Campaign win: Healthy Streets funding increase! - Better Streets for Birmingham

Campaign win: Healthy Streets funding increase!

Cabinet agrees to increase ward-level street change funding to £50k per year per councillor, a key step to address the road safety emergency

betterstreetsforbirmingham.org

As we come together this afternoon to mark the second anniversary of the road safety emergency, news break of yet another fatality. This time on a stretch of road awaiting average speed enforcement. We need more collectively urgency to address the everyday issue of Birmingham's road safety crisis.

Today!

Better Streets for Birmingham@betterstreetsforbirmingham.org · 7d ago

A reminder that this is happening Friday 4 September. Join us in Victoria Square at 5pm to remember those killed or seriously injured on Birmingham’s roads and call for meaningful action to make our streets safer. Then join us for Circle the City at 6pm Please come along and show your support 💚

Statement: 20's plenty for Birmingham.

Statement: 20's plenty for Birmingham

20mph means calmer, safer and easier to cross residential streets where fewer crashes happen. Crashes that do happen are less severe. This couldn’t be more important in a city where someone dies in a...

betterstreetsforbirmingham.org

A reminder that this is happening Friday 4 September. Join us in Victoria Square at 5pm to remember those killed or seriously injured on Birmingham’s roads and call for meaningful action to make our streets safer. Then join us for Circle the City at 6pm Please come along and show your support 💚

Paint only lanes are known as murderstrips for a very good reason. They legitimise close passing as plod won't prosecute drivers when they skim past you with cm to spare.

Jon Owen@anotherjon.bsky.social · 2w ago

Research undertaken here in the UK (see below) found that unprotected 'paint-only' cycle lanes are actually worse than nothing at all, so their only purpose is for a local authority to be seen to be delivering some cycle provision. road.cc/content/news...

Sadly the kid has now died, so is another child who set off on his bike never to return home. Hopefully his killer will now be brought to justice.

Arrest as boy, 16, dies in crash outside Birmingham City ground

A man, 47, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after the death of the teenage cyclist

birminghammail.co.uk

Martin Price@mrmjprice.bsky.social · 2w ago

Another kid who hasn’t yet got home safely, scarred for life. Another group of friends put off cycling. Another driver evading justice (for now). Another day of Birmingham’s road safety emergency.

We're overhauling 116th Street to make your bus faster: 2.5 miles of new bus lanes. Queue jumps that give buses a green light before other vehicles at intersections. Protected bike lanes. 35,000 square feet of new pedestrian space.

A reminder: Friday 4 September. Concerned about road safety in Birmingham? Fed up with dangerous driving and want to see meaningful action? Join us in Victoria Square at 5pm. Let’s make sure Birmingham’s Road Safety Emergency doesn’t become just words on paper.

Better Streets for Birmingham@betterstreetsforbirmingham.org · last mo.

We have just passed the 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY of the ROAD SAFETY EMERGENCY. Over that period all casualties from road collisions HAVE NOT MEANINGFULLY CHANGED staying at around 3,000 per year! We are meeting on Friday the 4th of September to honour those affected and call for meaningful improvements.

Thinking today of all the water-absorbing front gardens torn out and paved over to park cars on - all without any government oversight or regulation.

Birmingham weather warning as 'significant flooding' leads to fire service callouts

Heavy rain creates problems for residents, with flood alerts in place on Thursday across the region.

bbc.co.uk

Another kid who hasn’t yet got home safely, scarred for life. Another group of friends put off cycling. Another driver evading justice (for now). Another day of Birmingham’s road safety emergency.

Driver in hit-and-run on boy, 16, told 'hand yourself in'

Police believe the driver was behind the wheel of a Vauxhall Astra which was left abandoned at the scene

birminghammail.co.uk

I think cars are out of control. Pavement parking in Greater Manchester (and many other places) is a plague that nobody does anything about, and active travel infrastructure is very patchy and lacking. But sure, tell me how there's a war on cars.

Peter Walker@peterwalker99.bsky.social · 2w ago

I mean it's a slight over-simplification, but yes, that's more or less what transport policy *should* be like and sometimes is, certainly in urban areas.

The fallout from the collapse of this glacier - a torrent of mud surging down the valley - killed hundreds of people. Gone, in a flash. Those people were wiped out by anthropogenic climate change. Our governments are simply not responding quickly enough to this disaster which is already upon us.

Nahel Belgherze@wxnb.bsky.social · 2w ago

An incredibly well-timed Landsat 9 pass captured the effects of yesterday’s catastrophic glacier collapse near the Nepal–Tibet border. The event was so massive that it was detected by seismometers around the world.

A large part of rightwing discourse consists of denying other people's suffering.

This really resonates. My bike is basically my car. I’ve recorded 2,978km this year (59km/week), and I don’t record every journey. Most is A to B travel around Brum. We bought e-bikes too - not for every ride, but they’re a game changer. Saw loads in the Netherlands. Imagine this being normal.

