Walk don’t ride (except by bike): how to reduce your exposure to road traffic pollution

If you want to avoid health threatening pollution from traffic – the kind that kills thousands of people every year - walking (and cycling) is better then travelling inside a vehicle (car or bus) – these screenshots show the results of an experiment in London. It’s worth watching the video of the whole experiment, hosted on the Guardian website.

Traffic un-jammed: My (as yet) unpublished letter to The Argus

Dear Sir
Whilst reading the stories and comments about traffic congestion in the city (Argus, 4 June) I was struck by the thought that one way to keep getting the wrong answer is to keep asking the wrong question.  So it's time that we consigned the 20th century question, "how many cars can we move down the street" to the dustbin, and started asking the 21st century question,  "how many people can we move down the street and what's the best way to do it?"

Michael Bloomberg, the former Mayor of New York has said "Pedestrians and cyclists and bus riders are more important than car riders,"  and Rachel Kyte of The World Bank has said, "city transport is about moving people, not vehicles."  The reason is obvious when you look at this graphic from Copenhagenize on "mobility maths."


Yours etc

It’s not just cricket: home truths on a whitewash

The whitewash of the England cricket team during the latest Ashes series has generated acres of coverage. But most wasn’t as interesting as this piece by Matthew Engel in Saturday’s Financial Times – which isn’t really about “sport” at all. You can register with the FT to read the whole article. Or I have extracted the most telling bit below. And it isn’t about cricket.

“London’s bid to stage the Games had been predicated on the notion of “legacy”. Shortly after they ended, a friend of a friend snapped a picture of a lamppost by a block of flats in a London suburb. A banner still fluttered with one of the Olympic slogans “Inspire a Generation”. Below it was the traditional message “No Ball Games”. You can guess which sign has lasted longer.

Last month, Sport England published figures showing that active participation in sport among 16 to 25-year-olds had declined since the Olympics. Its chief executive, Jennie Price, said that more emphasis would now be placed on activities including “korfball, dodge ball, zumba and dance”. Olympic medals are not awarded for these pastimes, nor for obesity, at which the allegedly inspired generation is showing particular promise.

It is all a chimera. Olympic success is directly correlated to the extent to which governments fund the training of elite athletes. In the 21st century Britain chose to make that a priority. QED. It bears little relation – perhaps none at all – to young people’s health and fitness.

That depends on having widely available facilities, especially in schools; an emphasis on physical education; open space; a society where kids are free to roam and play informally away from parents who are not too terrified of the dangers from traffic and paedophiles; and a climate that encourages outdoor life. Britain has none of the above. Some of this is bad luck, some bad judgment.”

As they used to say, ‘No FT, No Comment.’

Cars are a waste of space: here’s why

When someone tells you that the car is an efficient way to deliver people to urban destinations, or a great basis for transport in cities – just show them these images. And if you don’t have trams, a bus will do.
(Derek Thomson, 18 Nov 2013, www.TheAtlantic.com)

Quote(s) of the Week

“Exposure to ambient air pollutants and traffic during pregnancy is associated with restricted fetal growth. A substantial proportion of cases of low birthweight at term could be prevented in Europe if urban air pollution was reduced.”

Ambient air pollution and low birthweight: a European cohort study, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine 15.10.13

Comment on the study from Professor Jonathan Grigg, from Queen Mary, University of London, "Overall, maternal exposure to traffic-derived particulate matter probably increases vulnerability of their offspring to a wide range of respiratory disorders in both infancy and later life."

Who is “The Traffic”?

People who drive and then turn up late often blame it on “The Traffic.” As if “The Traffic” was some kind of cosmic phenomenon which had nothing to do with them. A more honest description would be “I’m late because there were so many people, like me, in their cars, jamming up the roads.” I am always tempted, and sometimes do reply, “Actually, you are The Traffic.” I spotted this ad for a GPS device on a billboard on Brighton’s traffic-clogged Lewes Road. It’s an attempt to plug a fantasy: that you can avoid “The Traffic.” No matter what the adverts say, just remember this: if you’re on four wheels, The Traffic Is You.