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National Walking Month 

19th May 2020 / Posted by CRP Team

May is National Walking Month! Physical activity is great for your mental and physical health. Especially now that the streets are quieter, why not take a walk as part of your exercise routine?

The campaign is designed to get people walking and see just how walkable our streets are. You could take the long way around, try a walking meeting or lunchtime stroll. As the evenings are getting longer, walking after work is a great way to relax after sitting all day, as well as being a full body workout and mood booster!

So if you’re finding that you’re not as active as you usually would be, perhaps from lack of commuting and walking the city, #Try20!

Walking Tube Guidance

19th May 2020 / Posted by Sefinat Otaru

Cross River Partnership’s Walking Tube Report from July 2018 is still available to support Boroughs and BIDs in increasing active travel through safer walkways and better cycling routes.

The report was commissioned by the Central London Sub-Regional Transport Partnership (CLSRTP), comprised of transport officers from central London’s eight local authorities. Especially useful as we cautiously ease out of the Covid-19 lockdown, it examines walking as an alternative to using the tube, as well as increasing physical activity. Interventions listed in the report range from changing how we view the tube to using wayfinding technology, such as CRP’s Clean Air Route Finder, to encourage walking trips.

The report supports TfL’s Streetspace for London plan to create more space on streets so people can safely observe social distancing while walking or cycling. It also supports the delivery of the TfL’s “Healthy Streets” Approach to improve air quality, reduce traffic congestion, and make London’s streets healthier and more attractive.

For more information, contact CRP Project Manager, Sefinat Otaru.

Clean Air Villages May Update

19th May 2020 / Posted by CRP Team

The CRP Clean Air Villages project has seen interesting and innovative changes to public space and transport use across London over the past few weeks.

​The Pavilion Road cargo bike scheme, within Cadogan, has been extended for a further few weeks to help stores keep the home delivery service running and helping local independent businesses to still operate. Both in Tooting and Streatham, the cargo bikes are being used by pharmacies to make vital deliveries to those in need.

Hammersmith BID hosted their quarterly transport steering group, where businesses spoke about what returning to work would look like, and what to consider in terms of offices and commuting. Transport for London also gave an update on the work being done to facilitate an increase of walking and cycling by changing infrastructure radically.

With an expected increase in active travel, there is a greater need to promote social distancing. Pavements will be widened in more than 20 locations, including in Brixton and Earl’s Court in the coming days. We welcome the new plans to enable more Londoners to safely walk and cycle.

For more information, please contact CAV Project Manager Kate Fenton.

Changes on London’s streets: Congestion Charge and Ultra Low Emission Zone

19th May 2020 / Posted by CRP Team

London’s Congestion Charge and Ultra Low Emission Zone, along with the Low Emission Zone, have been reinstated from Monday 18th May to help support the shift from public transport to walking and cycling in the capital for those people who need to travel in to Central London.

It is hoped the reinstatement of these charges will help prevent significant increases in pollution and congestion (more information here). The Congestion Charge’s hours of operation will also be extended from 22nd June, alongside an increase in the fee as temporary measures to help support the transformation of London’s streets as many thousands more journeys are made by foot and cycle. Some streets in central London will also become car-free zones as part of the London Streetspace programme to enable physical distancing in busy areas, and for those who must access public transport.

How is our urban environment changing?

19th May 2020 / Posted by Ian Bond

As restrictions on our life ease slightly, it appears we may have emerged into a whole new world, one that’s becoming radically different to what we once knew back in January. Due to social distancing guidelines the London transport network’s capacity has been reduced to one-fifth of its pre-Covid-19 levels, presenting a significant challenge for the capital. In response to this, radical steps are being taken by government and local authorities to help alleviate this stress. This pandemic presents us with an opportunity to make a positive, lasting effect and by working together, putting in the hard graft now, we can emerge into an even better London, a city that is greener, safer and healthier.

The Mayor of London and Transport for London recently released the London Streetspace Programme which is the first part of a £5bn investment for active travel initiatives, announced in February by the Department for Transport. The programme focuses on rapidly transforming London’s streets to accommodate for substantial increases in cycling and walking as lockdown measures begin to relax. This announcement comes in tandem with additional guidance released by the Secretary of State regarding the Road Transport Act 2004, urging local authorities to take action by making space for cyclists and pedestrians.

CRP’s Healthy Streets Everyday programme, with 17 Boroughs, BIDs and Landowners, are wasting no time devising plans to implement Covid-19 response interventions, with the aim of making them permanent. Borough partners are already extending pavements, implementing modal filters and installing cycle lanes, reclaiming road space for the public. The Healthy Streets Everyday programme is proactively working with boroughs to help them achieve this goal by producing guidance documents, monitoring initiatives and support throughout implementation of their response plans.

For more information, please contact Tomos Joyce.

