Lowestoft family are travel transformers
The Brooks family from Lowestoft is rethinking the way they make their everyday local journeys after getting involved with TravelSmart Lowestoft.
Last year, Debbie Brooks (44), her husband and three grown-up children participated in TravelSmart Lowestoft – led by sustainable transport charity Sustrans – which offered residents tailor-made travel information and support to help them choose walking, cycling and public transport for local journeys.Debbie said: ‘We are a busy family, so we are on the move a lot but we’re keen to use the car less too. My husband cycles to work every day and I walk to work, but I know we could do more, and the advice we have had from TravelSmart will help us make more changes to the way we travel.’
The TravelSmart Lowestoft project ran from autumn 2008 to December 2009, and a full report on changes to travel behaviour in the town will be released later this year. Elsewhere, similar projects have resulted in reductions in car trips of 10 per cent or more, along with increases in levels of walking, cycling and public transport use, and Sustrans expects to see a similar outcome in Lowestoft.
Maeve Tomlinson, Sustrans TravelSmart Lowestoft Project Officer, said: ‘From the direct contact we have with families such as the Brooks’ we know that many people are willing to choose more active ways of travelling for shorter journeys rather than using the car. All they need is decent information on the services and routes that are available to them. Even just changing a few journeys can have a big impact on the local environment and great benefits for people’s health.’
The Brooks household is one of over 20,000 households in the town contacted by TravelSmart Lowestoft. The family registered at www.travelsmartlowestoft.org.uk and were picked as prizewinners of a first-class family rail ticket to London from National Express East Anglia, which they will use to visit to the Tower of London.
TravelSmart Lowestoft was delivered by Sustrans and its partner Socialdata, with support from with Suffolk County Council and Waveney District Council. It has also received funding from Big Lottery Fund’s Well-being Programme as part of a wider £19.9m grant awarded by BIG to Sustrans' Active Travel Consortium. Travel information can still be downloaded from www.travelsmartlowestoft.org.uk
Published by: Travel Actively on Monday March 01 2010
