Cleaning up London’s toxic air

I have no objections to pedestrian free areas, or car free days - am not a car driver so it does not affect me and I can imagine it might be quite nice to have car free areas, although for me not a high priority. What I do object to is cyclists being lumped in same category as pedestrians - I often find that the behaviour is quite rude and aggressive, ringing bells and expecting pedestrians to move over in haste - so for me cycle lanes for cyclists, and pedestrian areas for pedestrians is safer and more pleasant. It is not relaxing having people on Boris's bikes tearing past you ringing their bells when enjoying a nice walk and frankly feels hazardous.

I can think of 3 areas that need to be pedestrianised permanently! 1) Oxford St - From Marble Arch to Tott. Ct Rd Tube station
2) The area around Parlt Sq.
3) The area around St Pauls Cathedral.
City Centres are for people not vehicles and cars. Will improve the air quality.

Even better, abolish vehicles (except emergency vehicles and vehicles delivering goods to shops) from central London permanently!

Even better again - abolish the car completely. Turn motorways into railways. Cars are an uneconomic asset. And even when they are parked take up valuable space.

I think it is an excellent idea, but have parts of the street blocked off, as I think we need to think about people with access issues - how can they get to the shops if cars were not allowed near the shops where they would like to go - maybe there could be some trams running through a pedastrainised street; please, please not bikes, they don't know how to ride and most of them have no consideration what so ever for pedstrians

A lot of money is being spent on providing cycling lanes, junction improvements and cycle superhighways but little seems to have been done for pedestrians. Perhaps the London Assembly should consider budgeting an equal or greater sum of money to be spent on pedestrianisation? A policy of restricting deliveries would need to be put in place, tailored to suit local conditions. Only with this in place can areas such as high streets be properly pedestrianised. If cycles are to be allowed then they should be restricted to clearly marked cycle lanes with a low speed limit. On a more general theme, why not implement a London wide 20mph speed restriction in all residential streets? It seems a change of mindset is needed for all motorists, to adjust how much time they need to allow for a journey and for motorists to accept that pedestrians have priority. This would definitely improve the general pedestrian safety and also greatly reduce the pollution levels.

Nope. TFL has already reduced many roads (used by Londoners) to gridlock by introducing cycle friendly schemes. Has anyone from TFL senior management actually tried to drive around Elephant & Castle since they build all those stupid extra kerbs?

Pedestrianisation may be ok for some but the elderly and those with reduced mobility are unable to get to the shops when there is no public transport. This has made it impossible when places like Regent St are closed to traffic. How are the elderly to get there? The tube is impossible and too distant to some shops.

Because of 24x7 working is prevalent in London and so many do shift work, making car free days is selfish and a poor idea for those it adversely affects. If you happen to live in an area and don't need to travel then being car-free would be great as it means your neighbourhood gets a tarmac boulevard to mill around in BUT depriving London of critically important road space only creates bigger problems elsewhere (geographically and economically).

What ever happened to car-free days in London? I remember they used to happen at least once a year. Some very congested high streets would be closed to motor traffic and people could walk and cycle wherever they liked. Some streets would have food stalls and face painting for kids, etc. This needs to happen again. We need it now more than ever before.

I'm always amazed how many non-cyclists all of a sudden take to bikes when there is a guarantee of traffic-free spaces in which to cycle. Just look at how many people take part in rides like Sky Ride. If you give people traffic free spaces, people will use them to do good things. It really is as simple as that. Now, can you imagine if EVERY road had a traffic-free space in which to cycle in? It's been done for walking and it CAN be done for cycling. We need to re-assign road space away from motor vehicles and give it back to the people. Other cities have managed it and have never looked back. It's time to listen to the needs of the majority and not the voices of the minority.

More lunacy in London. The City is being strangled by making the roads more difficult for cars vans and trucks. Many people cannot get into London by public transport and deliveries are essential. Pedestrianisation and car-free days will only hit the prosperity of London!

I would like the residents of Westminster and the City to decide, We have to put up with all silly road closures so people from outside come and interfere with our lives.
Ban cars is ridicules most are used for goods,tools,presentation equipment. With the congestion charge how many take cars through choice.
The best thing for me would be close the shops on Sundays so we can have some peace for me and sightseers

Anything that we can do to cut down on traffic in Central London is worth trying. Cutting down on pollution-- great. Reducing traffic--great. Making people think twice every time they consider driving through town-- also good.

A pedestrian zone on Oxford Street seems like a good idea. I'm sure there are other areas that would make sense, too.

I would like to see many more "shared surface" streets in London - local residential streets, as well as prominent thoroughfares such as Exhibition Rd, where the approach was first tried here.

Removing street signs, yellow lines, lane markings, clutter, kerbs and separate pavements has been shown to slow traffic down and make drivers, cyclists and pedestrians more attentive to each other. It also provides a much superior and urbane visual environment, with ample opportunities for ambitious greening and street planting.

Ideally, I would like to see a programme where local residents can take the initiative and apply for their own street to be converted in this way, with capital costs being provided on the basis that residents will contribute to long-term maintenance of planted areas, street furniture, etc.

I used to be a cyclist doing lots of miles as quickly as I could. In that respect I expected to be treated like any other vehicle and kept away from pedestrians.

However, there are plenty of cyclists who don't operate like that, for whom cycling is a bit like using a scooter: it's a way of walking with less effort.

The key point here is risk and danger. The simple thing would be to have some general rules included in the highway code saying that cyclists may ride in any pedestrianised areas (including pavements) subject to:

1. a speed limit of 5mph (i.e. the same as a fast walker); and

2. pedestrians having right of way at all times

All for selective pedestrianisation. Don't believe pedestrian and cycle traffic should be mixed. They move at different speeds and therein lies the problem! London is predominantly a young city with consequent (?) growth in cycling, so would be concerned that cycling could grow to dominate pedestrianised zones. We also have to remember the demographic trend of aging populations, so a growing segment of pedestrians may well need some protection from faster moving traffic (including mobility scooters....)

Pedestrianised zones are standard in almost every German city, especially in the densest parts of the city centres. This should totally be possible in London too.

Cycle and delivery traffic is restricted during the daytime. It has to happen during off-peak hours or outside the main pedentrianised areas. This is already happening in, say, Oxford street where I only ever see buses and taxis on the actual road. Deliveries happen out of hours or in the side streets.

If there is a will there is a way!