City’s sustainable travel efforts celebrated by hosting major national convention

The two-day convention hosted at the Royal Armouries saw 320 delegates learn best practice from across the country in how to help residents and businesses make the change to sustainable travel (walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport), including transforming public spaces to make these methods of travel easier and more enjoyable.

Leeds City Council officers hosted sessions about implementing effective residential travel plans, and how to engage and work with communities to realise the health and wellbeing benefits of travelling more actively.

Across the two days, officers led walks titled ‘Marching on together with Leeds’, which toured key shared spaces and pedestrian improvements across the city centre. Cycle Safaris also offered delegates the opportunity to experience riding on Leeds City Bikes - the UK’s largest e-bike scheme launched last year - along recently upgraded routes such as the new junction on Meadow Lane, viewing fantastic facilities for cyclists at Wellington Place and a section of the National Cycle Network along the canal.  

The council also enjoyed success in the awards, winning the Business Engagement Project of the Year for its partnership work alongside Wellington Place and Hydrock Fore (now Stantec) implementing a travel plan for its community of 80 businesses and over 16,000 employees.

In addition, the council was shortlisted in the Community Engagement Project of the Year category for its Influencing Travel Behaviour Team’s road safety week of action around Bankside Primary School, and the Team Modeshift Partnership of the Year category for its work with Living Streets and Alwoodley Climate Action as part of Alwoodley Walk to School Week.

Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for economy, transport and sustainable development, opened the convention with a keynote speech on the first morning.

Councillor Pryor said: “We are immensely proud of our Connecting Leeds transport strategy, and our ambition to be a city where you don’t need a car –  everyone has an affordable, accessible, and zero carbon choice in how they travel.

“A cornerstone of this strategy is creating healthier streets, spaces and communities where active travel is prioritised, making walking and cycling the obvious choice for any short journey, and combined with public transport for any long one.

“Welcoming the National Modeshift Convention to Leeds is fantastic recognition of our city’s efforts towards reaching this ambition. We are delighted that so many organisations will take away learning from our work, and similarly there is so much best practice that we have learnt from others’ work that we can bring to Leeds.”

Ben Plowden, Chair of the Transport Planning Society, said:

“Councillor Pryor and the Leeds team demonstrated a clear commitment to Leeds becoming a sustainable transport city, and one of the highlights of the convention was seeing how public spaces and major roads are being transformed to give greater priority to people travelling on foot, by bike and by bus.

"I look forward to returning next year to see how their achievements and ambitions have progressed even further.”

Nick Butler, Modeshift Business Director said:

"We were thrilled to bring the National Modeshift Convention and Team Modeshift National Sustainable Travel Awards to Leeds this year. Leeds proved to be the perfect home for our 320 plus delegates over the two-day event, thanks to the city’s strong commitment to active and sustainable travel. This dedication not only brought us here but has also ensured our return on the 25 and 26 November next year. 

"The theme for the Convention this year, ‘Making sustainable travel journeys easier,’ resonates deeply with human nature. At the Royal Armouries Museum,  we invited delegates to explore these ideas and tackle challenges with creativity and optimism."

Leeds’ recent achievements include the award-winning transformation of City Square into a much more pedestrian-friendly environment, alongside the ongoing improvements at Leeds City Railway Station that will promote improved walking and cycling connectivity with the city’s major transport hub.

There is also the ongoing ‘Leeds Streets for All’ consultations, encouraging residents across the city to identify what they see as problems and barriers to safer travel in their communities, and the School Streets programme to make spaces outside schools safer during drop-off and pick-up times.