Street Life Winter 2012

Street LifeWINTER 2012 WWW.LIVINGSTREETS.ORG.UK

InsIde:How Walk to school can help local economiesLocal Living streets activityThe results of the Great British Walking Challenge

Better streets needn’t mean bigger budgets

STaTE Of OUR STREETS

03Welcome •

Street Life Winter 2012

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CONTENTS GOING fOR GOLD fOR OUR STREETS While the country was gripped by Olympics fever, at Living streets we were excited to be awarding our own medals in our state of our streets report. The report highlights some of the best practice and initiatives in street maintenance by councils across the UK, such as the inspiring example on page 6.

now we’d like to invite you to let us know what you think about the state of your streets with our exciting state of our streets Awards. We’re asking people across the country to show us the best and worst parts of their streets; so whether it’s a part of your street which inspires you, or an eyesore that irritates you, please upload a picture to the Living streets website for the opportunity to win a prize.

earlier in the year I reported how we were seeing support from government for our campaigns and I’m delighted to see that translate into funding from the Local sustainable Transport Fund for the nationwide Walk to school Outreach project. We have an opportunity to transform the journey to school for thousands of children and make the frustrations of the school run a thing of the past. Find out more on page 8.

Finally, congratulations to everyone who took part in the Great British Walking Challenge back in May. We notched up 128,271 miles throughout the month. We’re now planning for next year’s national Walking Month, and hope to get even more people across the country walking more.

Which element of your street meets the gold standard?

Living streets is the national charity that stands up for pedestrians. With our supporters, we work to create safe, attractive and enjoyable streets, where people want to walk.

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060403 • Letter from our Chief executive04 • state of Our streets report06 • Trusting the public, stoke-on-Trent City Council07 • state of our streets Awards 08 • Can strider save the economy?10 • Badge has WoW factor for school boy 11 • A brighter future for Brighton pedestrians12 • What’s the story in Balamory?13 • Read all about it – help us make the news14 • Great British Walking Challenge 201215 • Help us get children walking16 • dates for your diary Tony armstrong, Chief executive


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Street Life Winter 2012 Street Life Winter 2012

Get Walking• Get Walking

THE STaTE Of OUR STREETS REPORT

You may remember that in the last issue of Street Life we announced a new piece of work examining the state of our streets and what can be done to improve them. a Living Streets survey found that nearly a third of people (31%) believe their local council pays less attention to the safety of pavements than to road maintenance. In the over 55 age group – those most vulnerable to trips and falls as a result of poorly maintained pathways – the figure rises to 80%.

We are all aware of the current economic pressures on local authorities, but the duplication of services, lack of coordination with contractors and short-term fixes are costing tens of thousands of pounds, whilst compensation payments for people injured on account of poorly maintained pavements now top around £60 million a year.

so we invited councils across the UK to share their ideas and expertise on street management and have gathered together the most inspiring and successful examples into one document. It quickly became apparent that the simplest

On page 6 we showcase a favourite example, but there are lots more in the report. You can view the state of our streets report at: www.livingstreets.org.uk/stateofourstreets

and least expensive initiatives can often deliver more efficient and effective services, and that investment in the short term can yield sustainable cost savings.

The result is the Living streets’ state of our streets report. This policy paper brings together 37 illustrations of best practice and innovation from all areas of the country. It demonstrates how original thinking, or sometimes just plain common sense, can have a huge impact on our streets and our communities.

We’ve sent councillors and policy makers throughout the UK a copy of state of our streets and hope it will inspire those less effective local authorities to adopt our recommendations. At Living streets we believe a key requirement for successful street management is the designation of an elected member and senior officer to champion joint working on street issues. simply taking a more joined-up approach can make all the difference.

