CPRE London has today responded to The Royal Parks Movement Stratgegy consultation urging bolder action.
Alice Roberts of CPRE London said: "We feel that responses to the last consultation gave a clear mandate for more concerted action in particular to remove through traffic and therefore we would urge that the strategy is revised to take quicker and bolder action". CPRE London is proposing the following:
- All action needs to be more urgent – within the next 12 months
- Through-traffic / commuter motor traffic should be eliminated from the Royal Parks (not discouraged)
- There should be more traffic-free days and weekends – or even weeks at busy times.
- Many more roads should be transformed into permanent car-free walking boulevards
- A priority should be to create individual plans for each park
- There should be speed limits of between 5mph and (max) 20mph
- The Strategy presents cycling unnecessarily negatively. We believe this is a huge missed opportunity. Instead, cycling through, to and from, or in the parks should be supported and championed.
- Generally, the strategy should more clearly reflect London’s crises around climate, nature, air quality and inactivity/health. These issues should be prominent in the strategy as being critical issues for London.
Alice said: "Our research has shown that one third of London’s parks are seriously impacted by traffic noise, reducing their amenity and, in the worst cases, stopping people from using them at all. We would like to see The Royal Parks demonstrating leadership on this issue, taking action to eliminate the negative impacts of cars in and around London’s parks and in doing so, encouraging others to do likewise."