Sir John Tusa

• SIR John Tusa’s opposition to Islington Council’s people-friendly streets initiative shows us the truth about so many of the scheme’s opponents, (New road experiments are being forced in with ‘shocking’ lack of consultation, warns Sir John, September 18).

They are a minority of very privileged people. It’s a shame that this knight of the realm appears to be working up the fears of business owners in Canonbury Place.

Incredibly these business owners seem to be arguing that the majority of their customers do not live in or near West Canonbury.

One creates the impression that his business relies on wealthy people chauffeuring over vast wardrobes of expensive clothes for cleaning.

Another says that the majority of his customers arrive by private car, bringing air pollution, congestion and road danger into the area.

It’s an astonishing argument for “local” business owners to make; that they do not serve the community they operate in.

Yet we must give these proprietors the benefit of the doubt that they have fallen prey to a common misconception.

Evidence shows that business owners significantly overestimate the fraction of their customers who arrive by car, and underestimate those who walk.

Businesses in Lea Bridge Road, Waltham Forest, believed that 63 per cent of their customers arrived by car; but a 2015 survey of visitors to the street revealed that only 20 per cent had done so.

These businesses simply don’t realise that the majority of their customers are most likely to live nearby and arrive on foot or by means other than private car.

More importantly, making Canonbury Place more attractive for walking, cycling and lingering, is likely to benefit these businesses.

Research repeatedly finds that pedestrians and cyclists spend as much or more than customers arriving by car and they buy more frequently.

Many traders in Broadway Market in Hackney, Orford Road in Waltham Forest, and Northcote Road in Wandsworth, claimed that their businesses would suffer without cars driving through.

But all flourished thanks to increased footfall and a more pleasant street environment. Would businesses in Exmouth Market want their street full of cars again?

The majority of Canonbury residents don’t own cars and I’m sure they look forward to visiting a quieter, safer, Canonbury Place as much as I do.

TALIA HUSSAIN
Islington Green Party