An example of what a small group of people can do...

Local residents redevelop land and create a traffic-safe "home zone"

In order to redevelop a brownfield site in their neighbourhood, residents from a community in Bristol formed the Ashley Vale Action Group Ltd in 2000. They raised money to purchase the site by selling plots of the land to self-builders and to a local housing association.

As the site developed so did concerns about speeding vehicles and parking problems. Initial consultation with residents showed support for a low-speed ‘home zone’, where traffic would be managed to make the streets safer for pedestrians. The residents decided to use money they had left to develop this idea, a proven way to make local roads slower and safer. Further consultation was done with Sustrans with involvement by over 80% of the residents. Limited funds led to local residents working on low-cost alternatives to the traffic problems encountered in each street in the area. Over the following months the design was refined to bring costs down to a minimum and to secure permission from the Highways Authority.
Local knowledge was invaluable for the project. One local resident is a Traffic Engineer who used his in depth understanding to work with the local authority bureaucracy and obtain the necessary permissions as well as design the home zone. The new layout was constructed as part of the planning requirements for the self-build scheme and was paid for by AVAG and the self-builders. Local residents contributed materials, labour and plants.
The total cost of the Ashley Vale home zone was just £12,500. The work was straightforward and, from agreeing a design to completion, took only eight months. Even when the time and materials given voluntarily by people in the community are added in, it is still an extraordinarily small amount of money in light of the impact it has had on the area.

Source: Every Action Counts