The Ranty Highwayman

Not only would I be happy to replace Churchill on fivers with a badger, I'd replace the Churchill statue in Parliament Square with a big bronze badger AND I'd replace Ed Davey with an ACTUAL badger coz it'd probably vote in less austerity.

Perhaps instead of upsetting the far right with animals on bank notes they could put drug dealers, prostitutes, plumbers and Reform MPs on them, all the traditional British trades who prefer cash in hand.

Badgers never caused, exacerbated, or worsened the Bengal famine through their racist policies either, but here we are.

Native British Animals you say?

2026 Frank Sinatra: Stop spreading the news

I mean, we already have a pony and a monkey, so renaming the notes after animals is a natural progression.

Hamster = £5
Trout = £10
Weasel = £20
Tortoise= £50

I took my blind gran to vote on the new bank notes, and she very loudly said "which one to gas badgers?" and the whole place cheered.

A banner. "National highways, Lower Thames Crossing"

A1 Aerial image of the Lower Thames Crossing route photoshopped onto the actual aerial view of the countryside it destroys, mounted on an easel.

Popped along to the Lower Thames Crossing public information event.

Thoroughly cheerless occasion.

Highlight, seeing the route displayed as an abstract work of art.

Email from a precast concrete materials supplier this afternoon.

Product surcharges directly linked to the energy cost volatility from the USA-Israel war coming into force in a matter of days.

That'll hit projects on the ground and starting soon.

So many buses (Image by Roger Close)

More people are taking the bus since Oxford's temporary congestion charge was introduced say Oxfordshire County Council. Data from six local bus companies including Oxford Bus Company shows an 8% increase vs prior year since the introduction of the charge.

news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/more-people-...

My borough spends all of its time whining about no money and then the money it does get it uses on old fashioned "local safety schemes", but that doesn't make VZ flawed.

There's an argument that its integral to safe roads, but it's a fair point and one which most politicians don't wish to think about.

If something needs constant enforcement activity, then there are design and network-level problems to be addressed.

Side road zebras are now possible in Wales with the legislation coming into operation today, but astonishingly there is no guidance.

We'd be happy to help with that, but in the meantime, here's @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social slides from last evening's @activetravelcaf.bsky.social to tide you over.

In a word, yes - they are tinkering at the edges of a profoundly broken system.

Ron Cobb, near-forgotten genius political cartoonist.

He also did visual design of technology for the first Alien film and countless other scifi movies in the 70s/80s. Including the Weyland-Yutani Semiotic Standard - a visual language used for Nostromo signage.

If you need an alternative format, give me a shout and we can work out what's best for you.

It was a *very* quick blast through, so grab a cuppa and read through at your own pace.

Side road zebra legislation has come into operation today which is useful, but I'm astonished the Welsh Government hasn't published any guidance.

Of course, if they need someone to write some, I might know who to speak to.

Sustainable Safety - An Introduction A few months back, I wrote about how Vision Zero became mainstream in Sweden. This week, I want to introduce another road safety approach....

I don't care what you call it, but the UK really needs to embrace the safe systems approach to road design and street management if we are to stop death and injury on our streets, tackle health issues from inactivity and indeed, productiveuty,

We could have nice places too.

The minister needs to be in on that conversation if we are ever going to deal with the unhealthly relationship we have with driving in this country.

School gate risk We support those communities that want 20mph where people are

I think we need a conversation. 80% of child casualties are when NOT walking to or from school. See www.20splenty.org/school_gate_...

Vision Zero is *not* about a curative approach to treating existing issues, it is about systemic redesign so they don't happen in the first place.

The approach is entirely sound, it is the absolutely the politics that is the cop-out.

Advisory limit though?

That this happened at all shows what a problem we have.

That the perpetrator was unrepentant, the sentence minimal and the victim DEFENDED that it was "hard" to drive at 20mph shows that we've internalised motornormativity.

Unless the government commits to Vision Zero, then their strategy has already failed. Like so many before have.

The UK has *no* variable speed limits on non-motorway roads. It's an idea which has no value, but my my main beef is with the minister who *should* understand this stuff.

Safe speeds is one of the pillars of Vision Zero, but as the strategy is not VS, it can be derided.

Honestly. They are useless.