Transport

Transport is the largest sector contributor to carbon dioxide emissions, and the fastest growing. Government policies are doing nothing to constrain these increases and the globalised economy massively encourages them.

The Transport Group of Transition Town Stroud is exploring these issues and aims to help move Stroud towards more sustainable transport. If you would like to get involved, please attend one of our events, or come along to a meeting (details below). Jessica Hodge is the contact for this group carol.mathews@freeuk.com

In the meantime, there is much you can do on a personal level (see below).

Transport Group meeting

Other Pages

Walking Cycling Flying Driving PublicTransport

Alphabetical list of all initiatives

A Transport Calender

Transport Library

Transport Statistics

Our challenge is:

How to make transport radically more sustainable in the Stroud Valleys area for 3 reasons: ● better quality of life ● reduction of carbon emissions ● in preparation for Peak Oil

Sub-challenges that underlie this are

How to change the culture and break the habit of car use

How to facilitate more essential journeys being made sustainably

How to get public and private organisations to take into account transport implications of their strategic decisions

How to get people to make & act on the connection between their own transport choices & the Big Picture

How to make cycling and walking more attractive & feasible as an option for essential journeys (inc. commuting & travel to & from school)

How to respond to the complexity of people's essential transport needs

How to increase use of existing public transport

How to reclaim the public realm from the dominance of the car (as a one-off, e.g. Street party / mass cycle ride)

How to reclaim the public realm from the dominance of the car (more permanently)

Making changes to your lifestyle

There is much you can do on a personal level:

  • Stop flying
  • Walk and cycle more
  • Use public transport as much as possible

If you have to drive, there are several options:

Latest News

new (December 2007) recycled biodiesel outlet in Uplands, Stroud - phone Simon Kenning 01453 767292 CHEAPER THAN REGULAR DIESEL!

Forthcoming Events/Meetings

The next Meeting will be at the School of art and science opposite stroud library 15th jan 730 pm all welcome!

It is hoped that all future Transport Group meetings will happen monthly on the second tuesday of the month.

Previous Meetings

Tuesday 11th September @ Common House Lounge in the Springhill Cohousing. 9 People attended. the meeting was facilitated and it was agreed that we would rotate facilitator each meeting. After a quick go-round, mentioning things each of us had done related to transport since the last meeting, and introductions to Hand Signals, we focussed mainly on plans for World Car Free Day. It was decided to hold a stall in the high street and tasks were delegated to organise this. Other agreements/disuccsions concerned setting up at library of alternative transport maps, the Wiki, Staverton Airport, and a wide variety of Transport related issues to be left for later meetings / ibe included on the Wiki. It seemed a productive and exciting meeting.

30th July @ Kings Stanley. Six people met and five travelled to the meeting by bike. A summary of the meeting will appear soon.

Previous meetings have happened prior to the Transition Drinks in Bar Nine, and at Ruscombe Community Shop.This was a really fun way to get together. We found that we were torn between coming up with ideas that we could implement ourselves and criticising local authority transport policy, which was generally considered to be abysmal. We thought about working together with the local authority liaison group to put a manifesto for sustainable transport forward to the district and county councils.

Previous Events

World Car Free Day

On Saturday 22nd September the Transport Group held a stall in Stroud High Street offering information on alternatives to the car. We had quite a lot of interest, gave away leaflets, stickers and cycling maps, and pumped up some tyres and fixed a few brakes on bikes... bring on next year...!

"Let World Carfree Day be a showcase for just how our cities might look like, feel like, and sound like without cars…365 days a year. As the climate heats up, World Carfree Day is the perfect time to take the heat off the planet, and put it on city planners and politicians to give priority to cycling, walking and public transport, instead of to the automobile."

Bike film night 2

(see the Cycling page) On Monday 10th September, Bicycology Stroud held it's second 'bike film night'. The main film was Reclaim Power, which chronicled the Summer 2006 Climate Camp. For more information, to get in touch if you missed the night but would still like to see the film, or to be put on an email list for the next film night see www.bicycology.org.uk/stroud or email stroud@bicycology.org.uk.

