Ambitious plans to transform the Old Street and Clerkenwell Road corridor to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists have been announced by Islington Labour-run Islington Council.

Today, Cllr Claudia Webbe, Executive Member for Environment & Transport at Islington Council, has announced that the Council will transform the Old Street and Clerkenwell Road corridor into a ‘Healthy Street’, which prioritises walking, cycling and public transport. Consequently, the Council is developing plans to close Old Street and Clerkenwell Road to through traffic.

This project will:

• improve safety, particularly for pedestrians and cyclists
• improve air quality
• help make the area greener, healthier and a more attractive place to live, work, play and do business.

A key objective is to eliminate through traffic and make the route safer for pedestrians and cyclists, so that it meets our commitment to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on our roads to zero.

Cllr Claudia Webbe, Executive Member for Environment & Transport, said:

“We are fully committed to encouraging more people to walk and cycle in the borough, and to do so in a safe environment. The benefits of walking and cycling to people’s health and to wider society are clear, and we want to see more people gain from them.

 

“The transformation of Old Street and Clerkenwell Road into a ‘Healthy Street’ is an ambitious proposal that I am excited to be moving forward with.

 

“In the 60 months up to February 2018, there have been 193 collisions along the corridor, resulting in 210 casualties, of which 24 were classed as serious and 186 as slight. This is unacceptable and the bold plans I am announcing today will seek to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, deaths and serious injuries on these roads.”

Islington Labour is committed to helping more people to be able to walk and cycle safely, and want to see at least 87% of all trips are made by foot, cycle or public transport by 2041 – we are already at 81%!

In recent years, we have prioritised the transformation of key transport intersections to make them safer and to support more active and sustainable forms of travel. The removal of the Archway Gyratory has created new public space and new safer pedestrian and cycling routes, demonstrating our determination to secure investment in our transport infrastructure to support our goals of healthier and more accessible streets.

Similar projects at Highbury Corner and Old Street are well advanced, and we will continue to pursue similar transformational schemes at Nag’s Head and King’s Cross to make a real difference in supporting people to walk and cycle more, ensuring new schemes are accessible for all.

The aim of the Old Street and Clerkenwell Road ‘Health Street’ project is to reduce traffic on this route to improve conditions and rebalance the roads in favour of pedestrians, cyclists and public transport.

The objectives for the improvements are to:

• enhance the pedestrian experience through improving the streetscape
• and public spaces
• encourage and provide better facilities for increased levels of cycling
• improve public transport journey time reliability and seek to maintain or
• improve access to public transport and interchanges
• avoid through traffic being diverted from the corridor to local streets
• improve air quality and health
• eliminate fatalities and serious injuries
• prioritise local access for cyclists and pedestrians
• maintain adequate local access for residents and business access for servicing and deliveries.

It is hoped that, subject to consultation and further design and testing works, construction would begin in 2021.