Planning our future London

A thought on cycling spaces: Although most cyclists would be totally ok sharing the road with cars, exclusive lanes are becoming a necessity. The amount of abuse and close calls a cyclist gets on a weekly basis would put off the most confident cyclists, I can't imagine what that does to other categories such as young people, families, women... It's shocking how many drivers think cyclists need to be 'taught a lesson' and other direct verbal abuse, throw things, or pass very close on purpose.

We need zebra crossings across side roads like in almost every other European city. The UK is the only country I’ve been to where pedestrians don’t really get much priority when crossing side road junctions (most drivers ignore the new highway code, including TfL bus drivers)

Simple zebras would give pedestrians priority and make walking around the city much easier. 

First, I can't open the 'Open' link above!

Ban all private vehicles from central London in the daytime; absolutely no reason why private cars should be driving into London, during the daytime.Restrict all HGVs and delivery vehicles to early morning and late evening deliveries. Copy what the Mayor of Paris, Anne Delgado has done so successfully. More greenery and seating spaces in all public squares, from the smallest to the largest. Create neighbourhood zones so that people living in each zone feel they have a connection with the neighbourhood and thus a sense of responsibility towards litter, low vehicle speed, encouraging walking, patronising local shops, businesses and cafés and restaurants.

Local hail-and-ride buses in all neighbourhood areas.

First, London's population should NOT be allowed the grow. The major's ambition for a 13 million city is daft, congestion, pollution, over-crowding. What is the point of attracting even more people to live/work in an already over-crowded capital with sewage systems that can't cope with the existing population. This ambition of Khan's MUST BE STOPPED IN ITS TRACKS!

I would like to see less congested streets and pavements to be for pedestrians to walk on and not for cars parked in the pavements. I would like to see shopping areas to be pedestrianised and more green spaces and areas for pop up shops serving healthy food and other such things. Would like to see a central area where events can take place and better lighting and levels of cleanliness. Newham has a very bad rat and fox problem and streets are not cleaned properly. Would like to see better air quality and spaces for people to sit on the high street. Would like to see more greenery and trees and similar shop fronts and different shops encouraging small and unique businesses.

Make all boroughs commit to better active travel options including cycling - better cycling and walking infrastructure and less planning around cars. Introduce more cycle storage and parking. Reduce on street parking and replace with parklets. Continue to expand ulez to reduce pollution. 

Here''s an interesting FACT:
 

Air Pollution/Quality Index (AQI) in central London is "GOOD" and has low organic and non organic contaminents.  However it is "UNHEALTHY" on the underground, where contaminents are high.  

I'm sure you guys in city hall already know that.  

That's where you should be spending money to improve the air quality.  The underground is quite literally poisoining you!

I don't see the point to this discussion, when the mayor and his dept. already have a plan in place.  If they get affirmation on here, then hooray, if they don't they do it anyway!

This is just a ruse to introduce ways of getting more cars off the road, and to introduce 15 minute cities.

Don't fall for it!

Reducing road widths and adding cycle lanes that cut in front of bus stops is madness.

London is an old city and was never designed to accommodate this.

a radical change needs to be made to ensure cyclists are better protected without causing increased congestion. 
 

whilst I am all for the ULEZ and the benefits it should bring, I cannot ignore those who are not as well off as myself. People whose lifeline is a car that does not meet the ULEZ standards will suffer the most which is not right. 
 

increase public transport that is attractive and suitable. Ensure buses run seven days a week and run earlier and later. Doesn’t have to be 24hrs in all areas but if you want people to stop using cars then a real alternative needs to be implemented. 

The roads need to be safer especially for cars and heavy goods vehicles. There's are many bike lanes in London and bikes are not forced to use them which means that the lanes are redundant. Bikes and cyclists should be made to use the bike lanes. Many accidents are automatically blamed on lorry or car drivers yet cyclists do not abide by the laws of the road - including stopping at red lights. Many of these bike lanes have clogged up London roads which leads to more pollution as vehicles are idling and stuck in traffic.

I would also reintroduce fencing by roadsides. In London, where the fencing has been removed pedestrians will just cross the road and again not obey the rules of the road - this is causing hazards and leading to more accidents.
 

Furthermore, the congestion charge needs to be removed at weekends - as promised by Sadia Khan in his re-election campaign. 

Public transport costs and service has become unaffordable! it is not a choice for the majority of people to go to work. It is unacceptable and a disgrace to have to pay nearly £10 a day just to go to work and back home. it is also ridiculous that monthly and yearly tickets cost almost the same as single tickets. In other cities in Europe, there is value for money when purchasing monthly or yearly tickets, but here in London it is the same as pay as you go. This is absurd, a disgrace.  One month out of 12 months of my salary goes towards public transport. This is extortion.
Additionally, the service provided is nowhere near providing value for the money spent. There are constant delays, old trains, hot carriages where you can barely breathe, no internet... overall a third-world service at the highest price possible on earth. 

We need more and better roads. And fewer diesel buses which are a major source of air pollution.