Brent Toderian@brenttoderian.bsky.social · 2w ago

“Dutch people cycle an average of 2.6km each per day. If this pattern was replicated worldwide, annual carbon emissions would drop by 686 million tonnes. This mammoth figure exceeds the entire carbon footprint of most countries, including the UK, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Australia.” @euronews.com

Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands: Why the World’s Happiest Countries Are Also Cycling Leaders. momentummag.com/the-worlds-h...

Great opinion piece in The Guardian on the #20mph media frenzy over the past week, generated from just being a footnote - continuing a 12-year-old policy - in the next Birmingham Local Plan!

Dear culture-war motorists, look to the future. We'll all be driving at 20mph soon | Christian Wolmar

There are howls of protest from the right about plans for Birmingham to be a 20mph city. But it will be a good thing, and others will follow, says transport writer and podcaster Christian Wolmar

theguardian.com

Mood-boosting benefits of birdsong drowned out by traffic noise, study finds

Mood-boosting benefits of birdsong drowned out by traffic noise, study finds

Even low levels of traffic noise can negate the benefits of listening to natural sounds, researchers say Hearing the trill or whistle of a bird while going about daily life is well known to boost people’s mood. But a new study suggests the psychological benefits of hearing birdsong are being threatened by traffic noise. Researchers found that even low levels of traffic noise negatively affected the benefits to wellbeing that could otherwise be derived from listening to natural sounds. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Liverpool vs Birmingham ~ This City Moves! Two regions, one leaderboard, six weeks. Here’s our cofounder @sutchfun.bsky.social to tell you more: Pick your daily step goal, discover local walking and wheeling routes, and earn points to help your city take the crown.

Funded by the UK Government & Active Travel England & brought to you by Go Jauntly @nationaltrust.org.uk @bhamcitycouncil.bsky.social @lpoolcityregion.bsky.social 🌿 🔗 walks.gojauntly.com/leaderboards...)

Go Jauntly - This City Moves

Birmingham vs Liverpool

walks.gojauntly.com

Any politician serious about protecting the citizens of Birmingham will support 20mph to reduce the number of crashes and their severity. Given someone is killed every fortnight on our city's streets, those opposed should set out how many Brummies they deem it acceptable to die.

A considered and balanced article on Birmingham's plans to set 20mph as the norm for its streets. www.highwaysindustry.com/birmingham-2... "Birmingham’s move also shows how speed policy is shifting in local government." #20splenty4people

Birmingham 20mph roads plan: city sets new default speed

Birmingham 20mph roads will become the standard on all local routes under a new city vision, shifting speed policy from one-off schemes into network management.

highwaysindustry.com

100%. One of the more annoying things about being in Brum is the constant desire to point out to whoever I am with that xyz 3-lane relatively small local road could just very easily be switched to 2 car lanes and one bike lane instead.

Proud to have signed this statement alongside 50+ other civil society organisations, led by the Campaign for Better Transport. Better streets mean healthier, more resilient communities. 👏 www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Heatwaves show UK must do more to promote cycling and walking, campaigners say

Civil society groups argue climate crisis means transport sector needs to urgently reduce its carbon emissions

theguardian.com

Campaign for Better Transport@bettertransport.bsky.social · 2w ago

This summer's floods and heatwaves have shown the urgency of the climate crisis. We've gathered together 50+ organisations to call for stronger action on transport. Read our joint statement 👇

This is not a natural calamity: it is being done to us knowingly

This is not a natural calamity: it is being done to us knowingly

Global heating is an outrage, not a tragedy. We deserve the facts about the climate crisis – I choose the Guardian because it’s one of the few places left to share them honestly

theguardian.com

Push Bikes Infra Safari to Dudley Rd Some good bits and some compromises www.pushbikes.org.uk/blog/dudley-... @betterstreetsforbirmingham.org @adamtranter.bsky.social @cyclinguk.bsky.social @shivajishivalaw.bsky.social

An important issue across the country … @betterstreetsforbirmingham.org

Alison Stenning@alisonstenning.bsky.social · 3w ago

Road safety is a social justice issue. “The number of children killed or injured crossing roads is almost five times higher in England’s most deprived areas than its wealthiest” … and the gap is widening.

🎬 On Tuesday 15 Sept, Sarah Chaundler’s award-winning City of Cars will be screened at Birmingham Council House before Full Council. Please ask your councillor to attend: www.birmingham.gov.uk/councillors/... @sarahchaundler.bsky.social

✨ Glow Rides are back! After a brilliant first year, communities across the UK are getting ready to light up the streets again. Women-led and open to everyone, Glow Rides highlight the need for safer streets and better cycle routes. Thinking of organising one? 👇 cyclinguk.org/glow-rides

He was right about ULEZ He’s right about Brexit. No need to “revisit old arguments”/lies now we know it’s rubbish and costing us a fortune. Moving on means admitting this and asking about how to now join. Not pretending it’s ok in case Farage loses his shit. www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/sad...

'Brexit lies are exposed, the debate is settled... we must rejoin the EU' - Sadiq Khan

This is searing stuff from Sadiq Khan, and his arguments for the UK to rejoin the EU are as clear and comprehensive as it gets.

thelondoneconomic.com