One year ago, the government set out a determined Active Travel agenda which mandated local authorities all over the country to make space for measures to support walking and cycling. One year on, the Department for Transport reiterated its resolute to continue with those measures and provided further guidance to local authorities. For instance, the importance of evaluating and monitoring the trials in order to make a final decision based on qualitative and quantitative evidence.

Traffic Management Act 2004: network management to support recovery from COVID-19 – Updated 30 July 2021

“Consultations are not referendums, however. Polling results should be one part of the suite of robust, empirical evidence on which decisions are made.”

In Brent, this resulted in an Active Travel programme launched in June 2020 which consisted of a range of schemes that are still at the delivery stage to this day. This is now followed up by a series of engagement events throughout the summer. Even if low traffic neighbourhoods, cycle lanes and school streets are not new measures, the pace and scale of the plan were to Brent and many other local authorities. This led to some challenges, however, we are pleased to see that, unlike other boroughs, Brent Council is set to continue with this important programme as we brace ourselves for the climate breakdown.

The consultations are over for those measures but we are now entering a period of engagement on Healthy Neighbourhoods. This consists of a number of events including online meetings, walkabouts, school visits and an online survey. Make sure you check the council’s website to find out what’s happening in your local area, why the council is doing this and how you can get involved. Do too, spare a few minutes to share your thoughts on the current situation in your street and your neighbourhood.

The accompanying guidance indicates that the “online forum will allow for a balanced discussion and questions on the Healthy Neighbourhood measures and hear the experience of residents”.

To date, we have nine schemes with ongoing engagement which is now led by Living Streets. Remember, those schemes are never perfect from day 1, this is why it’s important for residents to feedback on the design as well as sharing your lived experience once they are finally implemented.

The calendar ahead is looking as follows:

July to September	Engagement activities in your area: inviting residents to comment on an existing design and suggest other ways to reduce traffic
October	Collating information from residents about the scheme design and how it should be modified
November – April	New design is trialled across the area
From April 22	Households are surveyed about the revised design proposal and the benefits
	Final decision is made about whether to make schemes permanent or to withdraw it

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---