Latest news with #cyclists
Motor 1
12 hours ago
- Automotive
- Motor 1
This City Just Went a Whole Year Without a Traffic Death
One city in Northern Europe just went an entire year without a traffic-related death. Officials from Helsinki, Finland, confirmed to the Finnish publication YLE that it hasn't had a fatal accident since early July 2024, marking an impressive milestone for the Scandinavian coastal town. The achievement doesn't come from any one major policy shift, but rather a handful of small changes that added up to create a meaningful impact. "A lot of factors contributed to this, but speed limits are one of the most important," Roni Utriainen, a traffic engineer for Helsinki's Urban Environment Division, told YLE . Earlier this year, Helsinki lowered speed limits near schools to 30 kilometers per hour (18.6 miles per hour). Now, more than half of the city's roads carry that speed limit. Those same streets had a speed limit of 50 km/h (31 mph) 50 years ago, according to YLE . It's not just speed limits, of course. Infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians has been greatly improved, while more automated traffic enforcement systems (speed and red-light cameras) have been added. Combine that with more traffic police on watch, a robust public transit system, and modern in-car active safety tech, and the result is no deaths in 12 months. Fatalities aren't the only metric that's fallen, either. Traffic-related injuries in Helsinki have also plummeted from nearly 1,000 yearly incidents on average in the 1980s to just 277 in the past year, says YLE . Utriainen credits the efforts of city officials, but also of drivers, bikers, and pedestrians. "The direction has been positive for years," he said. No pedestrians were killed in Helsinki due to traffic incidents in 2019, either. Photo by: Getty Images America, Take Notes The US could learn from Helsinki. In 2023, over 40,000 people died in America from traffic-related incidents. Car-related deaths have been a focal point in major US cities for years, in an effort to curb injuries and fatalities. Yearly data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows a downward trend in traffic deaths since the 1970s, with the rate of death bottoming out in 2014, with 10.3 people killed per 100,000 people. Since then, that number has grown to a high of 13 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021, back down to 12.2 in 2023. In 2014, New York City, America's largest metropolitan area, famously enacted "Vision Zero," a series of policies designed to drive down traffic fatalities. Those policies seem to work, with deaths decreasing steadily in the city until the Covid-19 pandemic, where fatalities saw a spike. In 2024, 251 people were killed in traffic-related incidents in New York City. But so far, 2025 is the lowest year on record for traffic deaths in the metro, with just 87 fatalities recorded. "The 32 percent drop in traffic fatalities that we have seen this year is historic," said Mayor Eric Adams in a press release earlier this month. "It's also further proof that our administration's Vision Zero efforts are working. Strong enforcement against reckless driving is keeping pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers safe, and our administration will continue using all tools available to drive down traffic violence and deliver results that keep New Yorkers safe on and off our streets." More Car Laws 'PSA:' Expert Says This State Will Soon Change Its Speeding Law. Then He Reveals Speeding Will Carry Jail Time Lamborghini Driver Fined Over Missing 'Supercar License' Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily. back Sign up For more information, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
The joys of an English beer garden – and my pick of the very best
On a recent Friday afternoon, the garden at Tuckers Grave, a legendary cider-focused pub in Somerset, was abuzz with human activity – and canine activity, too. A spaniel was loudly insistent that he should meet a nearby Alsatian; happily, his human companions quickly acquiesced. Before long they were chatting to the Alsatian's owners, too. When the sun shines, the action at England's best pubs moves outdoors. Not all of them have a garden, but those that do have made very good use of them recently. I spent the period from March to June touring the country, conducting last-minute research for my guide to England's 500 best pubs. The weather was superb, more often than not. Pub gardens from Newcastle to Zennor in Cornwall resounded to the hubbub of happy drinkers. There was the Bridge Inn in Topsham, where cyclists queued at a hatch for beer and sandwiches before taking a seat with a view of the delightful Clyst river; more cyclists at the Plasterers Arms in Hoylake, first to the bar when it opened at 12pm before claiming a spot in the sun outside; exuberant Geordie youth at the Free Trade Inn in Newcastle, enjoying the last rays of a glorious April weekend overlooking the Tyne; and dozens of drinkers in the garden at the Fleece, Bretforton, where the grassy outdoor space stretches endlessly away into the distance. Some outdoor spaces reflect their locality in an uncanny fashion. I'm thinking of the large yard at The Barrels in Hereford, packed with young and old on an overcast Saturday evening, more like a town square than a pub garden; or the hillside garden at The Fox and Goose in charming, quirky Hebden Bridge, accessed via a staircase inside the pub. This languid space, pockmarked with flora and patios, stretches far up the adjoining hill. When I visited recently I watched a man climb up and up, until finally he found a spot in the sunshine. A modern phenomenon – with German roots These gardens seem quintessentially English, but they haven't always played such a key role in our pub culture. They enjoyed a boost between the wars, when middle-class disapproval led to the phenomenon of the 'Improved Pub', which aimed to do away with the gin-drenched excesses of Victorian England (there was a renewed campaign in the Sixties and Seventies, too, driven in part by brewery-run