Latest Healthy Streets Stories

Hackney parks to get more cafes, ice cream vendors ahead of summer

Hackney Council is proposing more cafes and market traders for its local parks as it encourages more people to get out and about ahead of summer. The Town Hall is considering renting out eight permanent and 15 temporary catering spots for ice cream vans or market traders. It also wants to have permanent cafes or kiosks in Abney Park, Clissold Park, De Beauvoir Square, Fairchild's Garden, and a cafe in the pavilion at Hackney Downs.

TfL launches new 20mph speed limits on London roads in bid to reduce deaths and injuries

TfL announced that it will introduce low speed limits on five roads across London to make the roads safer for cyclists and pedestrians. The roll-out of reduced speed limits is part of the Vision Zero Action Plan, which hopes to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on London’s roads by 2041. Four 20mph speed limits will be introduced on roads across the capital, including London Road in Croydon.

Route Plan Roll: The London cycling map that seeks to ‘fill in an information gap’

Hanney is the creator of Route Plan Roll, a map that seeks to "encourage and support those who wish to make their next trip by bicycle in London". It sorts cycle routes in London into three tiers: green, where cycling is prioritised; orange, where cyclists have some priority; and red, where cyclists are forced to ride in heavy traffic and caution is advised.

British Land’s Exchange Square is now open at Broadgate

British Land reveals the opening of its new 1.5-acre Exchange Square located at Broadgate in the City of London. Designed by architects DSDHA, the park quadruples the amount of green space at Broadgate and creates a new outdoor space for workers and the wider community to enjoy in the capital.

Revealed: Hackney, Islington and Newham are boroughs with most LTNs

Hackney, Islington and Newham have been revealed as some of the top boroughs with the healthiest streets. Healthy Streets Coalition revealed Hackney as the London borough with the highest proportion of streets with an LTN (70 per cent). Waltham Forest came in second with LTNs taking up 49pc of the borough. Islington followed with 43pc and then Newham with 37pc. The Greater London average was 23pc.

Mini forest and ‘green tower’ plans among first to meet London’s new green guidelines

Developers will consider contribution to environment using Urban Greening Factor formula. The Urban Greening Factor (UGF) formula, inspired by the Swedish city of Malmö’s “green points” system, scores each part of a development’s plan – including street-level areas, balconies and roofs – from 0 to 1, with trees, planters and green roofs earning high scores, while paving slabs and barren rooftops receive no score. Central government has also set out plans in the Environment Act 2021 to make developments deliver an uplift to biodiversity, which will require a 10% “biodiversity net gain”.

Sadiq Khan leads ambitious plans to rewild Hyde Park

London mayor releases £600,000 funding to help create green rooftops and reintroduce lost species. The city’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, is working with Ben Goldsmith – a member of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the brother of Khan’s former rival for the mayoral election Zac Goldsmith – to boost nature in the capital, including making the royal parks wilder and encouraging people to plant green rooftops.

New report claims that tripling bike use would boost London’s economy by £5 billion a year

A new report by the academic research firm Transport for Quality of Life estimates that by trebling bicycle use in London to 14% of all journeys by 2030, London’s economy could be boosted to the tune of £5 billion pounds a year.

Portobello Road says no thanks to the return of cars

During market hours vehicles will now be permanently banned, after council heads for 2030 carbon-neutral goal. The borough announced that Portobello Road will be closed to traffic during market operating hours (10am-4pm) from Monday to Saturday. Some of the nearby streets will also be closed throughout the week.

City couriers favour electric cargo bikes over vans for deliveries

More logistics companies are exploiting the flexibility and speed of environmentally-friendly cargo bikes. Such operations represent a fast-growing niche in many companies’ logistics operations. A shift to bicycles represents a substantial change for some companies used to relying on vans.

Researchers used a game to cut car use in London – this is what happened

A gamification initiative called Beat the Street analysed whether it could encourage people in the London borough of Hounslow to travel actively. At the end of the six-week game, the highest scoring individuals and teams (schools, community groups and workplaces) were rewarded with prizes, such as vouchers for sports equipment, craft materials or books.

New TfL data shows that people cycling in London are more diverse than ever

Londoners from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities were not significantly less likely to have cycled over the past 12 months (2020/2021) than white Londoners. 27% as a whole had cycled over the past 12 months, compared to 24% of Black people, 25% of Asian people and 31% of people from mixed backgrounds. This data comes from independent research for TfL based on a representative sample of 3,500 Londoners.