Life during lockdown

You love the French President so take a leaf out of his book:

I will be very clear tonight, compatriots: the Republic won't erase any name from its history. It will forget none of its artworks, it won't take down statues," he said in a televised address to the nation

You must stop this dividing behavior it is NOT your job to pay for a commission into my London history. You do not have money for this as you bankrupted TFL and had to go to Boris cap in hand.  London must be reunited stop adding fuel to the flames.

We need to reinvent London as a greener place.  Walking and cycling must be prioritised over cars.  No one needs to drive.  
we also need to invest more in renewable technology and end our reliance on fossil fuels because the next issue we'll face after corona is problems with the planet and air pollution.  

Reinstate two-way traffic on East Carriage Drive (currently Park Lane's northbound carriageway). This will allow Park Lane (currently the southbound carriageway) to be pedestrianised and to also accommodate a cycle lane. A major improvement in London's public realm: more than 15 metres wide public space, more than 1000 metres long, free of motor traffic.

East Carriage Drive had two-way traffic from at least 1799 until the 1960s, when one-way systems were unwisely introduced, creating a highway in central London. Video of two-way traffic on East Carriage Drive can be briefly seen in the BFI film 'Summer in Mayfair' from 1957. Streets where two-way traffic has been wisely reinstated include: Piccadilly, Pall Mall, Portman Square, Baker Street, Gloucester Place, and Tottenham Court Road. 

Recent changes in May 2020 show that Park Lane can work with one lane for cars in each direction - matching the trend in many other streets in central London. Adding one bus lane in each direction means four lanes overall. East Carriage Drive is four lanes wide, so it can and should accommodate all motor traffic. Park Lane southbound - west facing towards Hyde Park - would then be free of all motor traffic. A major boost for London's public realm, and a major boost for the economy of the West End, linking with and creating a radically new environment for  Oxford Street.

Proactively protect and promote the LGBT leisure and tourism industry. Local communities and global tourists want and need places to be open and honest with similar people. Restaurants, bars, clubs and entertainment venues are part of London culture. London is, and needs to make a conscious effort to remain, a diverse city. We all know diverse equals strength and stability. 

I have worked in tourism and all this green agenda will not lend it self to boost London.  A lot of tourists with money to spend want to see our monuments , statues etc and be able to travel around and that does NOT mean by bike.  London should be inclusive and that is defiantly not happening at the moment.

A lot of people are looking aghast at London at the moment and do not want to travel to London to see all that violence, monuments, statues being desecrated and flag burning.  Our UK Flag  the Union Jack burning on the streets of London is NOT a country or capital people will want to spend money in.  Stop fueling the division.

Firstly my London will never recover until we heal the recent divisions. That means you must  STOP all this talk about changing London's heritage.

Leave the street names, monuments, statues etc alone. This will not heal London or boost trade and tourism. STOP this stupidity and stop fueling division.

We need to ban all Tories from voting, having a say on how London is run and from living in London. They should be given a choice to leave voluntarily up until the end of the year before we start enforced evictions.

It needs to be much safer to cycle from the suburbs into central London - there are still too many major roads with barely protected cycle-ways and intersections. Without this protection, London is an extremely limiting place to live if you don't have a car. There also needs to be safer places to lock up a bike without fear of it being stolen.

There also need to be more, safe, clean public toilets - in Paris their toilets are washed automatically after use - not sure how effective this is to Covid - but as we're unable to socialise in pubs, restaurants etc, it'd be nice to be able to use parks with clean toilets, and have London be a more outdoor-social city.

I am a transport professional so I can only best proffer my view on transport matters with regard to a cleaner, greener London. If we are seriously going to make London greener and take advantage of restricted movement, then the following is needed. Long-term temporary measures (easier to install) should be in place to widen pavements and install bike lanes across all 33 boroughs. The efficacy of such measures should be monitored to see if they are required and/or optimised and prioritised with a view to being made permanent. The only way we are going to see increased modal shift to walking and cycling is by improving that infrastructure. The benefits are clear. Studies have shown that non-motorised travellers spend 40% more in local shops (https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2018/11/16/cyclists-spend-40-m…). It has been clear that reduced traffic has been beneficial for reduced congestion, reduced noise and reduced air pollution. Streets should be redesigned to stop speeding drivers (exacerbated by empty streets) by making lanes only as wide as a double-decker bus with layouts/junctions optimised for active road users. TfL data shows that 66% of car journeys in inner and outer London are less than 2 miles in length (30 mins walk/15 mins bike ride) so inducing that shift is vital. This can relieve roads for buses, coaches, deliveries, utilities and for more road users such as disabled & families. Proper segregated bike lanes can also allow cargo/family bikes which will further induced modal shift to safe, convenient cycling. Furthermore, studies are showing that public transport is not as dangerous, from a public health perspective, in relation to COVID-19 transmission, particularly if mask wearing is high. The combination of active travel infrastructure and re-population of public transport modes would make a huge difference to London being cleaner and greener.

