‘Do we really need busy roundabouts and roads of a highway size?’

• MY name is Lucia, I am a full-time employed woman, a mum, and an “in-love with the local community” resident of Barnsbury for nearly 10 years.

I would like to provide some perspective in favour of the proposed low traffic neighbourhood and my opinion on how the scheme could be a great chance to enhance the livability of the area.

The other day I walked past a very lively and busy Hemingford Arms pub. It was lovely to look at! But I couldn’t stop thinking how nonsense it is to have all these people crowded together under the sun in a tiny strip of land around the pub and a huge crossroads for the cars to speed through.

The same always happens on the other side of the street where there is a café and a restaurant. People are gathering around for a drink and a chat, but the pedestrian space and the green shade are so limited.

It would be so easy to make these areas much more enjoyable. They are all precious meeting points in our neighbourhood.

There is so much space in the streets for cars that are used once a year and in many sections the paving is so narrow I can’t even walk hand-in-hand with one of my kids, especially when there is a tree or another person passing in the other direction.

Do we really need busy roundabouts and roads of a highway size? I believe it is time to give more space to people and less to moving cars and even less for car storage. And it is time to move away from modernism for a more organic and human-centred approach for our cities.

LUCIA
Barnsbury & Laycock Resident