The EPSRC Energy Programme funded DecarboN8 Network Plus announce its second Funding Call in May 2020.
The COVID-19 lockdown created unprecedented conditions favourable to radical experimentation with the reallocation of road-space. Across the world, local authorities created hundreds of miles of temporary cycle paths and footpaths, to provide key workers space to safely commute and to allow all citizens to safely exercise.[1] [2] Many places have also indicated that a reallocation of road-space to cyclists and pedestrians will be a key part of their climate smart recovery plans.[3] [4] The UK Government has also announced support for this approach.[5]
DecarboN8 is keen to encourage and support local authorities across the North of England to experiment with such measures. To ensure this historic opportunity for data collection is not missed, a new rapid response fund was created to support the monitoring and evaluation of road-space reallocation measures in the North of England. Two projects have now been funded:
Room to Move: Impacts of road-space reallocation (REMODEL)
Led by Dr Stephen Parkes at Sheffield Hallam University, this study will use a combination of online data collection techniques over a 12-month period to gather longitudinal data on travel behaviour, attitudes to active travel and the use of temporary road-space reallocation measures implemented by Sheffield City Council and Lancashire County Council.
Liveable Liverpool City Region
Led by Dr Richard Dunning at the University of Liverpool, this study is a contemporaneous evaluation of the social acceptance and societal readiness of increased active travel facilitated through interventions in Liverpool City Region and the Wirral, which will enable policy makers to respond rapidly to support infrastructure provision over the longer term.
To read more about these and other research projects funded, visit the DecarboN8 Projects Page.
[1] International Transport Forum. 2020. Re-spacing Our Cities For Resilience [Online, accessed 07/05/2020]. Available from: https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/respacing-cities-resilience-covid-19.pdf
[2] Cycling UK. 2020. Safe space for social distancing: FAQ [Online, accessed 07/05/2020]. Available at: https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/safe-space-social-distancing-faq
[3] Sustrans. 2020. Tactical urbanism during Covid-19, and beyond [Online, accessed 07/05/2020] Available at: https://www.sustrans.org.uk/our-blog/opinion/2020/april/tactical-urbanism-during-covid-19-and-beyond/
[4] Transport for Greater Manchester. 2020. Leaders progress bold active travel plans as up to £5m of emergency funding made available as part of coronavirus recovery [Online, accessed 07/05/2020] Available at: https://news.tfgm.com/news/leaders-progress-bold-active-travel-plans-as-up-to-gbp-5m-of-emergency-funding-made-available-as-part-of-coronavirus-recovery
[5] Department for Transport. 2020. Statutory guidance: Traffic Management Act 2004: network management in response to COVID-19 [Online, accessed 11/05/2020] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reallocating-road-space-in-response-to-covid-19-statutory-guidance-for-local-authorities/traffic-management-act-2004-network-management-in-response-to-covid-19