Monthly Archives: May 2020

H not HS2

With social distancing, public transport is an increasingly less viable option. Let’s pull the plug on HS2, and spend the money on eliminating bottlenecks, creating a hydrogen fuel infrastucture, redesigning streets to integrate road-users on a level playing-field, and turning … Continue reading

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Sorry – the easiest word?

The Public Accounts Committee has criticised senior DfT officials for failing to come clean about the spiralling cost of HS2. Apparently they have said sorry and will do better in the future. Well that’s that then.

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Poor TfL?

TfL is getting a £1.9bn bail-out because revenue from fares and the congestion charge have collapsed. When I last looked, TfL’s budget was over £5bn a year, with 100 managers on salaries of over £100,000, with BUPA and generous pension … Continue reading

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Sledgehammer

London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, is banning cars and vans from central London “to make roads safe and improve air quality”. Of course these could be achieved without the sedgehammer blow of an outright ban: by shifting the power balance in … Continue reading

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Humankind

In Humankind: A Hopeful History, Rutger Bregman says we are brainwashed into believing that we are a no-good, selfish species. We are “built” to trust each other, but society creates systems that bring out the evil in us. It could … Continue reading

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Traffic policy and the law

“The trouble with the law is it excludes commonsense,” said historian and former Supreme Court Judge, Lord Sumption, on PM today. “We are quite capable of getting through this by using our survival instincts and exercising commonsense, without the interference … Continue reading

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Peaceful coexistence

There are calls to allocate more road space to cycling and walking. That’s fine, as long as it goes hand in hand with deregulation. Otherwise, the cycle of coercive control will continue to maximise emissions, cause needless delay and road … Continue reading

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Cross about crossing the road!

“You take a risk every time you cross the road,” said Nick Robinson on the Today Prog this morning. It shows how ingrained is unquestioning acceptance of the unacceptable. There should be no risk in crossing the road. It would … Continue reading

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HS2 v H20

The car is a self-isolating transportation device par excellence. Instead of pouring billions into 19C technology – trains – shouldn’t the state be investing in 21C tech, redesigning the public realm to express equality, eliminating bottlenecks, and creating infrastructure for … Continue reading

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Another nail in coffin

Brake dust is as bad as diesel for producing tiny particles that penetrate heart, lungs and bloodstream. It may be even worse because it produces them in greater quantities. The stop-start drive cycle caused by traffic lights and priority junctions … Continue reading

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