It is yet to be seen whether climate change will become a deciding factor in the future of Crystal Palace LTN.
As Greta Thunberg recently pointed out:
10 years ago our leaders signed the “ambitious” Aichi goals “to protect wildlife and ecosystems”. By the end of 2020 it became clear they had failed on every single one. Each day they have the possibility to act. But they choose not to. Instead they just sign some more “ambitious” targets long into the future…”
There are many ways that we can reduce carbon emissions, but the one that we have greatest control of locally, and which could have immediate effect is to massively reduce car journeys. This really should not be too hard, when over 50% of vehicle journeys in Croydon are less than 3km. And throughout London, 22% of car journeys could easily be walked and 38% could easily be cycled.
Croydon Council’s professed policy over a number of years has been to tackle climate change. This is evidenced by:
- Their recent election manifesto
- A Transport Vision for Croydon: Moving towards a more liveable place
- Croydon’s Streetspace Improvement Plan (CSIP)
- Croydon Cycling Strategy
- Croydon Climate Crisis Commission
- The Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change
So the question facing TMAC on 15 February:
Is it more bla bla bla, or are we going to continue with the aim to control car use on our streets? The LTN is the perfect place to start this as it restricts the ability of motorists to use back streets that are not intended or designed for high traffic, but far more importantly, it provides a space for them to try active travel in safety.
Could we add
- climate change
to the list of reasons to reduce car dependency
- deaths by road traffic collisions
- deaths from pollution
- asthma and respiratory disease
- obesity
- ill health
- safety for pupils going to school
- safety for disabled people
and balance these against the desires of a small, but loud, minority of residents who are not representative of the community in terms of affluence, ethnicity or age.
Further reading
Ditching the car for walking or biking just one day a week cuts carbon footprint by Hayley Dunning Imperial College London 04 February 2021
“Even if not all car trips could be substituted by bicycle trips, the potential for decreasing emissions is huge” Dr Audrey de Nazelle
“Doing more of a good thing combined with doing less of a bad thing – and doing it now – is much more compliant with a ‘net zero’ pathway and preserving our planet’s and our own futures.” Dr Christian Brand
“To improve active travel take-up, cities across the world will need to increase investment in high-quality infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists and incorporate policy and planning concepts that require a fairly radical rethink of our cities.
“This is in turn likely to reduce inequalities, because the concepts involve mixing different population groups rather than maintaining the model of residential zoning by socioeconomic status currently used.” Dr de Nazelle
Shape Better Streets Croydon & Bromley 