High Streets for All

In the short term things will get worse. Road traffic in London is more or less back to pre-lockdown levels. The perceived Covid risk on public transport has led to a boom in car sales, and the move to online shopping has led to a new army of vans and delivery vehicles.  When schools re-open, expect a choking gridlock.

Road closures and restrictions will force this traffic into less and less road space, and eventually people will seek alternatives to the car. In the meantime I would say that electric vehicles need to be strongly supported, otherwise cyclists and walkers will still have to breathe fumes. Polluting vehicles should be further discouraged and restricted. Further measures (e.g. ventilation on tubes and trains retrofitted) should encourage people back to public transport. 

I think streets that encourage cycling and walking sound like a really good idea, as at the moment, even if there are cycle lanes, they tend to be quite narrow, and end in the middle of the road with nowhere for the cyclist to go. Encouraging people to cycle, walk, or use public transport unless it's absolutely necessary to drive a car is a good idea. I also like the idea of helping businesses in order to enable the community to be rebuilt, as I think a  lot of people are missing their local area as it used to be. So many small, local businesses have closed down and this is something we should be trying to prevent.

The problem is that people are obsessed with cars.

You even have pro-car vigilante who will stop at nothing.  Recent events (such as Camden Town, Parkway or Islington) prove it.

I definitely think that high streets should become a focus within communities. I think that shifting road allocations to allow for pedestrian/ cycle focused paths would be great. I think at the minimum most cycle lanes need to be widened and that they need to be extended. While high street may have cycle lanes, the routes to and from the shops is difficult and even dangerous for cyclists to this needs to be an immediate priority. In the future, being able to have complete pedestrian, cyclist (and possibly bus) focused high streets with no cars would be great.

We welcome this mission to create vibrant and inclusive high streets.

When out of our home for a while, we all need to use a toilet. All public toilets must now be re-opened with Covid-safety measures in place.

All establishment that serve food and drink should also open their toilets (at least for customers).

Cycleways and walking routes separated from traffic and enhanced with planters and trees. Some could be centred on schools, others on local high streets.

A "Cycle or walk to school" and a "cycle or walk to the shops" campaign with events and celebrities, and local politicians taking part so that they can "road test" their ideas. 

There needs to be consideration of the types of shops in certain local areas - mine are all 'chicken and chip' shops - apart from promoting unhealthy eating (in one of the most obsess boroughs) there is a lack of variation.  
 

in my area (B&D) most cyclists cycle on pavements with or without cycle lanes and very few wear helmets - this needs to be addressed.  We address it in schools but if parents and the community are not modelling it then it is not easy to follow through. 

Encouraging and supporting people to shop and meet more of their needs more locally is crucial for London's long-term resilience in a changing future (and particularly moving towards a low-carbon city).
 

A key part of that is engaging with why people have moved away from shopping and working in local neighbourhoods, and finding ways to support long-term change back. So, for example, not just supporting shops without also promoting change in the structural issues that have led to the decline of the high street over recent decades. 
 

Heavily limiting cars to encourage more foot and bike traffic for leisure and practicalities in local neighbourhoods is important. In my area we appear to have hit a tipping point recently where foot/bike traffic is high enough that cars have become a minority, and the character of the streets has hugely improved as more people feel safe to walk/cycle (a virtuous circle). Promoting more such change in other areas would be great. 

Measures should ensure the needs and quality of life of elderly London residents and others that are unable to cycle are taken into account. 

Traffic measures in Islington for example have made it much harder to reach elderly relatives to help them with essential car journeys. Car journey times have also increased, causing more pollution.

Measures designed to reduce pollution should consider the needs of all residents. 

Schemes such as Mini Holland in Waltham Forest have been deemed a success, but the reality for many residents is different. At Whipps Cross roadabout for example, it's much harder to drop patients to the hospital as additional traffic has been created by the cycle lanes - while they are often empty as cyclists still use the main road. 

Proper consultation needs to be completed and decision makers should be careful to ensure the actions and measures being brought in are not just vanity projects. 

Regarding the mission: too many buzzwords, what is really the aim? Reduce communal traveling because of Covid (and future pandemics), or reduce pollution by less traffic, or make local retail profitable again or make us more slim and healthy? Or all of them in one go? Too many unrealistic hopes with no defined correlation with 15 min city.

For sure trying to make it difficult and expensive for traffic is not the way to go. All the goals above must be achieved by a "pull factor", not by limiting alternatives. 

I would like to see a new and bold vision, what are transports of the future, maybe to move between specialist bubbles like "fabric district", "cheese district" or other areas. Could we create vertical spaces for growing vegetables, parks on roof tops, green bridges instead of blocks in the streets etc. Study leading edge cities for innovation tips.

I am clearly against killing London as a world leader city and instead introduce mini villages that could only cover basic needs. It's defensive and could only make a bleak version of e.g. cycling in Copenhagen. What is next step? Let's jump to that.

