On 23rd May the DfT launched the Emergency Active Travel Fund

Within days, thwarted motorists began to lose their minds

A THREAD on the 2020 street fight, in which the deep seated entitlement to be able to drive cars anywhere gave rise to some wild & unedifying scenes

1/n
May 25th: Hounslow’s first modal filter is installed on the riverside road near Barnes railway bridge https://twitter.com/hammersmithbri1/status/1264838918337413121
June 3rd: the planter is shunted aside by a powerful vehicle https://twitter.com/hammersmithbri1/status/1268064675280891904
June 5th: Hounslow bolt it and three more planters to the road, where they remain. But it was a sign of things to come https://twitter.com/hammersmithbri1/status/1268804899971772416
June 30th: drivers in Lewisham flow straight onto the pavement to bypass the new modal filters https://twitter.com/bbctomedwards/status/1277974899768700935
Just driving on the pavement without a care in the world https://twitter.com/jamesarathbone/status/1277938323647016960
July 4th: as in most things, America goes even bigger

But I digress https://twitter.com/nybikelawyer/status/1279385115580342272
July 30th: bike lane bollards in Brighton removed by ‘vigilantes’ https://twitter.com/brightonargus/status/1288733736738201608
August 17th: Tooting LTNs goes live https://twitter.com/tootingnewsie/status/1295380443651596289
Later that day https://twitter.com/jonirwinld/status/1295423950797897730
August 19th: council officers installing filters are abused and planters destroyed https://twitter.com/jo_earlsfield/status/1296138427889573893
August 20th: PlantLocks closing parking bays violently destroyed in Chiswick https://twitter.com/crisortunity/status/1296507494404169735
August 21st: gang of men arrive with tools to destroy Tooting’s LTN https://twitter.com/jo_earlsfield/status/1296902828775157760
August 26th: Ealing planters pushed aside https://twitter.com/oaklandsrdw7/status/1298594685787701251
August 27th: Northfields LTN bollards ripped up https://twitter.com/saddleblaze/status/1299039263288373248
August 27th: Northfields LTN planters upended https://twitter.com/jenstridonkai/status/1298996766692347908
August 27th: Hackney modal filters. Where there’s a will, there’s a way https://twitter.com/wakmax/status/1299047685471776768
August 29th: Ealing planters tipped out onto road https://twitter.com/saddleblaze/status/1299663319360512001
August 30th: Residents fix planters https://twitter.com/artglyn/status/1300386502686507008
August 31st: bollards removed in Newham https://twitter.com/forzagaribaldi/status/1300448066831556611
September 1st: bollard removed in Hackney https://twitter.com/rakanx/status/1300824196168200193
September 2nd: bollards by drivers smashed at Poole modal filter https://twitter.com/jasonmfalconer/status/1301186673863262209
Sept 6th: driving through modal filters in Walthamstow.

Later, after the cameras have been installed, these drivers will take to social media to vent their fury at councils treating motorists as cash cows by fining them https://twitter.com/hemmerfru/status/1302577758283927558
September 14th: someone actually poisons planters in Oval https://twitter.com/saveovalstreets/status/1305522567638331395
September 15th: Lambeth planters vandalised and plants pulled up https://twitter.com/simonstill/status/1305831554195894274
September 16th: bollards and planters outside the Grosvenor Pub in Ealing damaged and pushed aside https://twitter.com/andy_hillier/status/1306201199155318792?s=21 https://twitter.com/andy_hillier/status/1306201199155318792
September 17th: bollards trashed in Hackney https://twitter.com/jonburkeUK/status/1306520604435271680?s=20 https://twitter.com/jonburkeuk/status/1306520604435271680
September 18th: drawing pins strewn over cycle route in Victoria Park https://twitter.com/hazzer2001/status/1307007642104201216?s=20 https://twitter.com/hazzer2001/status/1307007642104201216
October 4th: Northfields planters destroyed.

Local families come out and replant them

https://twitter.com/RBourchier/status/1312739888295538689?s=20 https://twitter.com/rbourchier/status/1312739888295538689
October 10th: Railton LTN supporters abused and pushed around. Signs defaced
https://twitter.com/LambethCyclists/status/1314839857764732930?s=20 https://twitter.com/lambethcyclists/status/1314839857764732930
October 17th: Islington planters destroyed
https://twitter.com/canonbury2020/status/1317001076357402624?s=20 https://twitter.com/canonbury2020/status/1317001076357402624
October 18th: London Fields LTN signs vandalised https://twitter.com/AndreasBierman3/status/1317775807264292864?s=20 https://twitter.com/andreasbierman3/status/1317775807264292864
October 21st: LTN21 bollards removed and left dangerous for cyclists

https://twitter.com/betterealing/status/1318824510657875969?s=21 https://twitter.com/betterealing/status/1318824510657875969
October 26th: Ealing planters vandalised again. Repeated damage means they are starting to fall apart.

