The A38 and A41 cycle paths

by | May 30, 2020 | Air Quality, Let's Get Moving, Transport

Back in 2013 and 2014 I led an air pollution and cycling campaign for Birmingham Friends of the Earth. It took four years for segregated, high quality cycle infrastructure to be installed. This article is about how campaign wins aren’t always achieved in the way...
Widening of the Moseley Road

Widening of the Moseley Road

by | Dec 16, 2019 | Air Quality, Blog, Blog, Transport

We have been occupied by plans of Transport for West Midlands to put in bus lanes along main roads. This could be helpful to speed up buses, but not if pedestrians and cyclists get a substantially worse deal, or local high streets are damaged. Moseley Road through...

WHY SHOULD WE GO CAR-FREE?

by | Dec 5, 2019 | Air Quality, Blog, Blog, Transport

Cars may be very convenient for millions of people, but they are hugely inconvenient in so many ways. Of course, the chief reason why we oppose cars is the damage that they cause to the environment: pollutants from car exhausts cause both immediate and long-term...
Walking and Cycling Strategy

Walking and Cycling Strategy

by | Dec 5, 2019 | Air Quality, Blog, Transport

Birmingham City Council has a Walking and Cycling Strategy for the next 10 years and Birmingham Friends of the Earth made a written response. Our meeting unpacked what the council is proposing and talked through what we think of its different elements. We are very...

Clean Air Zone Delayed

by | Dec 5, 2019 | Air Quality, Blog

In June 2019, Birmingham City Council announced that its Clean Air Zone, which it had planned to introduce in January 2020, will now be delayed until July 2020 at the very earliest. This is because the vehicle checking software needed to enforce the CAZ (the delivery...