For this episode Adam Laura and Ned meet in-person to catch up, after an extended break, on their respective summers and projects they've been working on.

Ned reveals the topic of his latest book, due out next summer. Adam discusses the prospects for active travel amid a new wave of devolution, and Laura talks about her campaigners' toolkit project.

From Oxford Street's pedestrianisation to Utrecht's transformation for cycling, to Benin, where walking long distances is just a part of everyday life, we hope you enjoy this wide-ranging chat. And big thank you to The Running Channel for lending us their podcast studio and recording expertise.

Laura's Rural path campaigners' toolkit can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zvjSNPZLcdPYbVBN8Wxu2yzdXTpuAsE77XcoV1nblgk/edit?tab=t.0

Oxford Street's pedestrianisation: https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/oxford-street

Andy Burnham on devolution: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2z528rdp6o

And prior to his bid for PM: https://lauralaker.substack.com/p/burnham-people-laugh-when-i-talk

For ad-free listening, behind-the-scenes and bonus content and to help support the podcast - head to (https://www.patreon.com/StreetsAheadPodcast). We’ll even send you some stickers!

We’re also on Bluesky and welcome your feedback on our episode: https://bsky.app/profile/podstreetsahead.bsky.social

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For this episode Laura is on the street with the City of London Police’s Cycling Team, who are busy tackling the growing problem of non-compliant e-motorbikes. Twist-and-go e-motorbikes are technically legal on Britain’s roads but only under specific circumstances. That hasn't stopped online suppliers flooding Britain's streets with cheap, non-compliant machines, via a loophole that allows them to be sold for use use on private land.

By law, any machine used on the roads that goes faster than 3.7mph on a throttle, or over 15.5mph under pedal assist, is classed as a motor vehicle, and needs a driving license, full helmet and insurance.

However, these vehicles are widely confused by the media, the public, insurers and transport operators with e-bikes - causing significant harm to the legitimate industry. They are also a fire safety issue, with batteries or chargers that fail to meet UK safety standards causing devastating house fires.

Sergeant Stuart Ford and his ten-person strong Cycling Team focus entirely on cycle-related crime in the City of London, including the use of illegal e-motorbikes or ‘fake e-bikes’. Often it’s gig economy riders on low wages trying to get around as quickly as possible, but increasingly commuters are seen on them. They are also popular among criminals - all of which keeps Sgt Ford and his team very busy.

The episode starts in the City of London Police yard, before heading out onto the street to watch Sgt Ford and his team spot and stop riders on suspect machines. We get a snapshot into their working lives, and some of the challenges they are facing tackling this issue.

For ad-free listening, behind-the-scenes and bonus content and to help support the podcast - head to (https://www.patreon.com/StreetsAheadPodcast). We’ll even send you some stickers!

We’re also on Bluesky and welcome your feedback on our episode: https://bsky.app/profile/podstreetsahead.bsky.social

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In 2015, Yvette Caster wrote a Metro article declaiming cyclists as a menace, and cycling as something that shouldn’t be taking place on the roads, which she saw as the domain of drivers. By 2023, however, she had changed her position entirely, given up her car and written for The Guardian about how it happened.

She said: “When I wrote the piece, nowhere I had ever lived, which included cities across the country, seemed suited to cycling, and I, like my friends, viewed cyclists as eccentrics.”

Lockdown changed that view - when the rural roads where she lives were suddenly free of traffic and she realised she could walk to the shops instead of driving.

She’s not alone: according to the National Travel Survey, 22% of English households do not have access to a car. That figure is similar in Wales, but higher in Scotland at 27%.

Yvette's 2015 Metro piece: https://metro.co.uk/2015/11/05/cyclists-are-a-menace-and-should-be-banned-from-the-roads-5482050/

Yvette's 2023 piece in the Guardian, following her road to Damascus moment: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/nov/27/why-i-quit-complaining-about-cyclists-men-in-lycra

Yvette's podcast, Late in the Gay: https://castro.fm/podcast/d7d126ce-fe48-4dff-b62a-d4b7782fde6c

For ad-free listening, behind-the-scenes and bonus content and to help support the podcast - head to (https://www.patreon.com/StreetsAheadPodcast). We’ll even send you some stickers!

We’re also on Bluesky and welcome your feedback on our episode: https://bsky.app/profile/podstreetsahead.bsky.social

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.