Chris Boardman to become government’s lead active travel representative, leaving Greater Manchester role

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Greater Manchester’s Olympic cyclist and walking and cycling commissioner Chris Boardman is set to lead the Government’s new cycling and walking body, Active Travel England.

Chris Boardman will leave his Greater Manchester role to join the new government body. Active Travel England (ATE) will be responsible for driving up standards of cycling and walking infrastructure and managing the national active travel budget, awarding funding for projects that improve both health and air quality. READ MORE: Heartbreaking final post of mum whose five children never got the chance to say goodbye ATE will also begin to inspect and publish reports on highway authorities for their performance on active travel and identify particularly dangerous failings in their highways for cyclists and pedestrians.

Active travel commissioner for England Chris Boardman said: “The positive effects of high levels of cycling and walking are clearly visible in pockets around the country where people have been given easy and safe alternatives to driving.

Perhaps most important of all, though, it makes for better places to live while helping both the NHS and our mission to decarbonise.” “The time has come to build on those pockets of best practice and enable the whole nation to travel easily and safely around their neighbourhoods without feeling compelled to rely on cars.