https://twitter.com/NSReynolds/status/1320739289140002817?s=20 https://twitter.com/nsreynolds/status/1320739289140002817
October 29th: Northfields planters vandalised again, bollards ripped out https://twitter.com/swat_transport/status/1321864516926382082?s=20 https://twitter.com/swat_transport/status/1321864516926382082
October 27th: Redbridge planters and bollards smashed to bits
https://twitter.com/gedtwit/status/1321022034592321537?s=20 https://twitter.com/gedtwit/status/1321022034592321537
October 28th: Then *removed permanently* by Redbridge Council! https://twitter.com/gedtwit/status/1321494304909598720?s=20 https://twitter.com/gedtwit/status/1321494304909598720
November 6th: Hackney modal filter destroyed
https://twitter.com/jonburkeUK/status/1324674212259336192?s=20 https://twitter.com/jonburkeuk/status/1324674212259336192
November 9th: Planters in Leeds tipped over and pushed aside https://twitter.com/carseatarmrest/status/1325771967925002240?s=20 https://twitter.com/carseatarmrest/status/1325771967925002240
November 2nd: Tacks spread on the @SunriseCycleway in the NE https://twitter.com/alisonstenning/status/1323214127058345985?s=20 https://twitter.com/alisonstenning/status/1323214127058345985
November 12th: LTN camera wires cut in Hackney

https://twitter.com/jonburkeuk/status/1329392185222045696?s=21 https://twitter.com/jonburkeuk/status/1329392185222045696
November 15th: Ealing planters and bollards vandalised AGAIN https://twitter.com/CathRosePG/status/1328035235473334280?s=20 https://twitter.com/cathrosepg/status/1328035235473334280
November 15th: plants ripped out of planters at Whitestile Road in Hounslow https://twitter.com/cathrosepg/status/1327921276938309632?s=21 https://twitter.com/cathrosepg/status/1327921276938309632
November 18th: Whitestile Road planters - my planters - replanted by the wonderful @Cultiv8London
November 18th: Whitestile Road planters - my planters - replanted by the wonderful @Cultiv8London
November 18th: Whitestile Road planters - my planters - replanted by the wonderful @Cultiv8London
November 18th: Whitestile Road planters - my planters - replanted by the wonderful @Cultiv8London
This thread is not exhaustive; it’s just the sabotage and vandalism that has popped up on my timeline, or which I’ve seen with my own eyes. There are probably countless other examples. But the last example here is different from most of the others
The difference is that on Whitestile Road, Hounslow used @_wearepossible’s Concrete Jungle modal filters - so all the angry motorists could do was rip out the plants. After their tantrum, they still had to turn around and drive a different way!

https://twitter.com/_wearepossible/status/1290973325871677441?s=21 https://twitter.com/_wearepossible/status/1290973325871677441
We created the Concrete Jungle back in the spring precisely because we foresaw the kind of reaction that closing residential streets to through traffic might provoke from some motorists http://Wearepossible.org/concretejungle 
Concrete jungle — Possible

http://Wearepossible.org/concretejungle
The Concrete Jungles are
- self watering: an embedded reservoir stores rainwater beneath the plants to keep them alive during dry spells
- indestructible: some lads with saws & hammers are not going to make a dent
- immovable: if an SUV tries to push one aside they’ll regret it
If you are involved in delivering a Low Traffic Neighbourhood and are having trouble with, or worries about, vandalism, please let us know. We made the Concrete Jungles to help councils who are trying to do the right thing, and supply them at cost (we are a charity)!
/ENDS
PS I forgot to add: two thirds of people in England support the reallocation of road space for walking and cycling, and three quarters support measures to reduce traffic. This stuff is popular, actually! https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/934617/DfT-Public-Opinion-Survey-on-Traffic-and-Road-Use-Phase-1-Report.pdf
PS I forgot to add: two thirds of people in England support the reallocation of road space for walking and cycling, and three quarters support measures to reduce traffic. This stuff is popular, actually! https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/934617/DfT-Public-Opinion-Survey-on-Traffic-and-Road-Use-Phase-1-Report.pdf
PS I forgot to add: two thirds of people in England support the reallocation of road space for walking and cycling, and three quarters support measures to reduce traffic. This stuff is popular, actually! https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/934617/DfT-Public-Opinion-Survey-on-Traffic-and-Road-Use-Phase-1-Report.pdf
You can follow @crisortunity.
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