2026 Walk, Wheel, Cycle Conference

Test One Street at a Time: Reflections from Walk Wheel Cycle conference 2026.

Thanks to Luke Tozer for this report.

The Walk Wheel Cycle conference at London’s Guildhall, organised by the London Borough of Hackney and the City of London and sponsored by NRP and Cyclehoop, brought together councillors, officers and transport engineers from across the capital and beyond.

Ed Clancy OBE spoke passionately about South Yorkshire’s active travel journey, much has been accomplished, but much remains to be done. London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, Will Norman, reflected on the capital’s progress over the past decade. He highlighted 250 lives saved through street improvements, alongside reduced congestion and cleaner air, with measurable benefits for children’s lung capacity, and thanked those working to improve active travel.

The most inspiring presentation came from Priscilla Bennetti of the City of Paris. She showed how 300 school streets had been transformed in six years from congested, parked tarmac into places for play, relaxation and nature. Her advice was practical, begin by engaging schools and parents, bring communities with you and prepare for the inevitable initial backlash from drivers.

Paris demonstrated what a city mayor, equipped with powers over traffic and parking and supported by a committed team, can achieve within a single term. London boroughs may lack the same centralised powers, but the conference revealed a strong determination to keep moving forward through smaller, incremental improvements, perhaps the British way of creating a more liveable and accessible city, one street at a time.

In the closing plenary, Professor Peter Norton of the University of Virginia challenged the false promise that autonomous electric vehicles will solve our problems, warning that technological solutions always seem to remain just over the horizon.

The appetite for more human, practical answers to how we shape and move around our cities was palpable. We arrived laden with Tulip Cycle Wands on OurBike rented cargo bike and pedalled away at the end of the day with a sense of purposeful optimism.