Green & Environment Programmes on TV - Green from Channel4.com

About the Series

Programme three: Durham

Durham is in the top 10 of carbon footprints in the country, with the largest traffic increase in the north-east over the last decade. Councillor Dave Wafer highlights just how bad the traffic crisis could get in Durham with a computer simulation. 'The queues just get bigger and bigger,' he says.

Kris Murrin sees that unlike Marlow and Boston, the Durham residents have no reason to keep on driving as the council has built park-and-rides, cycle paths, bus lanes and a congestion zone. But when Kris takes to the streets she is greeted with a multitude of excuses as to why people won't leave their cars at home.

A glance at the peak-hour traffic reveals it's mainly half-empty cars driving past a half-empty park and ride. But what's more revealing is a divide between the sexes, as Dave observes: 'It's mainly women who use the park-and-ride.'

With a good alternative infrastructure, Kris is determined to come up with a cycle plan for the local residents on the Newton Hall estate and the councillors themselves. Kris is also starting to realise the scale of the problem she is facing and that to create any impact she needs to get big numbers signed up, and fast.

Meeting with the council, Kris proposes a stunt to get the residents to wake up to the looming gridlock problem. But Dave points out that you want people to change their behaviour for the right reasons and this is vetoed.

With the knowledge that the fairer sex of Durham are ready to make a change when it comes to car usage, Kris needs the men of Durham onboard. Heading to the pubs in her key area of Newton Hall, Kris debates an age old adage about which sex is the better driver, as one local puts it: 'They're no good in traffic, women, they just can't make a decision.'

Kris continues her plight, asking what incentive people need to leave their cars at home. With a suggestion from the locals of free beer at the end of the journey, Kris is laughed out of the bar. 'This'll never happen,' they say.

The mums on the school run seem just as apathetic, as only five show up for a meeting about No Car Day. As one mum puts it: 'You could offer them a million pounds and they wouldn't not come to school in their cars.' But it's vital for her campaign to get them onboard, so once again Kris targets the parents through their kids with pester power.

Kris knows however, from her previous experiments, that if the residents of Durham 'feel' the problem rather than just understand the theory, she'll have more chance of success. The council reject her bid to hijack the traffic to demonstrate this, so maybe, thinks Kris, a demonstration of another kind will work. Kris appeals to the ideals of the local university students, saying: 'I know it's a bit naughty.' But again it's met with more excuses.

With the campaign hanging by a thread, Kris takes some direct action in the 8am peak-hour traffic but will anyone turn up and will it be enough? Just how does the city of Durham fare when the woman who stops traffic comes to town for No Car Day?

More about programme three in pictures >>

Top ^