Category Archives: Town planning

Squeezing out walking and cycling for a few extra car parking spaces – local planning in action

Posted on July 18, 2017 by aseasyasriding

Why do we want people to walk and cycle for short trips, instead of driving? One of the main reasons, of course, is public health. If we cycled as much as the Dutch and the Danes in urban areas, figures … Continue reading →

Posted in Car dependence, Horsham, Horsham District Council, Infrastructure, Parking, Town planning, Walking, West Sussex County Council | 15 Comments

The Dutch supermarket

Posted on November 1, 2016 by aseasyasriding

Pedalling into the Dutch city of Delft last Tuesday I went past a branch of Albert Heijn, which is (approximately) the Dutch version of Waitrose – or at least, a supermarket at the slightly higher end of the Dutch price … Continue reading →

Posted in Delft, Infrastructure, Supermarkets, The Netherlands, Town planning | 47 Comments

Rehabilitating the underpass

Posted on October 6, 2015 by aseasyasriding

Underpasses have a pretty dreadful reputation in Britain; a reputation so dreadful that councils, planners, developers and highway engineers can point to public attitudes and say ‘people don’t like underpasses! Why should we provide them?’ But – just as with … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Social safety, Subjective safety, Sustainable Safety, The Netherlands, Town planning, Underpass | 22 Comments

Entrenching car dependence with brand new development

Posted on August 18, 2015 by aseasyasriding

A few months ago I commented on the new Waitrose/John Lewis retail site in Horsham, principally in relation to the way the visualisations of the (then yet to be opened) new development ducked the problematic issue of a very busy road severing the site … Continue reading →

Posted in Car dependence, Horsham, Horsham District Council, Infrastructure, Town planning, West Sussex County Council | 35 Comments

Natural character

Posted on December 17, 2014 by aseasyasriding

What is ‘natural’? The word, formally, means something that is not made, or caused, by humans. But this strict definition is very rarely employed. We use the word ‘natural’ to describe all kinds of things that are not ‘natural’ at … Continue reading →

Posted in Absurd transport solutions, Car dependence, Dual network, Horsham, Horsham District Council, Infrastructure, Mobility, Natural character, Safety, Southwater, Sustrans, The Netherlands, Town planning, Transport policy | 100 Comments

Placefaking

Posted on July 3, 2014 by aseasyasriding

There’s a section early in the newly-released London Cycle Design Standards about ‘responding to context’ – the types of cycle infrastructure that should be expected on a variety of streets and roads, according to the movement or place (or both) … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, placemaking, Shared Space, The Netherlands, Town planning | 31 Comments

Do you hate humans? Take it out on them through design

Posted on May 8, 2014 by aseasyasriding

Last week I was staying in Leeds for the Cycle City Expo, and the Space for Cycling campaigners conference. My hotel was quite convenient – only half a mile from Leeds Town Hall where the Expo was being held, and about … Continue reading →

Posted in Absurd transport solutions, Car dependence, Town planning, Walking | 31 Comments

Ben Hamilton-Baillie and motor traffic

Posted on October 17, 2013 by aseasyasriding

Last night I attended a talk given by Ben Hamilton-Baillie in Eastbourne. I didn’t really learn very much, because the talk was very similar to the ‘stock’ talk he has presumably given on numerous occasions before – the one you … Continue reading →

Posted in Car dependence, Infrastructure, Shared Space, Subjective safety, The Netherlands, Town planning, Transport policy, Uncategorized | 30 Comments

Just how good is the cycling infrastructure in Bracknell?

Posted on August 19, 2013 by aseasyasriding

A visit to the Transport Research Laboratory on Friday gave me the opportunity to cycle through Bracknell, a New Town designated in 1949. A gentleman named Pete Owens of Warrington Cycle Campaign (perhaps most famous for the Facility of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bracknell, Infrastructure, Subjective safety, The Netherlands, Town planning | 18 Comments

The sound of silence

Posted on May 14, 2013 by aseasyasriding

I’m in the midst of reading the fascinating Noise – A Human History of Sound and Listening, by David Hendy. Towards the end of the book, in a discussion of our recent ‘search for silence’ – how silence is increasingly … Continue reading →

Posted in Car dependence, London, noise, Pedestrianisation, Subjective safety, The Netherlands, Town planning | 14 Comments