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Competition • 07• Policy and Campaigning


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TRUSTING THE PUBLIC, STOKE-ON-TRENT COUNCIL

STaTE Of OUR STREETS aWaRDSNOmINaTE YOUR STREET aND WIN a DIGITaL CamERa

at least 30 per cent of highway defects1 and most other street scene problems come to the council’s attention because they are reported by the public. If problems are not reported, they may get worse before they are discovered, and the cost of tackling them is likely to have increased.

Councils need to act promptly. It might be argued that they cannot afford to; however, council cuts driven by the current economic climate do not have to mean a drop in quality of service.

stoke-on-Trent City Council has improved its service and now spends less. In 2011, the council adopted a new approach to responding to reported problems on highways, sending maintenance crews directly in response to a reported problem, rather than scheduling an inspection first. This has enabled the council to save money – both in operational costs and in reduced compensation pay-outs – while providing a better and faster service.

Reporting problems should be made easy otherwise people will not bother. In recent research, 21 per cent of respondents noted that they might not report a problem because of not being sure how to do so.2 even more significantly, if someone reporting a problem does not have a positive experience, they are less likely to report problems in the future: over a quarter of respondents stated that they didn’t feel their council particularly encouraged them to report problems, while over a third said that they might not report problems because they didn’t feel it would make a difference.

1 Highways Maintenance efficiency Programme (HMeP). 2012. Potholes Review: Prevention and a Better Cure. Available at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/pothole-review/

2 YouGov for Living streets, 2012.

The hunt is on to find the best and worst examples of streets maintenance in the UK. Is your street the best or worst-kept in the country? Take a snap or video of the street you love and tell us why. Or if your street is the stuff of nightmares, show us!

How to take part1. There are two categories - The best example of street maintenance and the worst

example of street maintenance. decide which category you are entering - you can enter more than once in both categories. Your nomination could be on the street where you live or any other street that you walk down regularly.

2. Take a picture or video of the street maintenance example that you’d like to nominate. Make sure it shows why you are nominating it.

3. Make your submission at www.livingstreets.org.uk/sOsawards. You will need to upload your photo or video and tell us why you are nominating your street.

The closing date for submissions is 2 november 2012. There will be a winner for each category and the best overall submission will win a digital camera. You can submit as many nominations as you like! We will announce the winner in the next edition of street Life.

What we used to do is send an inspector to have a look because Mrs smith’s phoned in to say there’s a pothole. And we didn’t believe Mrs smith. What we found was in over 90 per cent of the cases, it was actually true. so what we decided to do was, why bother send an inspector to check what a member of the public is saying, why not just send the crew and get it sorted. Bob Brock, formerly of stoke-on-Trent City Council Highways department

08 • Walk to School08 09Walk to School •

Street Life Winter 2012 Street Life Winter 2012

WaLK TO SCHOOL OUTREaCH PROJECTWhether a parent, pupil, teacher or someone who lives near to a school, we’re all familiar with the problems and frustrations posed by the school run.

Living streets’ WoW (Walk Once a Week) projects deliver many benefits for pupils, parents and school staff. Walking rates increase, children favour walking as their preferred way of getting to school, parents are freed from the stress of finding a parking space at the school gates and teachers report that pupils are more alert and attentive in class. Relations between school and local community improve as neighbours no longer complain of obstructed gates and driveways.

However, a new project funded by the department of Transport shows that the simple act of walking to school could be a key element in supporting the nation’s economic recovery.

The Australian businessman sir Rod eddington was commissioned by the last government to examine the impact of transport decisions on the economy and the environment in the UK. In 2006 he reported that,‘The performance of the UK’s transport networks will be a crucial enabler of sustained productivity and competitiveness: a five per cent reduction in travel time for all business travel on the roads could generate £2.5 billion of cost savings – some 0.2 per cent of GdP.’

There is evidence of sir Rod’s conclusions across the UK. In Buckinghamshire, for example, High Wycome Town Centre Masterplan identifies local road congestion as a problem for 86% of businesses and the school run is perceived to be the greatest congestion source.

