Covid-19: Rethinking our streets

Don't really agree with any of this. Have been driving every day around the borough (including all of N21 and N13) delivering prescriptions to vulnerable and self-isolating residents and don't need any more obstructions to prevent me doing the job. The quantity I deliver and distances cannot be managed by cycling and there is a security and timing aspect. There is a team of about five just from my chemist alone. Most of the speeding I have seen has been on main roads which simply need cameras (Bourne Hill for example). The A10 scheme has already been implemented north of Southbury Road. There are also a lot more ambulances driving around the area who need to get where they are going unimpeded. Traffic levels are still much lower than before despite a slight rise after the bank holiday and should remain that way for some time.

I could not agree more. I am an Operating Department Practitioner working at Homerton Hospital and the appalling decisions taken by TFL has made travel by public transport the most dangerous proposition imaginable with over crowded trains. Ironically I am now driving to work for my own safety. Hindering traffic even more so that cyclists and pedestrians can be even more selfish really does not solve any problems. Yes we need alternative means of reliable transport but we do not have that.

The only long term answer which will not leave a pollution nightmare for future generations is hydrogen vehicles but there seems very little support for this. Electrical vehicles, which seem to be all the rage, will leave a massive disused battery problem to cope with in the future. Hydrogen fuel will not.

“….blah blah blah so that pedestrians can be even more selfish…”.

I’ll try to remember to leap right over the road next time I want to cross so that I i know my place; and as for the idea of having pavements on BOTH sides of a carriageway, surely that’s a luxury we pedestrians can do without for the good of others on wheels with places to get to.

Dig out the statistic of just how much public space in London is actually road, cross that with the percentage of Londoners and visitors who are pedestrians and then maybe think the comment through again.

To Neil Littman. The Council clearly (and thankfully) think otherwise - and have just contracted with a cycle courier firm to deliver prescriptions. I find that within a radius of three miles I can get to most places quicker within a bike than by car and an even wider area if you include parking time.

Re Simon Broughton's post. How do you expect pedestrians to distance six foot apart on three foot wide pavements? And as a healthcare practitioner I assume you do realise that nearly 25000 people die or are seriously injured on Britain's road every year - and its not bikes or pedestrians causing that? Finally, I wonder how your statement fits with the messaging from the government that we should distance to save lives and the NHS?

So pedestrians and cyclists can be even more selfish? What kind of ridiculous comment is this? British streets tend to be designed to accommodate vehicles, making their flow easier and quicker. This is at the wider detriment to just about everything - air quality, public space, public realm, noise, connectivity, mental health, logical choice of transport mode (i.e. short journeys are easier by car than bike / foot because the infrastructure supports one and not the other). What this terrible pandemic has demonstrated is that we can survive in a world where vehicles are far less dominant and - GUESS WHAT! - the world is a nicer place. The Government has given powers to local authorities to capitalise on this through the pandemic and cities all over the world are taking advantage of this. I acknowledge the work you're both doing delivering prescriptions, and that seems pretty essential to me at this time, and perhaps necessary by car. No-one is saying cars should be banned - I think the emphasis should be on providing equitable infrastructure for all forms of transport so people can make better choices and as a result we have a more attractive world. The evidence is not only theoretical, but now we're actually witnessing it. (I've been an urban designer for 25 years and still practise, specialising in town centre regeneration - that's not to say I know best, but I come from a place where this stuff is bleeding obvious and where we don't brand pedestrians and cyclists as selfish for no apparent reason)

Simon, there are no easy solutions. I think you understand that it we are not going to replace fossil fuelled cars with battery powered cars but I am not sure you understand that a hydrogen cell is just another type of battery. The cell requires some rare metals and end up wearing out and on the scrapheap as all batteries will. Also hydrogen is pretty difficult to store. The molecules are so small they leak out everywhere - for you can’t leave a hydrogen vehicle in an enclosed space without risking an explosion. I also think your comment about pedestrians and cyclists is pretty deplorable - must be a mistake surely?