A crisis could for sure be a good starting point for innovation. Aim to make London a city for the future. Think to make London a leader and a role model, not a follower. Think again, please.

The road relocations means blocking roads derided as  "rat runs" making journeys to your own front door convoluted, creating more traffic hot spots. Cutting off sides of communities by imposing LTN to inspire less use of cars. No thought to disabled access or small businesses which will have reduced custom as a result of being effectively cut off. If they are worried about calming traffic there are other ways such as speed humps or chicanes.

The data collected to force these LTNs through is incorrect and inflated. There has been little consultation and many people are still unaware that these are being installed. I think there needs to be better transparency from councils and a formal consultation for every resident who will be affected.

9. Access to nature, exercise, etc. must be considered within the 15 minutes concept. Linking the 15 Minute City concept to the London Green Grid concept will be mutually beneficial. The LGG will need to be significantly strenghtened to function as movement, recreational and environmental infrastucture to connect and serve the 15 minute local centres. Strengthening and implementing the LGG will achieve sustainable drainage, urban heat island, particulate pollution and biodiversity outcomes and provide the local access to green space which is needed for public health (physical and mental) outcomes.

5. A Londonwide initiative for regular resting places (formal and informal seating opportunities) should be instigated. This should apply both within the High Street and on route. Absence of seating is a major barrier to many elderly people and people with disabilities who are unable to drive. Clearly identifiable focal points within the public realm are also important and provide meeting/resting places, and increase dwell time - vital to encouraging locally vibrant communities. High Streets need focal points with seating, a small fountain or artwork, a widening of the pavement, a toddler's play space, a sheltered/shaded coffee or sandwich stall, to promote social interaction.

6. Strong co-location of facilities (grocery shop, cafe, hairdresser, community centre, church, mosque, temple etc.) helps build strong communities and footfall, so High Streets may need to reduce their length in order to intensify the symbiotic relationships.

7. Changes to business rates are very important to allow small and startup businesses to sustain a presence and/or grow.

8. Like many others, I now work permanently from a home office, with no plan to return to central London. Smaller, local facilities for physical meeting space, business to business, exhibition space, short-term and temporary work and retail space, may now be needed within local centres - following the decentralised working patterns. Reduced physical travel, and ever increasing digital communications means the need for digital infrastructure is of vital importance for the 15 minute city.

1. Internet retail and Covid-19 have both had major impact on bricks-and-mortar retail even on high-footfall high streets. The many secondary local high streets will inevitably be abandoned by chains in favour of online and high-footfall locations. Local High Streets will therefore return to being more locally and community focussed - serving their local catchment (evidence over many years supports the idea of 15 minute catchments - or "walkable neighbourhoods").

2. The principal retail centres (West End, Croydon, Kingston, etc. etc.) will hopefully remain viable for the larger chains - who will continue to migrate to online for the majority of business, but may still benefit from a high-footfall bricks-and-mortar presence.

3. Many smaller local High Streets will contract their retail space and diversify to provide more tailored and decentralised goods and services that have been provided by the larger chains who will withdraw further. This may mean densifying and focussing activity into a smaller area, and promoting residential conversion and infill above shops and among offices - but this should not be permitted to fall short of minimum space standards.

4. Community accessibility to local High Streets is fundamental to restructuring so pedestrian, cycle, and access for disabled and elderly people MUST be prioritised - especially important for those without a car. Promoting daily short walking trips to local high streets rather than fewer/weekly car-based trips promotes health outcomes, promotes community (more opportunities to meet/interact), and promotes economic activity.

Reducing car traffic and pollution and encouraging Londoners to walk and cycle instead of using a car for short journeys is one of the most important missions if we are to address climate change, obesity and poor health as well as creating welcoming, sustainable  and inclusive local neighbourhoods. 46% of all households in London don't own, drive, or have access to, a private car. This percentage rises sharply in the inner London Boroughs. These households are more likely to be low income, compared with car owning households, and their members more likely to be older, younger, or Black, than car owning households. Promoting the interests of these non-car owning households, particularly in inner London, is therefore a social justice measure. The long term impact of Covid19 is likely to see the decentralisation of jobs and services in London, with many employees working from home rather than central business districts. As part of this mission, the Mayor and Assembly should be creating the right conditions for the regeneration of local high streets as places where this new cadre of home workers can access local services, shops, cafes and amenities via green transport and development incentives.

Convert of the inevitability empty shops into affordable and safe work spaces. Offer them for affordable hire by the hour. This may bring people into their local centres and get them out of their home. . 

Zoning would be a good start.  The core of the commercial centres/high streets should be identified and zoned for non-residential use, retailers and other commercial users outside the zones should be encouraged to move into vacant premises in zoned areas.  Retail and other ground floor commercial premises outside those areas should be allowed to go residential.  We have far more ground floor retail and office premises than demand, so let's encourage remaining businesses to concentrate in smaller zoned areas.  Commercial landlords need to be given incentives to grant more flexible leases, based on turnover, rather than property values.  Business rates also need to be reformed.