Planning London’s future

I recently visited Wapping on a weekend and found a square with some market stalls. It seemed to be a lovely space for the local people to gather and enjoy music and food. I live in Rotherhithe, and I would like to see more of these squares with farmers markets / fishmongers. The feeling of community is something that is lacking in my area I think.

I love Angel Shopping Centre which is the nearest shopping to where I live. I believe it has experienced a lot of improvements since the pandemic. I can see a lot more people from all ages and different social classes, sometimes even disable people, I believe the public space has been made much more accessible. (I used to be able to see mainly young professionals only in the area before the pandemic). There have been many music events in the Shopping Centre too which made it a lot more lively and a happy place to shop. A lot of different shops have opened, the streets are cleaner and more pleasant to walk on them.

However, I still believe all Central London including Islington area where I live in are all overcrowded. On average there is very little space for everyone, including streets, shops, restaurants, private accommodation and green spaces. Sometimes I get so fed up of crowds that I drive outside London for some fresh air and open space. L me

I need more cycle-able areas. I want to be able to put my bike, securely and if possible away from the elements (a bike shelter) on transit stops. I also need more trees and bike racks on the high streets (more regulations and encouragement to introduce these for private shops is possible through a one-off tax cuts just for shops that install them). Bike racks right in front of shops. One car parking space can accommodate 10 bikes. 10 times the people flow and 10 times the productivity of that space. If I can be sure the location is truly safe I don’t mind paying a small fee/tax.

Oh and PROTECTED BIKE LANES. Please. Paint is not infrastructure. We need bollards and adequate enforcement. Make bikes (biking routes) more permeable. Cars less so. Design is more effective than forcing people though a tax (ULEZ) that only affects the low-middle people. Design affects everyone and their perspective towards the mode. Governments have to force people to make these decisions and encourage cycling. We have to do that in order to truly make cycling a truly competitive mode.

The places I like best in London are those that have pedestrian areas and activities going on in the street. The places I dislike most are those that have no pedestrians, or hardly any, because inadequate public transport forces people to drive. It is much safer for me as a woman in places where there are other people walking about. Men who wish to hassle women and thieves and muggers are much more likely to cause trouble when there are no witnesses, apart from fast-moving car drivers who probably can't stop. Green spaces also improve any area, making it more healthy and pleasant to walk in. It helps if the parks and other green spaces are in areas where there are a lot of people walking, because large deserted areas are unsafe for women and for anyone who is vulnerable.

For me it's really important to feel close to nature, to have free community events to meet the other locals and share what I have to offer the community and receive in turn.
I love parks that are a bit wild, wildflower meadows, native plants and habitats where you get a feeling for the daily change in the seasons. I love the thought of rewilding. In Switzerland's capital city Basel there are beavers living in the river directly underneath parliament. How amazing is that? I'd be glad to respect wild animals if they returned to the UK. In the meantime I volunteer with litter picking in a local park.
What gets in the way of me getting connected to the community is when there isn't a central place for people to gather. London is a massive warren. I'm familiar with Edgeware and Kilburn that to me don't have strong communities who share experiences & a local identity. More community, wilderness & culture focus, more opportunities for bored youths to escape cycles of crime for more inspiring pursuits. Science, nature & culture events that are free for young & old people to attend & intermingle. This is much more common in posher areas such as Highgate. It would be nice to see more investment in Edgeware and Kilburn.
I must also point out an unavoidable issue with London's transport systems which is that it isn't set up for the poor and the unpaid care work force (mostly women) caring for family. The paid workforce (mostly men) who go into Central London can get direct trains easily, but the rest of us that try to travel round say North West London have to go massively out of our way & get stuck in traffic on public transport to go very short distances. It's very inefficient. To counter this; reduce traffic to central London with more easily accessible & cheap park & ride options making it more expensive & inconvenient to drive in than getting the bus/train. Free parking in exchange for a ticket. Circular local bus routes can then help local communities come together.

I think the mayor had brought detrimental changes to my area, he’s determined to push people into my historically low traffic neighbourhood to a chaotic standstill!
All of these changes done with no consultation or the people living in my borough.
He’s determined to build on station car park and build high rises that blot the landscape & offer nothing for families desperately wanting affordable homes. He’s building on green belt land in Cockfosters, yet claims he wants ‘london to breathe’ but gets rid of our parks & is determined to stop paying customers using the car park to use ironically public transport but this also means older people & the disabled who need to use their cars can’t find anywhere to park & he’s cut bus services everywhere!
I’m fed up of having no say in the changes that impact my life so much. My house windows show stains from the fumes of cars where Mr khan & barnet council pushed out a football club of over 100 year history into another borough & built a school no one wanted.
Khan & the council received a lot of money from the developers in order to sort a junction out and have a good travel plan. 4 years later with 3 cohorts in the school so far nothing has been done! Send in a FOI & oh ‘it’s in planning stages’
Oh and the park land appropriated by the mayor & council was meant to be for ‘the community’ all these flash pitches built - I can now rent one out for over £130 an hour or if I end up getting some dodgy deal with the council.
Thanks to the mayor london has become less democratic and more autocratic - mayors question time is an absolute joke as the mayor is allowed to waffle on rather than answer a question & gets the questions in advance.
He wants to expand ULEZ but who has he asked?
Why is he allowed to travel around in gas guzzlers & avoid CC & ULEZ charges when we can’t? Or all the photo ops he had at all these celeb events even in covid but telling people to wear a mask? Hypocrisy

