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Durham is in the top 10 of carbon footprints in England, with the largest traffic increase in the northeast over the last decade. Councillor Dave Wafer highlights just how bad the traffic crisis could get in Durham with a computer simulation.
Kris Murrin sees that unlike Marlow and Boston, 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.
Kris is determined to come up with a cycle plan, but she is also starting to realize the scale of the problem she is facing and that to create any impact, she needs to get big numbers signed up, and fast.
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 on board. Heading to the pubs in her key area, Kris debates an adage about which sex is the better driver, and 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.
The moms on the school run seem just as apathetic, as only five show up for a meeting about No Car Day—so once again Kris targets the parents through their kids with pester power.
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?
The Woman Who Stops Traffic: about the show
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