I particularly like the quote "They are like the size of city centre bus stops". It is presumably the same busses that stop at both and they don't change size along the way 🙄

Thank you for being there to speak up.

Also, if your disability makes owning/using a car or using public transport difficult then ebikes may be particularly useful even if you can cycle without e-assist. They make the longer/more frequent journeys and heavier loads you'll have to deal with easier.

The bollard looks OK though, it's the road that fell apart.

I notice you say "looked clever in California" not "worked" there 😉.

And, of course, people have been just carrying their children around whilst walking since forever. It's a very standard thing for mammals to do! 😉

How about "What if it gets a puncture/breaks down?"

If a train journey scheduled for 4 hours took over 5 hours you'd get a good chunk of your fare back too, sometimes even all of it.

Graduated licensing has been normal for motorcycles for a very long time because it just makes sense and is safer. It's interesting to watch how people then react to the idea for vehicles with four or more wheels.

Or perhaps discuss the heirarch of controls in managing safety?

Graphic of a poster advertising the Women's Cycling Safety Audit in Norwich. There's an image of a bicycle with a dotted line ending up at a pinpoint marker. The text reads: "Women's safety isn't optional. Share your story. Shape safer streets for all."

This spring, Norwich Cycling Campaign is launching a Women’s Cycling Safety Audit — a city-wide project to understand how safe cycling feels for women, girls and gender-diverse people in Norwich, and what needs to change to make everyday cycling work better for everyone. 1/4

I think your suspicion could be due to a personal dislike: Vape Wrath!

And there are a lot more disabilities that make driving difficult or very expensive, if not impossible. The barriers to using public transport and active travel are often actually much lower as long as there are good systems and infrastructure.

And that replacement ratio is before you account for improving insulation, which the UK has massive scope for.

Drawing of a busy terraced street has pavement-parked cars down both sides. A long cane user is trying to get down the left pavement. A driver in a pavement-parked SUV on double yellow lines is shouting "I need to park here! You can squeeze through or go on the road!" A powerchair user is driving down the road, while an adult and child on a side-by-side tandem are cycling towards us. A driver coming up the road is shouting "Get off the road! You'll get yourselves killed!" A child on a small bike is riding down the right hand pavement, while a driver in a pavement-parked van shouts "Get off the pavement! You're a danger to pedestrians!"

It's great to see action starting against dangerous pavement parking. Now we need: A clear definition of what "unreasonable obstruction" means; Effective ways to enforce against obstructive and dangerous parking; Enforcement against pavements being broken by heavy vehicles.
Read more: bit.ly/4jsWbRa

It seems like the Government didn't want to upset anyone with a nationwide ban so they've kicked the can to local authorities. It should have been a national ban and then authorities can make some specific exceptions if it really is appropriate.

There are some cases where I definitely wouldn't want a Lithium battery in a home e.g. a small flat where you couldn't keep it separated (in fire compartmentation terms) from sleeping areas and escape routes. I would still like to see lots more energy storage in homes though e.g. heat batteries.

Illustration titled "Santa's Bikes" by Cycling UK, featuring various bicycles optimized for Santa's needs, including a cargo bike for presents, a mountain bike for reaching the grotto, a road bike for speedy deliveries, a folding bike, a hand cycle, and a tandem bike, each with a humorous explanation of its use.

Happy holidays from everyone at Cycling UK 🎄🚲

Whatever you ride and wherever you’re going this festive season, from cargo bikes and daily commutes to trails, tarmac, hand cycles and everything in between, we’re wishing you a restful break and safe journeys.

📷 @davewalker.bsky.social

And as thought here is no record of people losing control of these high-speed vehicles and ending up on pavements, in gardens, even in buildings. Imagine if we just even tried limiting motor vehicles to a speed where they couldn't accidentally smash right through a brick wall.

Oh, I am not keen on elite athletics, just good steady exercise and burning off some energy. Sometimes the exercise and tiring yourself out, like on a big hill, is part of the fun (and therapeutic effect) of cycling. E-assist can mean everyone can do that together as it balances things out.

Not being allowed e-assist also limits how far you can go (time wise as well as stamina wise) and the terrain you can manage though (e.g. hills). Why shouldn't a kid who needs a trike be able to go to all the same places as their friends?

Plus it's best if all the kids are getting a good workout.

What did the Romans ever do for us? 😉

When it comes to driving many people seem to think making something a bit more difficult or even just having to pay for it is taking away "freedom" to do it.

Brilliant work as always, thank you.

Another thing that would be really good is a similar letter to help challenge trend of excessive ebike/battery bans in buildings/on transport etc. Norwich City Council even tried to ban storing ebikes in rented council garages!

Yes, I choose to live in an area that should be really convenient for walking and cycling but is fundamentally not suitable for everyone to have a car. It infuriates me that the area then gets ruined for walking by parking on pavements etc. because people move there and won't accept that.

It might actually surprise many of them to find out in advance.

I'm always amazed how some rural people will tell me at great length about all the difficulties like lack of busses as though I could never know because I live in a city. I know very well and that's why I live in a city!

I heard of it on documentary about 20 years ago. Of course anywhere introducing it now will be called woke 😉.

So did I (or maybe a 15 min walk) and, wait for it... they were a fitness instructor there!

True.

You could also argue that for some people it genuinely isn't a choice where to live, notably children and teenagers. Though they often can't use cars so get doubly stuck without good public transport/active travel options.

That's an economical trade off for individuals to decide though: housing costs vs transport costs. Keeping driving artificially affordable skews this choice in a way that isn't fair to those who pay more (or make other sacrifices like living space) to live somewhere they don't need to drive.