Turn 10 million parking spaces into parks

car park parks

Over 10 million car parking spaces across 94 of the world’s biggest cities should be given over to cycle lanes or trees to reduce air pollution and help tackle climate change. The advice is from the C40 Cities group – a body that advises the mayors of major cities and which is chaired by Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris.

London currently allocates an area four-and-a-half times the area of Hyde Park to parking and C40 suggests 135,000 spaces could be repurposed to benefit people and and the planet, rather than simply drivers.

For our part, we’re proud to have got the ball rolling by providing one London borough with a pedal-powered parklet, which was unveiled last month. We’ve nicknamed it a pedlet.

The pedlet can be towed into place using an electric cargo trike and once installed, provides visitors with a place to sit, free WiFi and birdsong played through a small wooden bird box. Residents of Kingston upon Thames are able to request the parklet visit their street for a day by visiting the council’s website. See it in action below.

Cycle insurance animation

Ethical cycle insurance

On the face of it, one cycle insurance policy is much like another, but the devil is the detail. Check your small print for so-called ‘new-for-old’ replacement – many insurers use the term, but if your bicycle is more than a few years old, devalue it severely. This means you are left out of pocket when you come to replace it.

With ETA cycle insurance, however old the bike, if it’s stolen you get enough to buy a new model. Furthermore, every cycle insurance policy you buy from us helps support the work of the ETA Trust, our charity campaigning for a cleaner, safer transport future. Little wonder The Good Shopping Guide has voted us Britain’s most ethical insurance company.


 

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