People-friendly streets: ‘Approve of it or lose it!’

• I’M a council tenant living in Highbury, a born-and-bred local, and I don’t own a car or a bike.

I applaud Islington Council for having the courage of their environmental convictions, and for caring about the wellbeing of residents.

I read an article lately (There is no war cars) by Jon Burke, until recently Hackney’s lead councillor for the environment. Here are some interesting facts from it, quoted with his permission (sources are in the article).

The number of miles driven on London’s roads in the last 10 years has increased by 3.9 billion.

Since 2009 London’s neighbourhoods have absorbed the full increase while, since 2006 the number of miles driven on London’s main roads annually has fallen by 800 million.

And: 50 per cent of car journeys in London are of 3km or less.

And: more than 9,000 Londoners a year die prematurely because of air pollution.

And then there’s the climate.

Highbury has become a giant bypass over the last 10 years plus, for the benefit of drivers, often one to a vehicle. We are subjected day and night to way too much through-traffic.

Only 32 per cent of Islington residents own a car, the joint lowest figure in the whole of London (www.centreforlondon.org/publication/parking-kerbside-management/).

Now locals are in shock, we can sleep through the night and kids have started playing out. And these are working-class kids as well as middle-class kids.

And before the middle-class caricature is wheeled out; around 40 per cent of Islington’s residents live in social housing and Highbury West is no different, with the Blackstock estate, Aubert Court and lots of council street properties.

Air pollution in cities disproportionately affects working class and minority ethnic communities (Ethnic minorities and deprived communities hardest hit by air pollution, Imperial College News, 26.01.15).

Currently, there are at least four lots of road or utility works in the area: Thames Water works on Seven Sisters Road; gas works on Highbury Grove; Transport for London works on Holloway Road; Cycle 38 highway works on Drayton Park. And public transport is hardly being used.

So let’s not go round saying it’s the LTN, low traffic neighbourhood, causing some build-up of traffic on main roads at times.

If, at the end of the long consultation period (during which the Covid-19 pandemic is likely, we hope, to end), residents living on main roads are still suffering the noise and pollution they currently have, then I would encourage non-working drivers to consider whether they are making unnecessary journeys. They could even start that contemplation now.

Road-user pricing is probably the answer for main roads. There’s a price to be paid for driving, and the cost should be borne by drivers.

I would encourage people in other residential areas to campaign for LTNs too. Let’s direct more cars to the main roads.

I urge all supporters of PFS, people-friendly streets, to voice approval. The council is counting replies: https://survs.com/survey/458fgrskz5 is the survey for Highbury West, and https://survs.com/survey/gfalatsitd is the survey for Highbury Fields.

The next most important thing you can do is email peoplefriendlystreets@islington.gov.uk and copy to public.realm@islington.gov.uk

Approve of it or lose it!

D BYRNE, N5