Detail from a council appeal for views on the creation of ‘people-friendly streets’

• WITH just 26 per cent of Islington households owning or having access to a private vehicle, equity alone demands nothing less than “people-friendly streets”, aka LTNs or low-traffic neighbourhoods, (People-friendly street’ plan finds plenty of enemies, July 3).

Of course, there’ll be push-back from some residents. Traffic and parking, and the visual pollution they generate, let alone the environmental and health damage they inflict, have been part of Islington’s public face for too long.

A radical shake-up is required and transport boss Cllr Rowena Champion is correct: “It is vital that we act now in order… to make it easier and safer to walk and cycle, and to ensure that streets are better and more pleasant for all’.

But a bit of special pleading addressed to Cllr Champion, it’s almost exactly three years since the Barnsbury ward councillor, prior to joining the council executive, acknowledged that Thornhill Road’s “neck of the bottle” stretch between Barnsbury Park and Offord Road “is increasingly busy and that is causing some safety concerns”. Alas, the only subsequent outcome of that email correspondence has been silence.

So it’s to be hoped that the LTN announced for the St Mary’s and Barnsbury areas is introduced before a KSI (killed or seriously injured) event occurs on a rat-running residential street where, in defiance of all road-safety sense, parking is permitted.

Islington Council is to be applauded for its intention to introduce LTNs across the borough but it would do well to substantiate that commitment by removing this dangerous parking now, no consultation required, replacing it with temporary cycle tracks.

MEG HOWARTH
Ellington Street, N7