This comment is grossly misleading: "Road transport is also a big source of carbon emissions, which cause climate change. This puts our city at greater risk from floods, storms and heatwaves. It needs a focus on transport because unlike other types of carbon emissions, transport emissions haven’t gone down since the 1990s".

Climate change is not significantly affected by road transport in London.

You obviously fo not live in south London

Public transport really isn't fit for purpose due to a complete lack of investment from anywhere, whether it be the government or whether its private businesses and is a disaster waiting to happen. Also, people with disabilities really cannot access parts of London and this is not something they should be penalised for. 

At nearly 80 years of age I am not about to cycle and walk everywhere or stand around waiting for unreliable public transport in all weathers.   I am blessed with good health and able to look after myself driving to the shops, hospitals, etc. to visit friends, to visit parks and open spaces with my dog.   It baffles me that so much is given - and I mean given, since they pay for nothing - to cyclists.      They do not have to study the Highway Code and pass a test (which possibly explains why so many disobey the rules of the road), they are not obliged to pay for insurance, and - worst of all - they do not have to tax their machines, nor do they have to register them.   This, of course, means that they contribute nothing to the upkeep of the highways and because they cannot be identified they escape any kind of consequence of bad/dangerous road use.     Meanwhile vehicle drivers run the gauntlet of 20mph speed limits (I am frequently overtaken - leaving much less than a 2 metre gap  - by cyclists),  "traffic calming" road closures with baffling rules which appear to change constantly, etc. with crippling financial penalties.    

We are told (with reason) that air pollution is the reason for all of these measures, but the LTNs and 20mph limits result only in producing more air pollution with engines idling in traffic jams and drivers constantly braking to ensure they don't go anywhere near the 20mph limit.

Meanwhile, studies worldwide show the a far bigger cause of air pollution in cities is construction - both the construction work itself and the use of various vehicles and machines in construction.   According to the Centre for Low Emission Construction (http://www.clec.uk/about/how-polluting-construction-industry) 34% of particle emission is due to construction compared to 27% from ALL road transport, and this does not include the emissions generated by the construction supply train (i.e. vehicles and plant).  

I wonder why this receives no publicity?

It’s about time we realised that public transport cannot deliver the service needed to move people in London. Therefore we need to stop pushing back against the private car owner. London is too big and hilly to try and put us on bikes or our feet. Cars are and always will be the mainstay of people’s transport and should not be penalised for it but accepted and used as a cash making system for mayors who have too high an opinion of themselves and their self importance.

I would like to see London road less congested, enough parking space and enough green space to relax.

Frankly using car using cars in London should be banned fully outright. Using buses, trains and the various networks on the underground and overground as well as fully pedestrianising our roads should be the main focus especially in central and zones 2 and 3.

I disagree with those suggesting that we should add cycle lanes only where it does not take space from cars. In the short run it does cause congestion when lanes are removed from roads, but it also means driving becomes a less viable option so those who have an alternative will switch to that alternative instead. That means more funding to improve public transport and the city more generally. Plus, as someone who lived a couple of streets away from Hangar Lane and the A40 while growing up, I can't express how horrible those multi lane roads are for people who live close to them. It might be convient for commuting but in my view another person's convenience does not get to dictate the quality of life of the communities that are destroyed by ugly and noisy roadways running through them. 

For people who rely on commuting into London from areas without good public transport connections, instead we should introduce park and ride schemes (with a good public information campaign and incentives to encourage people to switch) to connect them up to existing public transport in the short run, and prioritise expanding public transport to connect them up directly with the rest of the city in the longer term. One aspect of improving public transport in South London should be to massively expand the tram network and rework road layouts to prioritise bus and tram routes. Crossrail 2 (and perhaps a 3rd at some point before the heat death of the universe?) will also do a lot to help better connect up the city.

I'd also like to see the major roads into and out of the city downsized. Both the A40 and A4/M4 should, in the long run, be made into a single/dual carriageway with a lower speed limit (If it's a dual carriageway one lane should be for buses/taxis/trade vehicles). The extra lanes at the edges should be converted into a green barrier with cycle lanes, walkways, and greenery so that people have a natural and welcome division between the road and the areas people actually live.

Safer places to cycle without imposing more unpopular taxes on non-electric vehicles! We need to encourage the use of public transport and walking/cycling through making these desirable and reliable options, not by making unpopular decisions which impact those of us in outer london (who travel into london for work, some of whom need to bring cars as they travel for jobs which require equipment, the reliance on public transport is not very friendly for people who perform essential jobs like builders, plumbers, electrician- who need to carry vast amounts of equipment). Focus on public transport should be for office workers and those travelling for tourism, it’s unfair to penalise those who (by necessity) need to use cars and private vehicles in london, and can’t afford to switch to electric.

South london‘s train network needs an overhaul. Congestion on the A23 is already intolerable with a single-file section at Streatham and is only set to get worse with the introduction of LTNs. Busses have to travel with all other traffic, so nothing to be gained by improving bus transport, and you‘d only cycle down that road if you have a death wish. Incorporating the trainline from Clapham Jct to Croydon into the overground network with regular services would create the necessary reliable public transport routes.