Last chance to register for #AsktheDfT event

Members of the Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG) can still register for next week’s #AsktheDfT event which is on the subject of active travel.

Launched last year as a way of giving LCRIG members an opportunity to engage with the DfT during the lockdown, the quarterly webinar series is back by popular demand and will bring together a panel of experts to answer your questions, which will be focused around key topic areas.

The next event will take place next Tuesday (8 February) at 11am and is entitled ‘The importance of active travel’.

When thinking about active travel there is often a big focus put on cycling with many councils spending millions on improvement schemes.

The condition of footways is often an afterthought but there is evidence that suggests more funding should be spent on maintaining and improving them.

This is because good footways improve connectivity and mobility. This in-turn leads to an increase in walking which brings about physical and economic benefits; increased productivity at work; vibrant high streets and improvements to health. Walking also contributes to better air quality and tackling climate change.

Recent analysis shows that since 2019, footways are in a cycle of gradual decline into poor condition.

Whilst you would expect to see this with any large UK asset, deterioration is an ongoing action which means that the downward trend will continue if maintenance interventions do not take place.

The latest #AsktheDfT event, which is brought to you by the Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG), will provide attendees with an opportunity to find out more about the importance of well-maintained footways and the societal benefits that can be brought about by an increase in active travel.

Attendees will be given the opportunity to put their questions directly to senior personnel from the Department for Transport (DfT) with the following topic areas covered:

• Societal benefits brought about by active travel
• How councils can make progress in this area
• Improving footways to help encourage more walking
• Implementing best practice for footway maintenance
• Central Government support to help advance progress

Panellists will include:

• Dr Kevin Golding-Williams, Head of Cycling and Walking Policy, Active Travel, DfT
• Matthew Eglinton, Head of Local Highways Maintenance, Innovation, and Resilience, Local Infrastructure, DfT

You can register for the event HERE.

The webinars will be free to all members from both the public and private sectors. Local government non-members (i.e. all local highway authorities) will also be able to attend. Only those who are members of LCRIG will be eligible to ask questions in advance of each webinar. Private sector organisations who are not members will not be able to participate in the events.