Highbury Fields LTN. Photo: Chris Kenyon 

• IT’S nearly a year since the first of the LTN people-friendly streets schemes, in St Peter’s, was introduced. It’s worth reflecting on the rationale for bringing these in.

As explained this time last year by the then council leader Richard Watts, as lockdown restrictions began to loosen and with understandable concerns of contracting Covid-19 when using public transport, people would instead choose to travel by car.

The justifiable fear was that this behavioural shift would exacerbate an already existing pollution crisis during a pandemic in which the disease attacks the respiratory system of those infected.

People-friendly streets were thus brought in to enable people to eschew their cars, allow them to feel safe to walk and cycle, thereby reducing the volume of motorised traffic and consequent risks from pollution and road danger.

It is clear from monitoring data released by the council for Canonbury East and St Peter’s that this is working.

It is also clear, while I’ve been walking through Islington, the large number of people from all ages and walks of life enjoying our streets.

These schemes have worked where the council have been ambitious by using good design principles in the choice of boundary roads.

The notable exception to the council’s outstanding work is the Amwell scheme. This still hasn’t been fully implemented as the Margery Street filter is yet to be activated due to the road being a one-way street. This could have been avoided if the council had not made Amwell Street a boundary road.

A year on and the case for bringing in more schemes urgently has only strengthened.

According to the Office for National Statistics, in the week ending May 2 2021, average daily traffic camera activity in London for cars increased by 118 per cent of their levels in the week immediately prior to the March 2020 lockdown.

Despite protestations from those who are not supportive of people-friendly streets, the primary reason why we’ve seen an increase in congested roads is the significant number of people who choose to travel by car who could use alternative means.

With the government still seeming eager to further relax restrictions and with the new Delta variant being 40 per cent more transmissible than the variant it has largely replaced, the need to make our roads safer to walk and cycle has only increased.

At the last environment and regeneration scrutiny meeting the council promised to introduce three schemes this year: St Mary’s Church, Caledonian and Barnsbury St Mary’s.

While recognising the superb work been done so far, I hope Islington Council stand firm and ensure that these future schemes follow the same design standards that have worked so well in St Peter’s, Highbury and Canonbury.

For more information see barnsburystmarys2020.ghost.io.

SIMON IZOD, N1
Low Traffic Barnsbury & St Mary’s