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news
Chris Boardman (copyright Allan McKenzie, SWpix.com)Prominent transport author claims appointment of Chris Boardman as Active Travel Commissioner is part of "Great Reset agenda"
Dr Richard Wellings — an author with a PhD in transport policy and a Twitter audience of more than 30,000 followers — has been accused of spreading conspiracy theories after claiming Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman's appointment is part of the "Great Reset agenda to force ordinary people off the roads".
The comments came in reference to an interview Boardman did with The Telegraph newspaper this weekend, in which he said reduced car usage is required and argued cars should not be used for journeys of less than a mile.
> Chris Boardman confirmed as permanent National Active Travel Commissioner
Dr Wellings tweeted: "This appointment is further evidence that our fake-conservative government is fully behind the Great Reset agenda to force ordinary people off the roads and out of their cars. They either don't understand or don't care about the economic costs."
🚗 Cars should not be used for journeys less than a mile, Chris Boardman has said, as he takes up his post as Boris Johnson’s first National Active Travel Commissioner https://t.co/IaRTrDqiJZ
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 2, 2022
The Great Reset was the name of the 50th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, held in June 2020, as well as the title of a book co-authored by the WEF's chairman Klaus Schwab, in which addressing global warming in the aftermath of Covid-19 is discussed.
However, as per fact checking organisation Full Fact, the term has also "spawned a number of false and unsubstantiated claims which amount to the basis of a conspiracy theory. For example, since the initiative launched, it's been claimed that the Great Reset is something that will restrict what you can eat or own."
During his time as head of transport at the Institute of Economic Affairs, Dr Wellings co-authored a report arguing railway lines should be replaced by buses routes — but made no mention of cycling.
In 2016, a Dr Wellings authored IEA report recommending removal of traffic lights also claimed that cycle lanes have 'unfortunate' effects on motorists.
His latest anti-cycling comments came in response to a Boardman interview in which the newly-appointed permanent head of Active Travel England said: "We have to drive less. A lot less."
In contrast to Dr Wellings' comment about the "Great Reset" agenda "forcing ordinary people out their cars", Boardman told The Telegraph: "People shouldn't be forced out of their cars. People should be given a viable, attractive alternative."
"Ultimately, we have to give people the choice. We don't want to say: 'Don't drive'. Cars are great [but] we are just overusing them. We have to drive less. A lot less."
Boardman also tackled critics of Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods, asking: "Who wants a high traffic neighbourhood?"
"If you think about it, there's no such thing as a Low-Traffic Neighbourhood. It's either a neighbourhood or there are cars coming through. Define a neighbourhood? We've allowed them to fill up so in the last 10 years alone, there are 20bn more miles being driven around homes. Because we're overusing cars."
Main image: Allan McKenzie / SWpix.com
Dan is the road.cc news editor and has spent the past four years writing stories and features, as well as (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. Having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for the Non-League Paper, Dan joined road.cc in 2020. Come the weekend you'll find him labouring up a hill, probably with a mouth full of jelly babies, or making a bonk-induced trip to a south of England petrol station... in search of more jelly babies.
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40 comments
Personaly I am looking forward to the Great Reset, It can't be any worse that the corrupt capitalist system we have at present.
Bring it on...........
I may be way off as everything I know about the 'great reset' has come from Russell Brand but isn't the point that the same politicians/media/corporations will be in charge and the rest of us will lose what little self determination we have left?
Sounds like more of the same, but worse.
Defund the rich!
I imagine most of the same types and likely some of the same individuals will stay at the top in any upheaval. What is this self-determination you speak of? We already swapped gold and silver for numbers, happily gave "them" all our data and voluntarily carry around pocket spy devices which also feed us our opinions, remember? Unless you think we're headed after China / Russia / insert your dystopian favourite here?
More of the same, but with fewer vehicles and more cycling? I'd take that.
Only the poor ever get defunded and 'more of the same' sounds terrible.
i'd like to see normal people realise that whether they are left/right, black/white, gay/straight, religious/athiest or any of the other artificial reasons the powerful convince us to hate each other with, we all want the same freedom, health and happiness. Maybe then we might elect some decent leaders.
Of course hating other people just like me is easier than holding the powerful to account so sadly I think we're destined for more of the same. 😟
Indeed - but it seems that the powerful are always the ones with the power. Aren't you worried it's a case of voting for a lizard so the wrong lizard doesn't get in?
I think you hit the nail on the head.
I'm voting for my lying crook because I hate you and your crooked liar.
Yup - the only people who should be allowed to be politicians, are people who really don't want to be politicians (Douglas Adams misquote).
Oh, wait, but that's what we've already got: Johnson liked the idea of power but not the responsibility of actually being PM. He is already no doubt working out who can ghost write his biography and all his after dinner speeches (and possibnly that biography of Shakespeare he was supposed to be writing?) once he's no longer PM and has marketable memories and connections.