PICNICYCLE

The picnic and ride were very pleasant, great weather and a good mix of people. It went well as an experiment, so hopefully we'll sort things out even better next time, and do a more ambitious ride too, perhaps!

Bicycology (see the Cycling page) held three events during bike week. On Saturday 16th June, a stall at Stroud Farmers Market offering free bike repair and information about cycling. On Monday 18th June, a Bike Film Night at the Sub Rooms Cafe, and on Friday 22nd June, an introductory game of Bike Polo near the Skate ramps at Stratford Park.

Information - Initiatives: Groups and Projects

Local

Big Green Thumb

We often drive with only one person in the car, and if you don't, just watch the road around Stroud to see how many people do. If all those journeys to the same place were shared it would cut the carbon dioxide emissions in half.

This is why hitching is a vital part of the change we need to bring about in transport. Hitching is about community and trust. As well as reducing CO2 emissions, hitching can get the green message out and build the web of community.

Big Green Thumb is an informal hitching club formed as part of the Transition Stroud process. To get your membership card and guidance leaflet please speak to one of the Transition Stroud core group. See more at http://transitiontownstroud.blogspot.com/2007/04/tts-transport-group-meet.html.

Liftshare

Stroud has its own lift sharing scheme on the Stroud Freewheelers page: http://www.freewheelers.com/uk/Stroud).

If you are not already registered on the liftshare network you can join by visiting their website: http://www.liftshare.org/

There's also Gloucestershire Car Share

Day trips from Stroud without the car

With summer 2007 coming along, Carol Mathews handily drew up a list of days out using public transport or just your two feet! Swimming, checking out places of interest, or just enjoying the fresh air and view. Plenty of ideas for a great day out on the Daytrips page.

Cycling

Various events were held in Stroud as part of National Bike Week. More details on the Events? page. See the Cycling page for details of Stroud Valleys Cycle Campaign, local Cycle Touring Club groups and Stroud Bicycology.

National

Climate Radio - A Climate Outreach and Information project, featuring the following Transport related programmes:

Low Carbon Show #13: Slow Travel – Dan Kieran, Jamie Andrews (18.09.2007)

Low Carbon Show #12: No Fly Holidays – Laura Burgess, Lottie Child (05.09.2007)

Aviation Planning Disaster – Brian Ross, Paul de Zylva, Alan Simpson MP (14.08.2007)

Climate Confidential #4: Aviation Part 2 – Peter Riding, Karen Buck (27.07.2005)

Climate Confidential #3: Aviation Part 1 – Brian Hoskins, Peter Ainsworth MP (20.07.2005)

Eco Holidays in the UK

Ecoescape is about responsible escapism. It provides ideas and inspiration for going green in the UK: from places to stay and things to do, to places to eat and ways to get there

Travelling further afield

To find pleasanter alternatives to air travel for longer journeys visit the Man in Seat 61 website: http://www.seat61.com/

To find out more about the problems created by the rapid expansion in air travel check out the Flight Pledge Union website, and consider signing the pledge yourself! http://www.flightpledge.org.uk/

You can calculate the emissions from your particular air journey by using the online calculator on the Flying off to a Warmer Climate website: http://www.chooseclimate.org/flying/


Some Stroud people have been travelling in environmentally-friendly ways (if you want more information, you can try contacting them via the Transition Stroud News Group):

  • Ellen Winter & Andy Stone travelled from Stroud to Japan and back without using any aircraft - see their blog of their adventure at http://www.darkfox.co.uk:80/
  • Sue & Greg Dance went low carbon to Crete in April 2007: travelled via local bus, coaches, channel tunnel, ferries and French and Italian trains.

If you have your own story of a low carbon trip, whether for holidays or business, do let us know / add it here to inspire us all!

Shared Spaces

We also need to consider how we use our streets. A radical new approach from the Netherlands offers a way forward that seeks to restore our roads to pedestrians, cyclists and communities. See Better Streets for Stroud District reports and an article 'Green Streets are Naked Streets' which sets out the approach: http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=616&Itemid=2