A UK study found that telling potential SUV buyers that those vehicles directly result in higher fatalities for pedestrians, cyclists and children had zero effect on their decision to buy them. What does work? Financial penalties: Increased fees, taxes, parking. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

SUV buyers undeterred by warnings of risk to pedestrians, UK study finds

Exclusive: Research suggests financial penalties necessary if number of large vehicles on roads is to be reduced

theguardian.com

I've lifted the paywall on this, but if you can pay to subscribe (from £4 a month), it helps me do more stories like this!

Laura Laker@lauralaker.bsky.social · yesterday

“It’s perverse that people who want to walk and cycle are penalised because the motor traffic is too polluting". National Highways closes cycling and walking routes beside heavily polluted roads lauralaker.substack.com/p/national-h...

Coming soon... 🐝

The West Leeds Dispatch, here, actively encouraging its readers to object to the mildest of road changes. Comments as you'd expect.

Traffic order offers last chance to have say on £2.9m Armley Town Street revamp - West Leeds Dispatch

By John Baron Armley shoppers and businesses can have their say on £2.9 million scheme which could see part of Armley Town Street become bus only. The scheme aims to […]

westleedsdispatch.com

“As Aydin jumps a scooter over ramps set up in the middle of the road, children around him are drawing with chalk, blowing bubbles and kicking a football in a spot where cars are usually driving through.” Good job Leeds. More children should have the chance to play in their neighbourhood like this.

Leeds: The city closing down streets so children can play

In Leeds, streets are being temporarily closed to traffic so kids have more space to safely play - an initiative proving beneficial to both children and adults.

bbc.co.uk

You should be able to lock your Bluesky account when you go to bed. No nasty surprises from the overnight shift.

It's not about punching up or down. Some people just love punching, and love being given the excuse to do so.

A Memorandum of Understanding with Active Travel England, adopted in 2024, wasn't published until we unearthed it under the Freedom of Information Act. Even now, we can see no signs of the promised annual reports on progress in putting it into practice transportactionnetwork.org.uk/national-hig...

National Highways must come clean on pedestrian and cycle safety

We recently highlighted National Highways' serious failure to meet its road casualty reduction targets - despite their claim that "safety is our most important commitment”. Worse still is their failur...

transportactionnetwork.org.uk

If National Highways applied this logic to road safety, they'd be banning pedestrians and cyclists.

Laura Laker@lauralaker.bsky.social · yesterday

“It’s perverse that people who want to walk and cycle are penalised because the motor traffic is too polluting". National Highways closes cycling and walking routes beside heavily polluted roads lauralaker.substack.com/p/national-h...

IT'S RAINING

Oh Yeah

YouTube video by Release - Topic

youtube.com

“It’s perverse that people who want to walk and cycle are penalised because the motor traffic is too polluting". National Highways closes cycling and walking routes beside heavily polluted roads lauralaker.substack.com/p/national-h...

National Highways closes walking and cycling routes beside heavily polluted roads

Roads body accused of 'perversely penalising' walkers and cyclists for motor traffic pollution

lauralaker.substack.com

Please find here a link to a survey asking women about their experiences as pedestrians, runners, cyclists, drivers, passengers, and public transport users commissioned by GMCA. Click here to fill out: https://www.qualtrics.manchester.ac.uk/jfe/form/SV_eA8j3duPFH5CtrE

I wish people were more concerned about politicians dressing like this than what they wear in parliament.

Alex Andreou@sturdyalex.bsky.social · 2d ago

The state of this. A lovely day out for Badenoch and Philp, playing dress up and making pronouncements about early release schemes - having left the country with one hundred available men's prison places, after fourteen years in charge. You read that right. One hundred places.

Robert Weetman and @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social have just announced the first dates for their two-day masterclass in better side road junction design (19th & 26th October). Costs and booking details will follow, but we've posted an update on LinkedIn this morning. www.linkedin.com/posts/cityin...