I used to love taking a long bus ride Oxford Street, just do the shops but with the Mayor changing the buses it would mean taking a few buses and no longer enjoyable. I would on occasions take a long bus ride to Croydon but again the Mayor changed the buses and it's a few changes and so I no longer do this. My local area has been revamped and caters for those who eat and drink out on a daily/regular basis. For some reason, these consumers are incredibly rude and will walk through you if they could. Sadly, with cyclists preferring to cycle on pavements, scooters and mopeds on pavements, walking has become a hyper vigilant experience. London is special for the few now otherwise it's a mess.

My greatest hate is King Cross - St Pancras Underground station. Every time I return from a day out by train, I have to consider the imminence of departure of my local half-hourly Great Northern train from Highbury & Islington. The walk from the northernmost booking hall to the Victoria Line is diabolically long and is not helped by a long upward gradient. If I arrive on Platforms 1 to 8 at King's Cross, I head for the Euston Road Underground entrance and the first thing that happens is signage telling people to turn right for the Piccadilly and Victoria Lines which is incorrect. It is far shorter to turn left to the booking hall under Euston Road. Complaints to TfL achieve nothing.

I hate road junctions where pedestrians are kept waiting for ages while no traffic is moving, and all because one cannot see the traffic lights facing the nearest traffic.

I have favourite walks in several parts of London and these include walks across central London where I am able to follow quiet roads, even from St Pancras station to Covent Garden or the West End. Two of the walking groups I belong to, beg me to lead walks in Greater London and I use my personal route knowledge to come up with ideas. I keep a list of my favourite walks on a computer spreadsheet where a formula counts the number of days since my latest walk on each route, and I use this as daily inspiration.

One of the best improvements of recent times in central London was the banning of all traffic except buses and bicycles from the Bank of England crossroads. The City of London is now a pleasant place to walk in.

I dislike my local council, Enfield, for introducing cycle lanes along Green Lanes between Enfield Town and Palmers Green. When one crosses this main road in certain places, one has to watch out for a raised surface protecting the cycle lane, especially in the dark. This council disregards the needs of pedestrians outside town centres, regardless of traffic volume.

Arriving at St Pancras International last night I was horrified by the squalor of the area. Pavements are filthy, litter and rubbish everywhere, people sleeping on the street, antisocial behaviour, etc.etc. I am a Londoner yet was shocked, so what must a visitor to our city feel. I felt despair at the fact that this now seems the acceptable state of our city . I then got on a filthy bus, having travelled on a squalid EMR train to St Pancras from Luton airport that was fithy both on the outside and in the carriages.

I feel totally excluded from my local area of Tooting. I am disabled & walk with 2 crutches. All the Blue Badge parking spaces have been removed from Tooting High Street to make space for cycle lanes meaning I can no longer shop, have had to change my GP & Chiropodist, go to my bank or local chemist. At least 11 spaces have been removed, even some in side roads. So although I have been a Wandsworth resident for 65yrs, going to school & working in the NHS I now have to leave my borough to do everything

London’s parks are precious. I’d love to see more pocket parks and a big campaign - maybe including competitions - to encourage good use /design of front gardens. This is for aesthetic, health, emotional, community cohesion and environmental reasons. I’d be happy to help. The big bins are an eyesore if any alternative could be found that’d be good. Also support for car clubs or creative alternatives for those who need occasional use of a car.

Tower Hamlets must have the most missed refuse collections ineast London ( and dumped furniture and mattresses ) refuse collections down to useless council and dumped furniture and mattresses 70% down to buy to let landlords maybe the buy to let landlords should pay a bit more service charge that could be used for more street removal of said items

Dropped kerbs should not have residual steps greater than 25-30mm to allow for small tyres on powered wheelchairs, please. And there still are too many locations where one has to turn back because there is no dropped kerb.

On the other hand, wheelchair users find it easier to use the ramp of a black cab where there is a full-depth kerb.

The car needs to be relegated to the margins of city life.

So many wonderful place are impacted by noise and pollution and experiencing those places forces one to the edge too often on astonishingly narrow pavements to make more room for cars.

Restrict automobiles and streets are safer friendlier and more vibrant and more inclusive for citizens of all ages and abilities.

The town centre where I live in London has become much more windy because of the tower blocks built recently. It can make older people feel unsafe. It makes me think twice about going there on a windy day. Consideration of wind effects should be part of planning permission, with features to mitigate increased wind effects added to existing tall blocks.

Like another world. Because of domestic violence and not having a safe home, I can't go to any places anymore. It's like living in a prison. Places in London are sort of special because it's familiar and home because it's all I've ever known but also painful because London is very cruel place for people like me who need affordable housing. We're cut off from society and shut out of life. Can't join in community.