The Mayor, TfL and London Play encourage communities to reimagine streets in different ways for play and active travel this Car Free Day

 

• London's boroughs will be marking World Car Free Day on 22 September with events across local streets and neighbourhoods 
• The capital’s residents are encouraged to close their own streets for playful gatherings and celebration, by applying to their local council to try out a play street over the weekend of 20-22 September
• London Play will offer free space hoppers and other play equipment to participating streets across the capital, and one neighbourhood will win a mini-carnival event including an on-street ‘Karnival Kart’ building workshop and parade
• This year Car Free Day coincides with the launch of the London Overground’s Windrush line, and equipment provided to streets taking part in the boroughs along the line will include a carnival twist 
• Hackney Carnival returns on Sunday 22 September with eye-catching floats and vibrant colourful costumes that celebrate the diversity of carnival culture

 

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Transport for London (TfL) and London Play are encouraging Londoners to transform their streets into spaces for playful celebration and street parties on Car Free Day this September. 

 

Local streets across London will be open for play between Friday 20 September and Sunday 22 September as they become play streets for the day, enabling thousands of Londoners to play, walk, cycle and spend time with their neighbours. London hosted its largest Car Free Day celebrations in 2019, which saw thousands of people enjoy traffic-free streets in central London as well as hundreds of local streets across the capital. Since the pandemic, Car Free Day events have been focused on local neighbourhoods, and continue to offer a fantastic opportunity for people to enjoy their streets in new ways.

  

London Play is inviting the capital’s residents to swap their cars for space hoppers and transform their streets into temporary spaces for play and social gatherings. The annual event is on Sunday 22 September. It coincides with the official launch of the London Overground line which runs between Highbury & Islington and West Croydon being named the Windrush line, happening in autumn. TfL is working with London Play to encourage residents in the nine boroughs it passes through to hold carnival-inspired street parties to celebrate. One lucky neighbourhood will also win their own mini-carnival event including an on-street ‘Karnival Kart’ building workshop and parade, party games and carnival wing making. 

  

Hackney Council is getting into the carnival spirit as well as the Hackney Carnival returns following a five-year absence on Sunday 22 September. Locals will be able to enjoy a free a family-focused street parade featuring Hackney's loyal legacy carnival groups that celebrate the borough’s diverse communities. The daytime event will showcase eye-catching floats and vibrant colourful costumes that celebrate the diversity of carnival culture. 

 

Walking and Cycling Commissioner, Will Norman, said: “The Mayor and I are committed to enabling even more Londoners to incorporate walking and cycling into their daily lives. We are delighted to once again be supporting the activation of play streets on Car Free Day, a unique opportunity to transform streets into playful and social spaces, where all members of the community can come together to scoot, bike, walk, space hop and socialise safely. 

 

I encourage all Londoners to join in the fun and reclaim our streets with this fantastic initiative, which supports our aim for a greener, fairer London for all.”

 

Fiona Sutherland, Director of London Play, said: “London Play is delighted to be working with TfL and City Hall to inspire more creative uses of London’s streets, which make up 80 per cent of public space in the capital. Car Free Day is a great opportunity for Londoners to discover the joyful potential of the space outside their front doors, free of traffic for a few hours. Will they choose to simply share a cuppa with the neighbours? Race a spacehopper down the street?  Play hopscotch? Or have a full-blown carnival-inspired street party? In all cases we guarantee that people will look at their streets differently, having witnessed how they can be transformed with fun for just a few hours.”

 

Emma Strain, Customer Director at Transport for London, said: "Whether people are playing hopscotch or socialising with friends and neighbours, we hope that people across the capital take advantage of Car Free Day in September. Customers travelling on what will become the London Overground Windrush line this autumn, will see stations joining the celebrations.”

 

Caroline Woodley, Mayor of Hackney: "Hackney Council is very proud to support Car Free Day. This is a fantastic initiative that promotes healthier lifestyles, a cleaner environment, and aligns with our commitment to creating a greener, healthier borough.

"We can't wait to take to the streets this September to join residents for our family-friendly Hackney Carnival and celebrate our community's rich diversity. By reducing traffic and encouraging alternative modes of transport, we can create safer, more vibrant streets on which everyone can enjoy this year's parade."

 

Once Londoners have enjoyed the experience of seeing their street in a new light – as valuable community space – it is hoped that many will go on to apply for regular play street sessions. This will contribute to tackling isolation and improving mental health in London’s communities, improving air quality, reducing road danger and inspiring more Londoners of all ages to get active as part of their daily lives through walking and cycling.

 

For more information contact London Play via [email protected], call 0203 384 8513 or visit www.londonplaystreets.org.uk

 

Ends 

 

Notes to editors

 

About Play Streets

Play streets are simple, resident-organised events where neighbours on a road agree together to close their street temporarily, but regularly to through traffic. This allows children to play, while adults watch on, chat and get to know each other better – or join in. With most local authorities supportive of the idea, Car Free Day is an ideal opportunity to try out a play street without committing to regular events. Applicants will need to consult their neighbours and apply to their council well in advance. The exact process differs slightly from borough to borough, but London Play can advise on this as well as support with promotion and consultation; and provide play equipment to jump start the fun.

 

• London Play promotes children’s right to play, campaigns for more and improved out-of-school play services for children and young people across London, and supports play work in the capital
• Car Free Day is supported by the Mayor of London and Transport for London 
• We are grateful to all our funders and supporters including Trust for London, National Lottery Community Fund, the Barbara Ward Foundation, The Royal Parks and the Mayor of London
• Times are tough for charities and London Play needs your support. We promise to use each and every donation, no matter how small, to support better London childhoods. Donate. Purchase our unique Play 52 cards. Support while you shop through Give as you Live or Amazon Smiles 

 

    *About the names for the London Overground lines

• The Lioness line: Euston to Watford Junction. The Lioness line, which runs through Wembley, honours the historic achievements and lasting legacy created by the England women's football team that continues to inspire and empower the next generation of women and girls in sport. It will be yellow parallel lines on the map 
• The Mildmay line: Stratford to Richmond/Clapham Junction. The Mildmay line, which runs through Dalston, honours the small charitable hospital in Shoreditch that has cared for Londoners over many years, notably its pivotal role in the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s, which made it the valued and respected place it is for the LGBTQ+ community today. It will be blue parallel lines on the map
• The Windrush line: Highbury & Islington to Clapham Junction/New Cross/Crystal Palace/West Croydon. The Windrush line runs through areas with strong ties to Caribbean communities today, such as Dalston Junction, Peckham Rye and West Croydon and honours the Windrush generation who continue to shape and enrich London's cultural and social identity today. It will be red parallel lines on the map
• The Weaver line: Liverpool Street to Cheshunt/Enfield Town/Chingford. The Weaver line runs through Liverpool Street, Spitalfields, Bethnal Green and Hackney - areas of London known for their textile trade, shaped over the centuries by diverse migrant communities and individuals. It will be maroon parallel lines on the map    
• The Suffragette line: Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside. The Suffragette line celebrates how the working-class movement in the East End fought for votes for woman and paved the way for women's rights. The line runs to Barking, home of the longest surviving Suffragette Annie Huggett, who died at 103. It will be green parallel lines on the map
• The Liberty line: Romford to Upminster. The Liberty line celebrates the freedom that is a defining feature of London and references the historical independence of the people of Havering, through which it runs. It will be grey parallel lines on the map

 

About Windrush 

The arrival of HMT Empire Windrush in June 1948 marked the start of the Windrush generation, which included Caribbean communities who migrated to help rebuild Britain after the Second World War in critical industries such as construction, healthcare and transport.