Having just won a 4 year battle for compensation after being knocked off my bike and left with life changing injuries ... Would you mind clarifying "rich", please?
Glad you got the compensation. The definition's easy - the person who has one more superyacht than you. Or the person who has one more house than you. Or one more car, or bike, or potato.
The trick is the honest selection of those categories. And not being the person with the car calling for the other to give up their extra potato.
Thank you 😊
Eat The Rich!
Like causing them to lose all sense of proportion.
I live less than half a mile from my local railway station and the town centre. Living even closer than I do is a man who drives his sports car to the station every day and, 'cos he doesn't want to pay for parking, parks his car a 5 minute walk from the station. I have neighbours who, in the twenty plus years I've lived here, I've never seen walking down to the town. It's as if people's legs don't work properly anymore!
I think you must live in the same village as me
And don't get me started on the parent who drives the kids less than 300 metres to school before turning around to drive past the end of her road on the way to work. Complete madness
I noticed a letter in my local newspaper last week. It read (I paraphrase) ' due to the road works in Kentish Town my 1 mile journey takes me thirty minutes by car. Why does there never seem to be people working these days!'
At least cyclists weren't (primarily) to blame - though the letter did have a dig at cycles lanes in the next paragraph.
obvioulsy my first thought was - walk! It's Summer, enjoy the urban morning. Though their reply would be 'I would love to walk but how would I carry this bath tub with me'
Is the good Dr. Welling's a physician? If so, how could he have missed the huge pandemic costs of the overweight and unfit, let alone the death toll? Any true conservative has to recognize the hundreds of millions if not billions of pounds government stands to save by getting people moving. It's hard to imagine anyone but a money-doesn't matter liberal opposing the idea.
He has a PhD in Transport Policy. I doubt that he also fitted medical school in there as well.
I'd be interested to know what the subject of his PhD was (and why his supervisor didn't tell him he was writing a load of rubbish, by the sounds of things).
At the moment it would seem that it's the oil companies and the leccy suppliers doing their best to get people out of their cars, especially for short journeys.
Noticing a lot more people on bikes out there, old bikes fresh out of the shed, inexperienced riders on sparkly new bikes, notice the wide knees, and kickstands, seeing a lot of kickstands...
The kickstand is much maligned. I'm coming around to them.
Agreed. If you're loading panniers with shoppping, or attaching a trailer, then a kickstand is invaluable.
You want a centre stand really, rather than the side-stand that is the typical kick-stand over here. Lot of dutch bikes have them (the more traditional ones back in my day anyway). Precisely cause they make loading up bikes easier. The dutch having a bit of experience in mass, utility cycling.
I tried to replace the supplied kickstand on the wifes ebike with a centre one. Unfortunately the drive side leg would have caught the chains. So had to swap it for another left side stand instead.
A kickstand was the single best accessory that I fitted onto my daily rider hybrid (it already had a rack fitted). No more carefully lying the bike down; no more finding a convenient 'something' to lean it on. Bliss
A lot of kickstands are on ebikes simply because of how heavy / awkward they are.
Sounds like a good application to me. Of course in an efficient world not everyone with the cash would get an e-bike. That may cause some issues longer-term (though nothing will change for roadies / off-roaders, this will still be a specialist activity). But that's humans and the market for you.
When I get my next (non-electric) practical bike I'll get a double-leg kickstand too. (Saves having one for each leg).
Well I should have listened to this chap before:
The first sentence is entirely correct - it is just missing "... because we've too many motor vehicles". No motor vehicles and we don't need traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, heavy crash barriers, speed bumps, speed cameras, giant road signs, roundabouts, "pedestrian safety fencing", extra bridges and underpasses to get people out of the way!
In the second sentence he's correct that this costs lots of money - indeed there's evidence we'd be much better off with a lot less motor traffic.
Unfortunately he's misunderstood or never properly observed "shared space". (Or maybe he has and this is tongue-in-cheek?) "Shared space" can and does work only if the more dangerous / faster mode is controlled and appears as a very small minority of users of the space. Otherwise - and in the UK version - "shared space" just means "for motor vehicles". In general it isn't safe for other modes.
Shared pedestrian / cycle space is appropriate in some places but not a good idea in general. It's just not very pleasant for either mode unless there aren't many of either.
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/ridiculous-cambridg...
Link to story on the Cambidge News site which on the face of it* is about a resident complaining that a bus lane restriction (which has been in place for many years) is creating traffic congestion and pollution on account of their 160yd drive to work requires a 1 mile alternative route.
*Cambridge News is not renowned for quality or accurate reporting so this may well be absolute scrotum contents.
Wow! The Cambridge News item shows that there are some dim anti-social Climate Changers active in Cambridge. Bring in Boardman to give this idler a talking-to! (if the story is true, that is)
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