Covid-19 Guidance and Support

19th May 2020 / Posted by CRP Team

Keep up to date on the latest resources, guidance, and financial support by visiting our dedicated webpage for businesses and communities. Visit the CRP Clean Air Villages Directory to see which businesses are still operating and delivering via low emission methods in your area. With many of us working from home, getting our 10,000 steps a day can seem like a challenge. Plan your own Clean Air Route to get your daily dose of outdoor exercise with less of the harmful air pollution.

Large areas of London to be made car-free as lockdown eased

19th May 2020 / Posted by CRP Team

With changes being made quickly to the area around us, large parts of London are now to be closed to cars and vans to allow people to walk and cycle safely as the coronavirus lockdown is eased. CRP is working closely with TfL, London Boroughs and BIDs to implement this ambitious plan.

In this hugely significant car-free initiative, the biggest of any city in the world, the capital’s mayor announced on Friday that main streets between London Bridge and Shoreditch, Euston and Waterloo, and Old Street and Holborn, will be limited to buses, pedestrians and cyclists.

Transforming out streets in this way will safely prioritise pedestrians and cyclists, making it safer for active travel as lockdown restrictions are eased. This will also have great benefits to the air pollution in the city, including health benefits for Londoners.

For more information, please see here.

Fiona Coull: A big welcome to CRP’s new Healthy Streets Everyday Project Manager

19th May 2020 / Posted by CRP Team

Fiona Coull joined CRP as the new Healthy Streets Everyday Project Manager in April 2020. Below she gives her thoughts on her experience of ‘starting virtually’ and getting stuck in to the Healthy Streets Everyday project.

I’ve really enjoyed my first few weeks at CRP and despite the fact I’ve never set foot in the office I already feel like I’m part of the team! Starting the position virtually has been an interesting experience, however I’ve been amazed at how smoothly the whole process has been. It has really highlighted how ways of working are changing and the benefits (and also resilience) that technology can provide.

Similarly, as we start to ease out of lockdown, the emphasis being placed on walking and cycling has proven how important programmes like Healthy Streets Everyday are. Helping partners to safely enable increases in sustainable and active travel and ensure that social distancing can be applied is not only beneficial for Londoners’ health and the economy, but also has significant environmental and air quality benefits.

I’m therefore really excited to use this opportunity to help partners make lasting and transformative change throughout London as part of Healthy Streets Everyday.

For more information about the Healthy Streets Everyday project please contact me.

Supporting London’s Night-time Economy

19th May 2020 / Posted by Sefinat Otaru

The Night-time Borough Champions Network is made up of representatives from local authorities and business improvement districts to develop, safeguard and promote the city’s night-time economy. Since the covid-19 restrictions came into place, hundreds of businesses that contribute to the night-time economy have been adversely affected.

Over the past few weeks, CRP has contributed to two online round-tables hosted by the GLA to address the plight of the night time industry, from pubs and restaurants to bars and clubs to museums and theatres, and more, to enable them to not just survive the pandemic, but open up safely for staff and patrons more resilient than ever. See here for additional resources to help business and individuals through the pandemic.

The meetings have been a platform for receiving updates from other Champions and sharing common issues, a sounding board for tentative ideas and plans, as well as a forum for highlighting useful resources for the business community. Such resources include the:

CRP’s Covid-19 Response So Far

19th May 2020 / Posted by Susannah Wilks

Along with all of our partner organisations, the CRP team is now expert in working from home. CRP currently has outposts in London, Berkshire, Wales and Switzerland!

CRP has secured Covid-appropriate flexibilities from its major funders, including Defra and Innovate UK, for which we and all of our project beneficiaries are extremely grateful – thank you!

CRP’s accountable body Westminster City Council has spear-headed an IT transformation that reaches into every section of its diverse community and is enabling ever-increasing penetration rates of vital services.

CRP is working with all of its partner organisations to do everything we can to keep air clean. Everyone has benefited from the improved air quality during lockdown. We are committed to doing all we can to support a #Green Recovery, whereby health and wealth objectives are balanced in sensible ways.

To that end, CRP is supporting London Boroughs and BIDs with delivering Transport for London’s ambitious Streetspace plan, which is dedicating more road space to cyclists and pedestrians to help us all get around London.

Just last week CRP’s Mayor’s Air Quality-Funded Healthy Streets Everyday 17 Borough, Landowner and Business Improvement District partners met to co-ordinate approaches and share best practice.  One of its many interventions includes CRP setting up a ‘Hotline’ telephone service with the London Borough of Hackney, to support all London Boroughs with detailed technical advice on implementing scaled-up #SchoolStreets at pace.

As ever, if you have any requests or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Let’s all keep working together – from extremely difficult places, strong and beautiful initiatives can grow very quickly!  Susannah Wilks, CRP Director.

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