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18
Nov
First active travel commissioner appointed for North Yorkshire
The first active travel commissioner for York and North Yorkshire has been appointed.
David Skaith, Labour mayor of the region, has appointed Rhiannon Letman-Wade to the position which will oversee the delivery of the mayor’s £4 million Active Travel Fund.
Ms Letman-Wade was deputy chair of Wales’ Active Travel Board, where she helped shape national policy and led a number of successful initiatives to make school journeys safer.
Her work has supported the uptake of walking, wheeling and cycling through schemes such as School Streets, Bikeability and ModeShift. She has also helped local authorities improve their active travel ratings – demonstrating increased confidence from the government in their ability to deliver.
Ms Letman-Wade said:
There is already great work happening across the region and I’m looking forward to building on that to make walking, wheeling and cycling safer and easier for everyone.
I’m speaking with stakeholders and community groups to build a picture of where we are now and what we need to do next. Changing how people think about active travel is part of the challenge. It’s not simply about replacing car journeys, it’s about seeing how it can support other ways of travelling – such as making it easier to walk to a bus stop, or cycle to a station.
Mr Skaith said:
Rhiannon has a strong track record of delivering exciting active travel schemes and a commitment to empowering communities to make the change they want to see in their neighbourhoods. She brings a wealth of experience and will be at the forefront of helping York and North Yorkshire move forward.
The Stray Ferret has asked the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority how much Ms Letman-Wade will be paid.
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