Cleaning up London’s toxic air

I would like to see every day in central London a car free day. London has  amazing public transport infrastructure and it has its own wonderful black cabs to take you from door to door if you cannot walk or cycle. It is baffling that cars are allowed into central London at all- especially into side streets and residential streets. We need to confine motorised traffic of all kinds- buses, delivery vehicles etc to the main roads such as the Marylebone Road, Euston Road, Oxford Street, Tottenham Court Road, Portland Place, Regent Street, Edgeware Road etc so that  the smaller side streets are left free for people to walk and cycle (Except for access for deliveries and black cabs)

What Livehere said!

It is wonderful to be able to cycle in the streets now with (most) streets having fewer cars but it is absolutely terrifying when one of the many speed racers, that have come out to take advantage of the same empty streets, zooms by. Police really need to be doing something about this. Lower speed limits. Enforce speed limits. Turn on the bloody speed cameras. The pavements are too full to accommodate runners and walkers. Runners and cyclists need to be protected on the roads to give the pedestrians more of the space they need right now and for the foreseeable future. 

This is the time to make changes. Having clean air is absolutely vital to fighting the coronavirus as is having fewer people on public transport. Now is the time to put money towards protected cycle lanes.

Look at what Amsterdam did when they decided to prioritise cycling in the 60's and 70's. They have even narrower roads! Make roads one way to accommodate space for cycle lanes, most roads don't have space for two way traffic anyways. Take away parking spaces (other than loading and handicapped of course). Make parking what it should be, a luxury, not a right and charge accordingly. Then we will only take our car when we really need to. While it would be nice to have concrete separations, it is unneeded, only the simple rubber bumpers (see Barcelona) are needed to segregate the lanes.

If you wouldn't feel comfortable having your young child ride on a cycle lane then it is a failed cycle lane. Having cyclists share lanes with buses is NOT the answer. It is really scary to have a massive impatient bus on your tail and it is also terrifying to have to constantly weave in and out when the buses make their stops. Just add speed racers and death is inevitable ..

Park Lane is surprisingly busy during lockdown, and there are a few 'uber-cars' jetting exhaust fumes and noise around side streets and main streets. Otherwise hardly any cars or vans at all. Wonderfully clean air and peacce and quiet. Both essential for health and for resilience in face of coronavirus.  We will have to live with coronavirus for ever. So let's keep the streets quiet with clean air.

Let us NOT go back to traffic and pollution.

Do things DIFFERENTLY from right now onwards.

The number one means of moving is on foot, cycling is not the priority. All people whether they cycle or drive, or neither, all travel by foot.

There is a lot os resentment against extra spending on cycling infrastructure, due to a sizeable number of cyclists who use footpaths, where no cycling permitted, not heeding red lights, even those on purpose built cycleways, mot stopping at pedestrian crossings, and now with dockless bikes, far too many are badly and inconsiderately parked, being an obstruction for many, not helped by the lack of action by the commercial providers policing where they are parked, despite the GPS installed. 

Visitors to London, many from abroad are particularly cavalier and TFL useless in taking any measures against users of its bikes who transgress, To even suggest the police can deal with it, is a joke. 

Good idea to make Royal Parks car free, but also needed is better signage of which paths through them are mixed, pedestrians and cycles, and which pedestrians only. Also make more visible or renew existing signage that pedestrians take priority.

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I would most certainly not wish to take part, it is a celebration of "I want to look good, never mind how much it hurts the ill, the disabled, the weak in society".

Those inconsiderate people who came up with this stupid idea should be ashamed.

A much more sensible approach would be to find an effective way to reduce traffic all year round.

For those who wonder about me, I'm 72, reasonably able.  Around 6 months of the year I do drive including to work, (yes I still work full time at age 72), and in the warmer weather use an electric bike that I charge from my own off grid set of solar panels.

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While I appreciate the fun and possible health benefits of such an event, where is the evidence that the car free day (which was really only part of the day) has had any beneficial affect on London's air quality.

Still very disappointed that while other cities have declared a deadline for private cars moving through their central areas, London lags behind.  For a city that wishes to be a world leader surely it should be setting the trend.  

 I am surprised that we have not heard from the office of MOL about the success (or otherwise) of this day.  Are the London boroughs and the the office of the MOL really serious about reducing air pollution.  Why was it only one day and not piloted for several days per week over several months?  Why do we have to look to towns like Bristol (banning private diesel cars from 2021) for a lead on how to tackle the city's air pollution?.

I am all for London (on-ground) 'free car days' so long as we have regular London (above-ground) 'free aeroplane days' as well. Too many noisy polluting aeroplanes overfly London day-in-day-out causing all sorts of pollution and noise. I live in Peckham SE London 20+ miles away from Heathrow - but, still I am horribly effected by 'Mayor Khan's support of Heathrow aeroplanes and Heathrow expansion.

Someone suggested more cycling like Amsterdam. However, in London when a road is blocked with cars, cyclist will take to the pavement - and get aggretive should a pedestrian dare not get out of their way quick enough.  Cyclists will often go through red lights - and get aggressive should a pedestrian dare to cross the road when the green man indicates it is safe to do so. Someone else suggested that car free day would go some way towards easing middle class guilt - much like volunteering in African orphanages and the like. But I'll leave that for the middle classes to debate. But think about it, whilst middle classes had yoga on Tower Bridge and the Mayor of London had a photo op, those who work and take bus because they cannot afford the tube were massively inconvenienced. Someone suggested  dealing with the real issues - great idea - but dealing with real issues is not on the radar for any politician. 

This was an appalling and selfish idea.  Able bodied people enjoying themselves at the expense of the less able.

It's as bad as raising taxes on the poor so that the rich can have their taxes reduced.

Who was the idiot who decided it would be a good idea to block the less able from central London?  Whoever it is, he or she should be forced to meet with some of the less able to explain why he, or she, wished them harm.

Then he or she should promise not to repeat this dreadful exercise.

What is needed is not car free days, but practical ways to reduce the harm that cars can cause.  Maybe subsidised purchase of the lowest polluting cars,  Maybe subsidies for those who drive less.

Also, another idiot has suggested that people driving short journeys should be taxed, to discourage people from driving a mile to the nearest supermarket.  You know what'll happen, people will drive further to a more distant supermarket!  What do these people have between their ears?

It makes me wonder how these idiots ever get into a position to have their daft ideas listened to.

Suggestion - before you suggest any more selfish and or stupid ideas, try to think it through first!

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