Launch of blueprint to give sustainable traffic future

Environmental campaigners will today (Thursday) form a human heart around the Westgate Towers during the launch of a new transport blueprint for Canterbury.

It has been produced by Dr Lynn Sloman – an ex-Simon Langton pupil who is now one of the country’s leading experts on sustainable transport.

She will also be giving two presentations of her ideas to councillors and business leaders at the Abode Hotel in the city. They will be presented with Valentine cards by members of the newly-formed Canterbury Alliance for Sustainable Transport (CAST) encouraging them to ‘give some love to Canterbury’ and put the blueprint at the heart of transport planning.

The event, from midday to 2pm, which will include stalls and music, will also see the launch of CAST whose members will be running an information bus parked by the towers and answering questions about sustainable transport.

CAST spokesman Jo Kidd said: “The congestion and poor air quality here is bad for public health, bad for the environment, bad for quality of life and bad for business.

“The solutions don’t lie in more roads, they involve making it easier for people to get around the city in more sustainable ways, by walking, cycling, using the bus, car sharing or a combination of these, so that they feel able to leave their cars at home.

“We know this can be done because it has been done successfully in other similar cities in the UK and abroad.

“The blueprint details how it can be done.

“We commend it to councillors and transport planners, urge them to use it to build on good work already done and to put it right at the heart of transport planning for the city.”

A film of Dr Sloman’s presentation can be seen at www. canterburysociety.org.uk.