First cycling and walking commissioner for West Midlands

Andy Street has appointed a new cycling and walking commissioner to accelerate plans to get more people moving around the West Midlands by foot or bike.

Adam Tranter, who has previously volunteered as Bicycle Mayor for Coventry, has taken up the new role after a rigorous recruitment process. He will work with Transport for West Midlands, local council partners and the Department for Transport to steer the region’s cycling and walking policies and plans.

Since 2018 the West Midlands has secured £40 million from the government for active travel routes and projects, including the West Midlands Cycle Hire, and the commissioner will be looking to build on that success.

Investment in active travel is a key part of the WMCA’s aim of improving health and reducing carbon emissions as set out in the region’s plan to tackle climate change by 2041.

Tranter said: “I want our region to achieve its active travel potential. We saw during lockdown that vast numbers of people will cycle given the right environment to do it in; our goal has to be giving these people a genuine alternative to using a car for short journeys. We can only do this by building high quality, direct and connected infrastructure.

“Congestion really drags down our region’s health and prosperity; cities that have embraced active travel have been rewarded with better air quality, less carbon emissions and happier citizens. I want the West Midlands to have these rewards too."

Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “We have put more funding than ever before into active travel, but we need to go further to make cycling and walking the natural choice for shorter journeys in the West Midlands. Not only is it good for the environment by cutting down on car use and therefore air pollution, but it is also a brilliant and fun way of improving people’s physical and mental health.

“The benefits of cycling and walking are clear, and I know Adam is the right person to help deliver on my promise to put active travel at the heart of our region’s transport plans.”