Green travel on the rise as Essex heads into 2025
Health / Thu 9th Jan 2025 at 11:28am
SUSTAINABLE transport schemes saw large uptake across 2024 as Essex County Council prioritises Active Travel in 2025.
Active Travel encourages greener ways of travelling for shorter journeys, or as part of longer ones, with infrastructure and training.
Across 2024 the council has helped facilitate:
cycling training for over 6,000 pupils across 256 Essex schools as part of the government’s Bikeability programme
three million e-scooter rides in Basildon, Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester since the trial began in December 2020, replacing 593,508 car trips and displacing 109 tons of CO2
70 electric vehicle charging points installed across Essex
21 railway events for over 1,200 passengers as part of the Essex & South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership, including seaside trips from Colchester to Walton-on-the-Naze and a music train to the Harwich Shanty Festival.
cycling infrastructure in Braintree, Chelmsford, Colchester and Harlow with cycle paths, signage, signalised crossings and wider pavements
Councillor Tom Cunningham, Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Sustainable Transport at Essex County Council, said: “You can see why sustainable transport and Active Travel will remain a top priority for the council as we head into 2025.
“Thank you to the residents of Essex for embracing Active Travel and the wide-ranging benefits it brings to our environment, health and economy.”
More information about sustainable transport and Active Travel in Essex is available at www.letstalkessexsustainabletravel.co.uk
adam
2025-01-09 12:31:05
Just stop wasting money on this people want to cycle fine. But drop the net zero, green travel insanity. No one wants to cycle in the cold and wet. As for electric vehicles they are terrible for the environment, and the gird cannot even support us now never mind if we all have dodgems
Seamus
2025-01-09 14:31:15
Sadly the increase in bicycles, electric bicycles and scooters has seen a substantial increase in accidents where they have been in used pedestrian area's only, but largely go unchecked.
Boris
2025-01-09 19:43:57
The picture shows part of the cycle route between the Pinnacles and, ultimately , Churchgate St.. Perhaps a picture of the cycle track between Vicarage Wood and Arkwrights would show what ECC really thinks of our town. Or a picture of the mud track over the brook (footpath underneath) near the rugby club. That said, a cycle track alongside Tillwicks Road and Howard Way would really boost the network but it seems that ECC are only interested in projects they have thought of themselves.
Boris
2025-01-09 19:49:06
Seamus, of course there has been an increase in accidents, there are more ebikes etc. You could have made the same comment 200 years ago about trains, 100 years ago about cars and planes. Your comment is, of course, valid and shows how slow the authorities are in catching up with real life.
Guy Flegman
2025-01-09 21:47:15
I have been a keen cyclist all my life. I used to cycle past the Harlow cycling club on their training trips in the 80’s in my jeans and leather jacket and never dropped below 26 mph ( in cycling circles that’s a fair rate of knots) I then went on to mountain biking which was even more fun. Nowadays I am in my 60’s and my back is buggered from the cycling and if I fall over, which is highly Likely from the state of our roads and cycleways I will break bones. So cycling as a transport option is no longer open to me. Now here is the rub. We have an ageing population where cycling is not an option, so just fix the roads. Time is money and the simplest way to help the UK economy is to fix the poor state of the UK roads , Just the other day I had to drop someone at Heathrow and the round trip was 6 hrs. 10 years ago it would have beenn 2 hrs. Just think how many people who are on the clock wasting time in traffic. And how much that is costing the country.. as for electric vehicles, they have to travel nearly double the distance of ICE vehicles to achieve the same enviormental impact on the planet, so are clearly not good for us because they are too heavy and need lots of rare minerals that are usually supplied by slave Labour which I personally do not want to be associated with.
Seamus
2025-01-11 00:26:01
"three million e-scooter rides in Basildon, Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester since the trial began in December 2020," You'll forgive me Mr Cunningham but aren't E-scooters illegal on Public roads and a danger in areas that prohibit two wheeled vehicles in town centre, why are you promoting them? "since the trial began in December 2020, replacing 593,508 car trips and displacing 109 tons of CO2" Basis of the claim please as I think you're making it up, there is no evidence to make this claim.
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