Measures to reduce cut-through traffic in the Royal Parks will be maintained for another year
By Sian Bayley, local democracy reporter
Measures to reduce cut-through traffic in the Royal Parks will be maintained for another year, after support from the general public.
Six-month traffic trials across five London parks finished in February, and attracted almost 18,000 responses.
Overall, they indicated support and a desire to see less cut-through traffic in the parks.
The decision to close the Avenue to vehicle traffic in Greenwich Park was the most popular, with 81 per cent of people supporting the measure to be made permanent.
A full-time closure of part of Chestnut Avenue between Teddington and Hampton Court Gates to motor vehicles in Bushy Park saw the least support, but still had a 56 per cent rate in favour of permanent measures.
Measures will be kept in place until March 2022 and the council says they will collect additional data to get a better picture of the impact of the schemes before determining if they should be made permanent.
The measures include making The Mall in St James’s Park car-free on weekends during daylight hours, and a full-time closure of the vehicle link between Sheen Gate and Sheen Cross in Richmond Park.
Andrew Scattergood, The Royal Parks’ Chief Executive, said: “London’s green spaces are vital refuges where people can come to escape from the busy city, and never has this been more apparent than over the past 12 months.
“These trials have proved that there is support from park visitors to limit cut-through traffic and create car-free spaces, where people can enjoy spending time in the natural environment to boost their health and happiness.
“We’ve had an enormous response to the consultation, and we want to thank everyone for their participation and for sharing their views.
“We’ll continue to work with our neighbours to monitor these projects and their impact and continue to listen to the views of park visitors.”
Thank you for posting this story.
Can I just alert your readers to the fact that The Regent’s Park has been ghosted from the Movement Strategy. It’s insulting to all the people trying to cross the traffic choked outer circle into Regent’s Park to claim that cut through measures will be maintained. We need some honesty and some leadership. Perhaps Andrew Scattergood could tell us what his plans are for reducing traffic in the only london park with a viable hedgehog population?