he announces he's resigning and seeking a by-election, that would not automatically end the investigation into whether he breached the Code in...
