The woman who stops traffic - did it work?

So I pondered earlier whether "The woman who stops traffic" on Channel 4 had worked in Marlow long term - has the number of cars on the road dropped sustainably, or just for the one day?

I got a Google alert this morning which answers some of the question...

Bucks free press - TV mom to complain over Marlow documentary

While bearing in mind the sensationalist nature of local papers (though I don't know this one specifically), the suggestion is that the event didn't have a long term impact.

Is that a surprise? no - I don't think so. The "great and the good" seemed quite apathetic and these things take more than a day to get embedded as a habit.

Does it matter? Is it still valuable as a TV programme? Yes - absolutely. This has moved the issue up the agenda, and I have had conversations about traffic with people who have never shown an interest before - as a direct result of the programme.

Unfortunately, one TV programme or one "walk to school" event won't get everyone out of their cars for the school run - oh that life was that simple! That doesn't mean we shouldn't do it, and it doesn't mean we shouldn't celebrate when we do have successes.