competitions to find the prettiest gardens). At pubs like the now demolished Downham Tavern in South London, opened in 1930, family-friendly gardens formed a key part of the battle against overindulgence. This Presbyterian instinct has nothing to do with Bavaria, where beer comes second only to God, but the term 'beer garden' surely does. It is a direct steal from the German biergarten, and the tradition of drinking outside has deeper roots there, too. There are few pleasures in life greater than settling in under a chestnut tree at a Bavarian biergarten on a warm day. Many of the best examples are in Franconia, Bavaria's northern third, although my favourite is in Austria: the Augustiner Braustübl in Salzburg. England's beer gardens are a bit different from their Germanic cousins, though. They're less well organised, for a start, a rather on-the-nose reflection of our divergent national characters. The best often have a slightly ramshackle feel, with mismatched tables here and there, both in and out of the sunshine; people stand, pints in hand or perched precariously on window sills and walls. They can be chaotic, uproarious, a vision of Hogarthian excess – although in that regard, at least, there's a definite kinship with Munich's classic biergarten. They're lovely when quiet, too. One of the great joys is arriving on a warm afternoon to discover you have a magnificent beer garden all to yourself. This happened to me at the Ypres Castle in Rye, where the garden sits beneath Rye Castle and looks out across Romney Marsh. In that respect it's like many of the best beer gardens: comfortable and bucolic, with plenty of space and a marvellous view over the English landscape. You might get a wasp in your beer, but it doesn't seem so bad if you've got something nice to look at. By and large, I think, the best beer gardens are in the countryside – but they're no more cherished than those in our cities. The tables outside the Lord Clyde in Borough, for example, are nothing to write home about, but with the pub's gorgeous tiled exterior looming over them, they fill up fast at the end of the working day. I've found myself here on more than a few occasions. Many of us, I'm sure, had our first pub experience in a garden somewhere, enjoying a glass of pop and a packet of crisps. Perhaps that's why we enjoy them so much, or perhaps it's because, as on that sunny afternoon at Tucker's Grave, they often show us at our relaxed, sociable best – dogs as well as humans.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Ten new road safety schemes for Norfolk towns and villages after £2.6m boost
Ten new schemes to make roads in Norfolk towns and villages safer for pedestrians and cyclists have been revealed. Pedestrian crossings, bridges and cycle paths are among projects which Norfolk County Council has earmarked to spend £2.6m of newly-awarded government cash on. The Active Travel money is specifically to help pay for measures which will encourage people to walk or cycle. New pedestrian crossings are planned (Image: Paul Hewitt) The Conservative-controlled council has identified the following projects to get a share of the cash: -A pedestrian/cycle link between Hethersett and the Norwich Research Park and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital A new pedestrian / cycle link to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital is planned (Image: Mike Page) -New signalised crossing on the B1332 in Brooke -Two new crossings of the A1101 (signalised) and A1122 (zebra) in Outwell -A footbridge in Nordelph -A crossing on Greenway Lane, Fakenham -A crossing on the A1064 in Filby -A crossing of Burgh Road in Aylsham -A toucan crossing of the A1066 Munford Road near Croxton Road in Thetford, to improve cycling access to Thetford rail station Thetford Railway Station (Image: Denise Bradley) -A signalised crossing of Poppy Way in Postwick -A signalised crossing of Yarmouth Road/The Street in Blofield. Graham Plant, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for highways, transport and infrastructure (Image: Sonya Duncan) READ MORE: Eight-month Norwich Airport link road work set to start Graham Plant, County Hall's cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, said: "This funding represents a significant opportunity for us to build on the progress we've made in promoting active travel across Norfolk. "By focusing on deliverable infrastructure projects and continuing our successful behaviour change programmes, we're not only improving safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists, but also supporting healthier lifestyles, reducing emissions, and enhancing our communities. "These schemes link in to our long-term strategies and will help us create a more sustainable and connected Norfolk." Labour county councillor Chrissie Rumsby (Image: Norfolk Labour Party) However, at a council meeting this week, Chrissie Rumsby, Labour county councillor for Mile Cross, asked why new projects were being started when a proposed Active Travel-funded scheme for her area had been put on ice. The Conservative-controlled council "paused" development of a plan for Mile Cross at the end of January, just months after consulting the public on the project. The scheme included new cycle lanes and two new zebra crossings on Mile Cross Road, along with the closure of one end of Half Mile Road to vehicles. It could also, potentially, see more 20mph speed limits imposed. Mr Plant told Ms Rumsby that scheme was still being worked on, but that did not stop new projects being started elsewhere.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Highlights: 2025 Tour de France, Stage 20 finish
Watch the riveting conclusion to the 20th stage of the 2025 Tour de France in Pontarlier, which included an upset victory and a nasty crash as cyclists battled slick roads and nasty conditions.
CTV News
4 days ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
Families highlight road safety in Ottawa
A large group of cyclists came together in Ottawa Saturday to highlight the importance of road safety for cyclists and drivers. CTV's Camille Wilson reports.
