BackLiving Streets launch vision for London
Living Streets call for every day to be a traffic free day in London’s West End as they launch their ‘Vision for London’
On Saturday 5th December, Oxford Street and Regent Street will be closed off to cars, buses and taxis in celebration of the fifth Shop West End VIP (very Important Pedestrian) day. National charity Living Streets, who work to create safe, attractive and enjoyable streets across the UK, are calling for Oxford Street to become permanently pedestrianised as they launch their ‘Vision for London’.
The ‘Vision for London’ sets out action to help London to meet its potential as a world class walking city. Included in the vision are calls to make walking the natural choice for short journeys in the capital, revitalise neighbourhoods outside of central London, to improve road safety by reducing the speed limit to 20mph and finally, by calling for a network of pedestrian priority routes in central London. Community groups and local residents can use the vision to challenge politicians to sign up to the vision in the run up to the Parliamentary and London Borough elections in 2010..
A survey carried out by Living Streets on a traffic free day in the West End in December 2007 showed that a traffic free shopping experience dramatically changes people’s perceptions of the West End, with 92% of people stating it felt more pleasant for pedestrians.
The survey also found that 70% of people would spend more time in the West End and 67% of people would make the effort to visit more often if the streets were closed to traffic. In addition to this, an 84% of people admitted to feeling safer and more secure without the threat of traffic passing by.
Although 40 bus routes service the West End, with up to 220 buses an hour travelling in each direction along the busiest section of Oxford Street, only 7% of visitors to the West End use buses to move around. As a result of this, 68% of the public feel that all motor traffic should be permanently removed from Oxford Street.
Tony Armstrong, Chief Executive of Living Streets said:
“Walking is the lifeblood of any great city and our ‘Vision for London’ is an excellent way to ensure that London is doing all it can to become a world class walking city. London is one of the world’s greatest cities, but we’re being overtaken by the likes of New York and Barcelona because they are putting people first and turning their cities into vibrant walkable places. On a normal day Oxford Street is described as being ‘busy’, ‘congested/crowded’ and ‘dangerous’- it simply doesn’t work for anyone- pedestrians or bus users. The success of the VIP days prove that permanent pedestrianisation would be a popular move. With the Olympics around the corner, we should be aiming for our main shopping street to be as welcoming to the world as possible.”
You can download the Vision for London here.
For more information, please contact Anna Powell, Press Officer on 020 7377 4914 or email anna.powell@livingstreets.org.uk. For any out of hours press enquiries, please call 07545 209 865.
Notes to editors:
Living Streets, celebrating its 80th birthday this year, is the national charity that stands up for pedestrians. With our supporters we work to create safe, attractive and enjoyable streets, where people want to walk.
We have been the national voice for pedestrians throughout our 80 year history. In the early years, our campaigning led to the introduction of the driving test, pedestrian crossings and 30mph speed limits. Since then our ambition has grown. Today we influence decision makers nationally and locally, run successful projects to encourage people to walk, and provide specialist consultancy services to help reduce congestion and carbon emissions, improve public health, and make sure every community can enjoy vibrant streets and public spaces.
Published on: 03/12/2009