Buckinghamshire is one of eleven local councils across england working in partnership with Living streets on a multi-million pound three-year programme to encourage walking to school. The aim is to relieve traffic congestion in areas where it has been identified as a hindrance to

Walk to school Outreach programme signifies a huge expansion for Living streets and the work we do. Clearly government is recognising the wider benefits of investing in walking. This project will substantively demonstrate the positive impact of that investment, not just on the health and wellbeing of our children, but on our local economies too. It will make a compelling case for sustained investment in the future. Living streets’ Chief executive Tony Armstrong,

network efficiency, impacting on journey times and negatively affecting local economies.

supported by the Local sustainable Transport Fund, the £17 million project will reach over 1,000 schools and will save CO2 emissions, reduce car journeys and improve health and air quality for a safer and cleaner environment.

Pilot studies in Hertfordshire have shown that one year on, the proportion of pupils walking to school had risen from 54% to 71% with just 19% of children in the 12 participating schools still travelling to school by car.

Based on the highly successful Walk to school projects, Living streets have recruited a dedicated coordinator for each region. They will manage a range of interventions and support activities working with the local authority and 15 primary and four secondary schools in the area. For example, teachers taking part in the Hertfordshire pilot reported that a visit from the Walk to school mascot strider at a special assembly explaining the benefits of walking was particularly effective in motivating pupils, along with the collectable badges.

durham County Council is the lead partner of the project which includes Leicester City Council, Hertfordshire County Council, Hartlepool Borough Council, Blackpool Council, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, Wirral Borough Council, Buckinghamshire County Council, Hampshire County Council, West sussex County Council and stoke-on-Trent City Council.

The LsTF Walk to school Outreach project is ambitious. Targets include converting 4.2 million school journeys from the car to walking and a further 2.8 million to Park and stride, saving an estimated 3.59 thousand tonnes of CO2, but the results from Hertfordshire suggest that it’s achievable. We’ll be reporting on progress, so watch this space.

For more information about the LsTF Walk to school Outreach programme or for Walk to school programmes in your area, email [email protected] or visit www.livingstreets.org.uk/walk-with-us/walk-to-school

a recent Living Streets survey of schools found that the top three concerns about the school run were ‘traffic congestion at the school gates’ (74.5%), ‘issues with local residents regarding traffic/congestion near the school’ (68.3%) and ‘traffic congestion on nearby roads’ (65.2%).

Pupils at Hamilton Infant school in stoke with Walk to school mascot strider and their winning banner

11Policy and Campaigning •


10 • Walk to School10


• Walk to school

Living Streets’ Walk to School campaigns help 1.9 million children walk to school every year and back in July a milestone was passed in Knowlsey, merseyside.

eight year old Connor Loftus, a pupil at Plantation Primary school in Halewood, was presented with the 20,000th badge to be handed out in the local Walk Once a Week (WoW) campaign. WoW encourages children and their parents to walk to school at least once a week, and the pupils are rewarded with collectable badges.

shadow Transport secretary and Merseyside MP Maria eagle was on hand to make the presentation. The MP for Garston and Halewood said she was keen to show Parliament’s support for initiatives which encouraged people to leave the car at home.

October is International Walk to school Month and a great opportunity for schools to try strider’s International Walking Challenge. diaries, badges and other materials are available from the Living streets website at www.livingstreets.org.uk/shop

a BRIGHTER fUTURE fOR BRIGHTON PEDESTRIaNS

Local Living Streets campaigners in Brighton and Hove stirred a flurry of media activity in august with the publication of a report resulting from a workshop to discuss ways to improve the city for pedestrians.

