Image of Councillor Julian Bell having completed his 2012 miles in 2012 challenge

Listen here:

CIHT’s podcast series is now available on (and on other podcast platforms - just search your favorite podcast provider and we should be there):

Transcript available (use captions facility on YouTube):  

In 2020 as covid took hold and one-third of the planets population went into lockdown, some cities across the world rapidly rolled-out provision for active travel – re-allocating road space to allow for people to walk and cycle - helping, for instance key workers get safety to hospitals…. and so on – but these changes sometimes incurred strong emotions from the public and became politically charged.

To explore the politics of active travel, the podcast features an interview with Councillor Julian Bell, the former Labour leader of Ealing Council for 11 years and Board member of Transport for London.

Councillor Julian Bell said:

We listened and we gave exemptions to blue badge holders within low traffic neighbourhoods to be able to drive through the ANPR cameras and we also gave exemptions to mini-buses that were driving children and adults with disabilities through low traffic neighbourhoods in order not to impede them

School streets have been a great success and everybody loves them

Cllr Julian Bell is a Transport for London Board member. He is the former leader of the London Borough of Ealing, one of London's largest boroughs, serving for 11 years between May 2010 and May 2021 having been first elected as a councillor in the borough in 2002.

Julian is a member of the London Councils Transport & Environment Committee, and chaired that committee for six years prior to joining the TfL Board. In 2016, Julian received an award for Outstanding Contribution to Local Transport in London at the London Transport Awards. Julian is a keen cyclist for commuting and leisure, and founded the Labour Cyclists group.