Tackling the rat run

Amanda Thesiger, an artist and information officer from Faversham in Kent, explains how she helped coordinate opposition to dangerous roads in her area

In Faversham, Kent, where I live, there are three times more cars going down my road at peak hours (7.30-9 am and 3.30-8 pm). That's seven hours of rat running.

It felt completely unfair that this totally residential group of roads was bombarded by commuters and school-run vehicles. It doesn't feel safe - there are so many blind spots, no crossings and the children are using the pavements at exactly the time that there is a frantic rush by vehicles.

I've worked for Friends of the Earth's Information Service team for more than 13 years and because I've advised so many people who wanted to improve a local environmental issue, I didn't think twice - I'd find a way to change it by running a little campaign.

I filled my three-year-old daughter Celeste's trolley with leaflets and together we delivered a notice to 250 neighbours about starting a residents' group.

That got the momentum going and we've been active since then. We haven't yet got a 20 mph zone with safe crossings and wider pavements, but the local council and Kent Highways have started doing surveys of traffic speeds and volumes; and feasibility studies for traffic calming measures in the area.

This is the sort of research they need to do to make a proper bid for funding from Kent County Council. We are working at a very local level, but we know that some decisions need to be made by Government.

That's why I'm a member of the nearest Friends of the Earth local group, Swale, and the residents' association is part of the Transport 2000's Streets for People initiative. Transport 2000 and Friends of the Earth are founder members of the Way to Go coalition, which is trying to make transport options more sustainable everywhere by lobbying MPs.