The 19-page document makes a series of recommendations, including making parking on pavements illegal, removing commercial rubbish bins from pavements, and providing rain shelters, drinking fountains and more public toilets on main pedestrian routes.

stephen Young, the chair of Brighton and Hove Living streets Group, spoke to BBC Radio sussex about the report. stephen said, “We ran a workshop to explore how Brighton and Hove could become a walkable city - where people select

walking as their preferred choice of travel for health and to relax. By “Walkability” we mean the extent to which walking is readily available as a safe, connected, accessible and pleasant activity. Thanks to the people who attended the workshop, we came up with a great list of ideas to help Brighton and Hove become more walkable.”

Brighton newspaper, the Argus, reported on the recommendations and printed several letters to its editor which supported the proposals to improve the walking experience in the city. Action does make changes so get campaigning in your area now!

Read more at http://bit.ly/OcjepY

BaDGE HaS WOW faCTOR fOR SCHOOL BOY

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Better environments •

WHaT’S THE STORY IN BaLamORY?

It’s not often that the east end of London is compared to a fictional island village featured in a children’s television programme, but it’s a good indication of how good street design can transform an area – which is what has happened in Leyton in the London Borough of Waltham forest .

Local resident syed exclaimed, ‘It looks like Balamory!’ when asked his views about the improvements to Leyton High street. As one of the gateways to the Olympic Games, Leyton has received considerable investment which has led to shops, pathways and green areas being refurbished and renewed in a bid to encourage visitors and boost the local economy.

Living streets’ spirit of Leyton project invited locals to share their thoughts and photographs via a number of social networking sites including Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.

Living streets’ Head of Projects Jack skillen, who led the scheme as part of the step Out in London initiative, said,

‘We aimed to build on the capital improvements around Leyton High street and encourage people to walk and enjoy their local streets. It’s been great to hear Leyton people talk so positively about the developments in the area and be involved in this vibrant and thriving community.’

Securing coverage in national and local media is crucial for Living Streets to communicate our campaign messages, recruit supporters and keep safer, more attractive streets on the national agenda. We need your help to bring these issues to life and tell the real story about what we do and why we do it.

• Better environments

Read about this and Living streets’ work in other parts of London at www.livingstreets.org.uk/london

REaD aLL aBOUT IT – HELP US maKE THE NEWS

If you have an experience you would feel comfortable sharing in the public domain, we’d love to hear from you. Whether it’s an injury as a result of a poorly maintained or icy pavement, an issue of safety because of traffic congestion in your area or reasons why your street isn’t pedestrian friendly, showing the human story behind our policies makes them much more meaningful for the media and the public. Of course, we’re not just looking for negative stories; have you successfully campaigned and seen improvements in your local area?

In the coming months, we’ll be launching several campaigns including the state of our streets Awards – highlighting the best and worst of our local streets – and ‘icy pavements’ - our annual campaign to press upon local authorities the importance of ensuring pathways are gritted and in a suitable condition for walking in winter.

Whatever you have to say about your experience, we’d love to hear about it. Please contact the press office on 020 7377 4914 or email [email protected]

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• Local Campaigning

THE GREaT BRITISH WaLKING CHaLLENGE Did you take part in the Great British Walking Challenge this may?

As part of national Walking Month, we challenged the nation to see how many times we could collectively walk between Land’s end and John O’Groats. We relaunched our website in advance of the event, introducing tools to allow people to log their walks, set up workplace or campaigning groups, and interact with others. Logging your walk is simple – choose whether to add minutes, steps or miles, your pace – from slow, medium or fast – and your reason for walking; for example, to or from work. The site then automatically calculates how many calories you’ve burnt off, miles you’ve covered and CO2 you’ve saved. The site also has a range of challenges which you can take part in to win extra points – for example, uploading photos from your walk.

To spread the word about the challenge and get as many people involved as possible, our CeO Tony Armstrong and strider, the Living streets Walk to

school campaign mascot, visited every London borough. The challenge received unprecedented media coverage, including in sainsbury’s Magazine, the daily Telegraph and Radio 4. during the month we took the then secretary of state for Transport, Justine Greening MP, and the minister responsible for walking, norman Baker MP, on walks to work. We discussed the benefits of walking and good quality walking environments and got confirmation of our Local sustainable Transport Fund big success very shortly afterwards.

