intricateminglings

July 14, 2020November 10, 2020

Central London Footways: a transport network for London’s Covid-19 recovery

By Emma Griffin and David Harrison

In 1854, nine years before the arrival of the Underground, 400,000 people walked into the City of London every day. These walks weren’t the final leg of a journey from a mainline station, or within the centre: they were the entire commute.

Londoners still love to walk, of course (two thirds of all trips are walked in the Square mile). But we walk much shorter distances than our predecessors. Currently only 5% of commuter travel to the City is on foot. The average walk-all-the-way trip across London is less than 1km, according to TfL’s Strategic Walking Analysis.

February 28, 2020February 28, 2020

Join London Living Streets to launch TfL Strategic Walking Analysis and Planning for Walking Toolkit

It is clear that the benefits of walking are huge. Walking as part of regular travel is the best way to stay healthy. Switching from motorised travel to walking reduces road danger, air pollution and noise. If more people walk and consequently fewer drive, the result is streets and neighbourhoods that are more pleasant and connected communities.

October 22, 2019November 15, 2019

Introducing the Central London Walking Network

Shelton Street and Upper St Martin’s Lane now

A future?

By David Harrison, vice-chair, London Living Streets

Remember the tube strike in 2017? Full buses and angry and bewildered passengers in long queues at bus stops. I don’t blame them, but many seemed unaware that they could have easily walked to their destination.

Important locations in Central London are often separated by just a short walk. Consider the area round Covent Garden: it’s a 15-minute walk for commuters from Waterloo Station to Covent Garden; about the same for culture vultures to get from the National Gallery to the British Museum along St Martin’s Lane. Continue reading “Introducing the Central London Walking Network”

July 11, 2019October 16, 2019

Evaporating traffic? Impact of low-traffic neighbourhoods on main roads

Bollard

By Emma Griffin, vice-chair, London Living Streets

Low-traffic neighbourhoods can be life-changing for the residents who live in them. Since the neighbourhood improvements in Walthamstow Village in 2015, people are walking and cycling more, children play out, air pollution has improved and life expectancy increased. Continue reading “Evaporating traffic? Impact of low-traffic neighbourhoods on main roads”

June 27, 2019June 27, 2019

London needs a transport revolution, not an electric one

By Emma Griffin, vice-chair, London Living Streets

EV_pavement Last week, the Mayor of London’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Taskforce set out its plans to expand London’s electric vehicle charging network.

Unfortunately the Delivery Plan’s main focus is the automotive industry, or “initiatives to remove barriers and improve the conditions for accelerating investment” and growth in the EV sector. Continue reading “London needs a transport revolution, not an electric one”