The issue:
Transport for London latest “Cycle Superhighway” is planned to run along quiet back streets in parallel to the west of Kingsland High St between the City and Tottenham.
The proposals touch the edge of Islington, crossing Balls Pond Rd, up Kingsbury Rd, along St. Jude St and up Boleyn Rd before turning into Wordsworth Rd.
The small problem is, they are not quiet enough: Boleyn Rd and Crossway (becoming King Henry’s Walk) carry huge numbers of cars and lorries making them very unpleasant to cycle on. And to be fair to Cycling Commissioner, Andrew Gilligan, he recognizes there is scope to improve this stretch.
So what’s the solution?
To get space for cycling, we need to separate people on bikes from through motor traffic. We need to filter the busy streets to get the rat running vehicles away from residential streets and onto main roads, such as Balls Pond Rd and the A10.
ACTION:
Please write to consultations@tfl.gov.uk and tell them that their plans aren’t nearly safe enough. They need to reduce rat running on Boleyn Road, Mildmay Road, St Jude St, and King Henry’s Walk by installing trees or bollards. They also need to create a fully pedestrianised plaza on King Henry’s Walk. We would also really encourage TfL to enhance the public realm with more bike parking, seating, and urban greening to maximise the benefits of this cycling scheme for all Mildmay residents, not just long distance commuters.
(see featured picture by local design firm Levitt Bernstein of what it could look like).
If you would like to respond to the full consultation, please click here.
These 4 simple things will make Mildmay a calm, safe haven for walking and cycling.
Blue: Bus route
Green: Safe routes for walking and cycling
What is more, at a stroke, Islington Council and TfL could dramatically reduce pollution in this area and bring it down to safe levels.
The scheme was presented to the local community at a Mildmay Ward Partnership meeting last week. The overwhelming view of the room was incredibly positive. The only comments were that there needed to be even more seating all around Mildmay and how important secure bike parking is. We totally agree!
A slightly more detailed presentation can be viewed here.
We would love to hear your thoughts, either to address concerns or get ideas for further improvements we should be asking for in Islington. Please email tom(at)icag.org.uk.
Before and after. Which would you prefer?