Coming soon – Pedestrian-friendly side road junctions online masterclass Robert Weetman and Mark Philpotts are excited to launch dates for their first two-day online expert workshop exploring their… ...

Coming soon – Pedestrian-friendly side road junctions online masterclass Robert Weetman and Mark Philpotts are excited to launch dates for their first two-day online expert workshop exploring their p...

linkedin.com

If you're feeling intimidated by the number of books that certain FT staff are devouring while on holiday, rest assured that the median UK adult has read three books in the past year.

New poll finds 40% of Britons have not read a book in the past year

The median British adult has read or listened to three books in the past 12 months with reading habits also split along gender, class and political divides

theguardian.com

Have your say on proposals to help reduce flood risk in Hazel Grove and Offerton. Meet the project team and learn more about the proposed Poise Brook Flood Risk Management Scheme at a community drop-in event on Thursday 13 August, 3pm to 7pm at Offerton Community Centre, SK2 5NX.

Assuming you must build a data centre (purely for the sake of argument), why would you put it in a dense urban area with high land values and a risk of future droughts? Why not somewhere with cheaper land and a more reliable water supply?

The Oxford Road Cycle Bot is once again on Mastodon: mastodon.org.uk/@oxfordroadmcr Thanks to Lucy for making this happen!

Oxford Road Cycle Bot (@oxfordroadmcr@mastodon.org.uk)

1 Post, 0 Following, 1 Follower · Daily cycling data from the Oxford Road Cycleway, Manchester. This reports the number of cyclists going past the digital cycle counters installed near Denmark Road j...

mastodon.org.uk

I won't be celebrating his death, but I certainly won't be celebrating his life.

I fear some of my best chats happen while I'm doing something else. There's something about chat as the main focus which makes me incapable of chatting.

Owler Nook@owlernook.bsky.social · 2d ago

Absolutely this! I think it's true of any structured activity that *isn't* explicitly team-building. One of my first jobs involved team-building exercises. I'm shy and was having a bad time, and found them torture. But given a group task which we were all focused on, and chatting just happened.

Someone cut me up in the supermarket earlier. They immediately said sorry. I smiled and said 'That's OK!', and immediately recognised my faux pas. I'll have to shop somewhere else now.

One of my fave things in York Minster: a medieval wren stalking a spider. It reminds me that history isn't only kings and battles. Someone, centuries ago, found joy in the same things we still notice today. It's a reminder of how much we have in common over our differences.

"In 1981, the US government brought together a group of experts under the distinctly MCU-esque name of the Human Interference Taskforce. Their mission: to work out how to tell people in the unimaginably distant future that they were at risk of radiation poisoning."

Atomic priests and self-replicating cars

Nuclear semiotics, Automania 2000 and a VERY special offer.

jonn.substack.com

Bins have gone woke. We repeat: BINS ARE NOW WOKE

The bins in Stockport went 'woke', and people are fuming

"I think it's darn right cheeky. I live on my own. I do not have that much rubbish"

manchestereveningnews.co.uk

My birthday book haul included Kalpa Imperial by Angélica Gorodisher. Would love to compare notes.

Time to close the lid on the MEN.

Job adverts which can be closed early are discriminating against a whole variety of people. Please stop doing this.

Its great to see this new webpage from DfT that maps casualty stats over the last 5 years in communities. It has filters such as age, speed limit, local authority and you can drill down into every crash. See

I was driving along Chester Road, Stretford the other day, when I saw a child cycling safely along the new cycle lanes. Alone, no adult with them. And I rejoiced, because this is precisely what the new lanes are FOR. 🙌 (Adults can use them too! 🤣)

Alongside the excellent @danieljdunford.bsky.social and @joelysantacruz.bsky.social I have crunched some of the numbers on yesterday's Greater Manchester by-election for Sky News here: news.sky.com/story/comfor...

Comfortable victory, but uncomfortable numbers for Labour in Greater Manchester

Bev Craig's triumph was great news for Labour - but zoom out and the figures show that Labour's first preference share was down 16 points on Andy Burnham's 2024 win.

news.sky.com