Restart the resident's discount for the congestion charge! This was suddenly suspended on 18th May with no consultation and no advance notice. How is a hospital keyworker supposed to get to work without using public transport? And no, I can't cycle 10miles to work in an emergency!  

We must invest as much as we possibly can in improving frequency, comfort and reliability of public transport with cycling and walking fully integrated as positive choices. Deter private car use.

We also need to encourage employers inc public services to facilitate home working wherever possible. Emergency planning and stockpiling needs to be addressed too. 

1. London has a major rubbish problem. It is most notable in parks at weekends - when Burgess Park, for example, is often left covered in detritus - plastic bottles, paper plates, residues from meals, paper, drink cans etc. Many of our streets are also littered - and not least after a refuse collection. We need an anti-litter campaign with public notices, in the media and in schools. And we need to get refuse companies to ensure that if they tip rubbish into the street, they gather it up. 2. I'd like to endorse all the comments here about improving air quality - in particular - by banning (sic) private cars from entering central London (unless the owner has a residence permit). This would also reduce traffic flow and therefore pollution in outer London.

London’s parks have been a godsend for Londoners during lockdown. They have been far more heavily used than ever before and this is likely to continue for the rest of the year. We need to invest more in our parks and ensuring community green space is encouraged and expanded. We should ensure all development schemes of multiple houses more than a certain number of units automatically have to include publicly available green space, and also scrutinise existing developments to ensure green space is open to all (there have been examples of playgrounds being cut off from social housing residents in the past- how can we audit to ensure this does not happen again). London’s boroughs should be prevented from cutting budgets for Parks and other green space and central funds allocated to boost budgets where necessary. In Parks, invest in staff to manage the extra burden of litter which is an unfortunate consequence of greater use. Invest in education to encourage people to use bins/ take litter home. In Richmond Park, keep it car free; it has been hugely beneficial to people and to wildlife not having cars through the Park- we should use the opportunity to make a step change. Also have a bike free weekend in Richmond park every summer to let the pedestrians, who tend to get pushed to the bottom of the list by both motorists and cyclists, experience the joy of the park to themselves. Cyclists have ride London where they take over the streets, why not a Walk London when we can enjoy just walking the roads of the Park?

As much green transport provision as possible. More cycle routes, greater restrictions on private motorcars. Better traffic calming. Stricter controls of 20 mph limits - currently they are completely disregarded by the majority of motor vehicles 

Make London a green pioneer.

1. Invest in safe and efficient cycling and walking infrastructure

2. Completely close roads that have high numbers of people walking - limit all motorised transport beyond public transport

3. Reduce expansion of London's airports

4. Create more green spaces and plant more trees

5. Create more public spaces for people to do things other than shopping

6. Bear in mind that with climate change London will get hotter every year, and plan accordingly - create more outdoor public spaces, Paris style cafes etc.

7. Create more spaces for families and young people

8. Cut down on empty buildings and create subsisdised action plan for redeployment

9. Support the arts and culture - particularly young and growing 

10. Limit chains, encourage independent businesses

I would like the recovery to be as green as possible.  Please reconsider the Silvertown tunnel. 

I would love to see more segregated cycling facilities to encourage more children onto bikes

Please look to remove on street parking.  Residents permits should be limited and more expensive 

Can you look at making high streets pedestrian friendly by removing vehicles.  Oxford street would be a great start. 

We need to clean up our air. More enforcement for polluters please 

Protect pedestrian areas properly. Cyclists need safe spaces, but when they mix with pedestrians it's unsafe and intimidating. Anyone with mobility issues ( not all are wheel chair users) or sight and hearing limitations are especially vulnerable. As are adults accompanied by small children or dogs - we need to be able to walk at our own pace, move safely around each other and maintain safe distancing. Bikes ( other than small children) make this impossible. How I long just to walk along in my own thoughts processing a difficult working day taking care of others without being made to jump out of my skin by a cyclist buzzing past too fast and too close. I have also been struck and witnessed other accidents more than once. Without number plates the riders are untraceable.