We also successfully got an early day Motion into Parliament which was signed by 34 MPs and we were later invited to help inform Labour’s transport strategy.

so how did we do? Well, we collectively logged 128,271 miles – that’s 146.76 times between Land’s end and John O’Groats. Workplaces logged 70,000 miles during Walk to Work Week alone! We’ll be surveying people over the next year to make sure they’re keeping up the walking habit.

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since Omar, aged six, brought home his first Living streets Walk Once a Week (WoW) badge about a year ago, he and his four year old brother, Hamzah have walked to school every day.

Their mum, debbie, says they are ’slim, active and full of life’ and are so motivated by the scheme that Omar often moans when he has to travel by car.

sadly, many of our children do not have the opportunity to develop a love for walking like Omar. The number of children walking to school has been decreasing year on year. discouraged and frightened by our congested road systems, one third of our children are scared of walking to school because of speeding traffic and one in five are worried by the lack of safe places to cross.

Although many do not realise it, the consequences of this inactivity are profound. Without a concerted effort to reverse this trend, we are in danger of allowing a generation of our children to grow up with a range of serious health problems. One in three children now leave primary school overweight or obese. They are at risk of life-threatening conditions such as heart disease or type 2 diabetes which can have devastating long term consequences such as the loss of a limb or eyesight for people as young as 30.

At Living streets, our vision is that every child who can walk to school, does so. The

Walk to school Campaign has a proven track record of helping children like Omar to enjoy a safe walk to school and an active and healthy future.

We work with schools, local authorities and parents to identify suitable walking routes, raise road safety awareness and encourage children to see the walk to school as a fun everyday activity. We need your help – with fewer than half of UK children walking to school, there is a lot to do.

Just £1 helps us to reach a child like Omar through our Walk to school activities and keep him fit and healthy for years to come. We offer a range of resources to teachers and parents and our scheme also rewards children for walking to school.

HELP US GET CHILDREN WaLKING aCROSS THE UK


If you missed this year’s event, don’t worry – you can still log your walks on www.livingstreets.org.uk. Look out for next year’s National Walking month in may 2013!

Please give just £10 today and help us get ten children on their feet. To donate please visit www.livingstreets.org.uk/donate

Tony Armstrong shares a joke with his walking pal strider

This case study is an example of the work for your which donation may be used. Income raised from this appeal will be used by Living streets to promote its vision of safe, attractive and enjoyable streets, where people want to walk.

DaTES fOR YOUR DIaRYInternational Walk to School month, October 2012

mince pie calculator, December 2012

The big chill! Winter 2012

Over 40 countries will be taking part in October’s International Walk to school Month. Walking to school is a great way to help children achieve their recommended one hour of physical activity each day.

Visit www.livingstreets.org.uk/walk-with-us/walk-to-school/walk-to-school-month to hear about strider’s International Walking Challenge.

As seasonal as roast chestnuts, carol singers and mulled wine is the festive footstep monitor which is the Living streets mince pie calculator.

Visit www.livingstreets.org.uk/mincepiecalculator when you open the first window on the advent calendar and let the calculator add up the pies while you accumulate the miles, but not the inches!

As we move rapidly towards the winter months and dig out our woolly vests and hats, at Living streets our minds inevitably turn to icy pavements. We’ll be doing all we can to remind councils that their obligations to ensure the highway is clear and accessible includes pavements, but if you think your council isn’t doing all it could, then let them know! Of course, if you have vulnerable neighbours then clearing their path of snow or ice along with your own could make all the difference.

If you feel your local authority is letting you down, get valuable information and tips on campaigning from our website www.livingstreets.org.uk/makeachange

For more events, please visit www.livingstreets.org.uk/events

Street Life Winter 2012

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