LIVING Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking, is urging candidates in the upcoming local elections this May to make walking and wheeling safer and easier, to help enable more people to choose cleaner and healthier ways to travel.
In ‘A Manifesto for Walking’, Living Streets calls on candidates to pledge to: End pedestrian deaths and injuries on roads, tackle air pollution, make school streets safe, cut the clutter and make walking easier for everyone.
A Manifesto for Walking sets out key asks of candidates, including a default 20mph limit in built-up areas, more car-free areas, and clutter-free pavements.
Pedestrians accounted for 38 per cent of fatalities and 25 per cent of serious injuries on built up roads in England in 2020 with 3,807 pedestrians killed or seriously injured on England’s roads, despite a 25 per cent fall in motor traffic during the first lockdown.
Meanwhile, poor air quality contributes to almost 64,000 early deaths in the UK every year.
Roberta Fusco of Living Streets said: “People walking and wheeling cause the least amount of road danger or pollution but are often left paying the price on our streets in terms of deaths on our roads and exposure to toxic air. It doesn’t have to be this way.
“By standing up for pedestrians, candidates can tackle road danger, air pollution and health problems, creating places where people can move and breathe easily.”
Living Streets is urging voters to call on their local candidates to improve streets for walking. A Manifesto for Walking 2022 can be downloaded from livingstreets.org.uk/elections
