TfL has today published its first Strategic Walking Analysis which was to be launched at a joint event with London Living Streets on 16th March. The document and its associated datasets provides analyses of levels of walking , walkable trips and barriers to walking, mapping out at a granular level where the walking experience could be improved and where more people could walk.
Continue reading “Transport for London publishes Strategic Walking Analysis”London Living Streets and Covid-19
London under lockdown has become a very different place from the one we were familiar with. The need for restricted movement and social distancing has already resulted in the postponement of a huge number of events including the launch of Transport for London’s Strategic Walking Analysis that we were due to host on 16th March.
While we are all struck by the damage that the virus is causing, we have seen a dramatic fall in air pollution as a result of the greatly reduced volume of motor traffic since the lockdown started. However, the need to maintain a safe distance has highlighted just how little of our street space is given over to walking. Narrow pavements and frequent obstructions mean that when we make our essential journeys we are often having to move into the carriageway to avoid passing close to other people. Even with less motor traffic on the roads, this can feel very uncomfortable and unsafe. Detective Superintendent Andy Cox of the Metropolitan Police along with his team of officers is doing a fantastic job to communicate that they have no tolerance for drivers who speed or break the law. We would like to see all authorities re-enforce this with a message that drivers should look out for people on the road and share the space cheerfully and with good grace.
The national Living Streets website has comprehensive advice on when and how to walk with support for those who are wanting to walk to make those vital daily trips.
London Living Streets Fairer Pedestrian Crossings project update
by Mike Grahn, Robert Molteno and Alastair Hanton
The goal of the London Living Streets Fairer Pedestrian Crossings project is to rebalance the way in which London’s network of signalised road crossings is operated to give the best possible service and experience for those travelling on foot.
Continue reading “London Living Streets Fairer Pedestrian Crossings project update”Your chance to recommend pedestrian crossings where shorter wait times are needed
TfL’s signals engineers are again inviting London Living Streets to send in lists of signalised pedestrian crossings that need wait times reduced. This is part of TfL’s Signal Timing Review Programme.
Continue reading “Your chance to recommend pedestrian crossings where shorter wait times are needed”Central London Walking Network conference report
“The zeitgeist is changing. The politics of the street are changing. People are asking how we want to live.”
Nicholas Boys Smith, Create Streets
This was Boys Smith, one of the chairs at the Central London Walking Network conference on 28 November, responding to the energy, ideas and enthusiasm in the room. The event, organised with Urban Design Group, was a turning point in London Living Street’s campaign for a dense web of walking routes connecting major destinations in Central London.
Continue reading “Central London Walking Network conference report”Improving main roads in London
by Robert Molteno and Jeremy Leach, London Living Streets
For a number of years, ‘smoothing traffic flow’ was at the heart of roads transport policy in London. This policy of facilitating journeys by motor vehicle infected everything – and negatively from the point of view of Londoners wanting to walk short trips, or cycle, or have clean air. 30mph and higher speed limits were largely unquestioned; pedestrian crossing timings were geared to keeping motor vehicles moving; signalised pedestrian crossings were removed; and roads capacity was increased, for example by adding more lanes, narrowing pavements or building wide turning radii at intersections.
Continue reading “Improving main roads in London”Council policies to decarbonise London’s road transport
by Jeremy Leach, Paul Gasson, Robert Molteno and Emma Griffin
In response to public alarm over climate change, nearly two thirds of London councils had declared a climate emergency by October 2019. While it is relatively straightforward for a council to declare an emergency, it is far more challenging to commit to specific interventions that will deliver big cuts in carbon emissions.
Continue reading “Council policies to decarbonise London’s road transport”Watch our video to see the difference a low-traffic neighbourhood can make
Are the streets where you live seeing more and more through traffic, especially in the morning rush hour? This is happening when non-local drivers take a short cut through a residential area to get from a major road on one side to the big route on the other. This is happening more and more as motorists used devices like Google Maps and Waze to tell them what is the quickest, least congested route to take. Continue reading “Watch our video to see the difference a low-traffic neighbourhood can make”
World Car Free Day 2019: celebrate with Living Streets groups across London
Streets across the capital will close on Sunday as part of World Car Free Day, including more than 20km of roads around Tower Bridge, London Bridge and the City of London as part of the Mayor’s Reimagine event.
Continue reading “World Car Free Day 2019: celebrate with Living Streets groups across London”
London boroughs must act now to reduce emissions from transport. Here’s how.
More than 20 of London’s 32 boroughs have announced a climate emergency, with many setting 2030 as a target date to achieve net zero carbon emissions. But with transport accounting for a third of UK’s carbon dioxide emissions (the large majority from road transport) and falling at a much slower rate than other sectors, councils must take bolder action on transport to meet these targets.
London Living Streets proposes a range of policies and initiatives that London boroughs can implement right now, not only to reduce GHG emissions but also to address issues around public health, air pollution, road casualties and social inequality.
Continue reading “London boroughs must act now to reduce emissions from transport. Here’s how.”
London Living Streets 