Jim’s story

I’ve been involved with Streets for People since its inception in 2020.

It was about the time that plans had been put forward by the council to introduce a number of measures locally that would make it safer and easier for people to use active travel (walk, cycle, scoot and get around using mobility aids). At that time there was a good deal of vocal opposition to the plans.

Streets for People campaigned for these measures to be implemented and for further interventions to be made. I was more than happy to be involved in the campaign not least because of the ways that cars dominate every inch of our public spaces (I do have a car but being involved in Streets for People made me really think about how I use it).

We know that some people need a car for various reasons but the majority of car trips are for short journeys. Amazingly, a third of all car journeys in Manchester under 1km are made by car.

What can we do about that? We need to build infrastructure that will encourage, and make it easier for people to walk, scoot, cycle or move around with a mobility aid.

One thing is certain; we can’t keep building more roads. I see it as a matter of social justice, especially for people who don’t own a car, that we keep fighting for more, and safer infrastructure to encourage more people to use active travel thus improving people’s physical and mental health, improving air quality, reducing car use for short journeys and thus reducing road congestion. 

Greater Manchester has approximately 1,200 related air pollution deaths each year. How can that be right? I intend to carry on campaigning until we see more, and better joined-up infrastructure that will encourage more people to choose active travel.