Healthy Streets for London

1 Healthy Streets for London Prioritising walking, cycling and public transport to create a Healthy city Foreword About Transport for London (TfL). Part of the Greater London Authority We work hard to make journeys easier London is facing an inactivity crisis. Over Commissioner for Walking and Cycling, it family of organisations led by Mayor through effective use of technology and decades, machines, cars and technology is my job to work with City Hall, TfL and of London Sadiq Khan, we are the data. We provide modern ways to pay have gradually taken over many of the our wider partners to make this happen. integrated transport authority through Oyster and contactless payment tasks that used to require physical effort. responsible for delivering the Mayor's cards and provide information in a wide More than 40 per cent of Londoners Our ambition is for all Londoners to strategy and commitments on transport. range of formats to help people move do not achieve the recommended 150 enjoy the benefits of being active through around London .

2 Minutes of activity a week; and 28 per cent walking or cycling for at least 20 minutes As a core element in the Mayor's overall do less than 30 minutes a week. Almost a day. plan for London , our purpose is to keep Real-time travel information is provided without realising it, we have engineered The Healthy Streets Approach provides London moving, working and growing, directly by us and through third party physical activity out of our daily lives. the framework of policies and strategies and to make life in our city better. We organisations, which use the data we we will put in place to achieve this. The consequences of this shift to more reinvest all of our income to run and make openly and freely available to At a street level, direct investment in sedentary lifestyles are severe. Lack of improve London 's transport services power apps and other services. our walking, cycling and public transport physical activity is now one of the biggest and to make it safer, more modern and infrastructure is vital to providing threats to our health, increasing the risk affordable for everyone.

3 We listen to, and act upon, feedback and a safer, easier, cleaner and more appealing of developing a range of chronic diseases complaints to constantly improve our environment for everyone to enjoy. including diabetes, dementia, depression Our operational responsibilities include services and work with communities, At a network level, we must design and and the two biggest killers in London . London Underground, London Buses, representative groups, businesses and manage our Streets and rail systems so heart disease and cancer. Docklands Light Railway (DLR), London many other stakeholders to shape that more active travel becomes part Overground, TfL Rail, London Trams, transport provision in London . We urgently need to design physical of every journey. And we need to plan London River Services, London Dial-a- activity back into our everyday lives. for the future. As London continues to Ride, Victoria Coach Station, Santander Improving and expanding transport in Active travel walking more, cycling more, grow, active travel needs to be designed Cycles and the Emirates Air Line.

4 London is central to driving economic using public transport more provides the into the fabric of new developments and growth, jobs and housing throughout the easiest and most affordable way for us all regeneration projects. On the roads, we regulate taxis and the United Kingdom. Where possible, we are to get more active and live healthier lives. private hire trade, run the Congestion using our land to provide thousands of In addition to these health benefits, all the Increasing the number of people walking, Charging scheme, manage the city's new, affordable homes. Our own supply evidence shows that more active travel cycling and using public transport has 580km red route network, operate all chain creates tens of thousands of jobs will reduce air and noise pollution, help the potential to transform London and of the Capital's 6,300 traffic signals and and apprenticeships across the country. combat social isolation, ease congestion, improve the lives of everyone who lives work to ensure a safe environment for make us safer and bring economic in, works in and visits this great city.

5 I am all road users. benefits to businesses large and small committed to working with our public across the Capital. leaders, with businesses and with all We are delivering one of the world's our communities to make this happen. largest programmes of transport capital The Mayor has shown that he is investment, which is building the determined to help every Londoner live Elizabeth line, modernising Tube services an active life. He has committed record and stations, transforming the road levels of investment to cycling and active network and making it safer, especially travel and has asked Transport for London for more vulnerable road users, such as (TfL) to put this agenda at the heart of Will Norman pedestrians and cyclists. its decision making. As the Capital's first Walking and Cycling Commissioner Healthy Streets for London 3. Message from High-quality public space in Woolwich (Greenwich) makes the Commissioner this town centre a pleasant place for people to meet, children to play and everyone to catch the bus It will be clear to anyone reading A The benefits of making this change City for all Londoners' that the Mayor's could be profound.

6 If everyone walked plans for the future of London are or cycled for 20 minutes a day, one in more ambitious and wide-reaching than six early deaths among Londoners could anything our city has seen before. The be prevented and many more people document also challenges us to be more would avoid cancer, heart disease and ambitious, particularly around the role of diabetes. We are committed to playing transport in improving health and quality our part in delivering a better life for of life. people living in our city. As the capital's strategic transport And the benefits are not limited to authority, we have a crucial role in the good health and wellbeing. The things health of all Londoners. There is ample that make a street work well for people evidence that inactivity is the cause of are the same things that make a street many of London 's major health problems work well for local and international and that walking, cycling and using public businesses, and that create a resilient transport to get around are the easiest and sustainable environment.

7 Ways to stay active. These are challenges that cities around But at TfL there is a lot more we can do the world are grappling with, but they to deliver on this responsibility putting are challenges that we will overcome, people at the heart of our decisions and because we want our city to be the best prioritising walking, cycling and public place in the world to live, work and visit. transport over private vehicles. The Healthy Streets Approach provides us Adopting the Healthy Streets Approach is with the clear direction we need to ensure essential if we are to create a city for all that we do so. Londoners. I am determined that we will make the most of this opportunity The key to understanding the Healthy to transform the health of our great city. Streets Approach is to understand that most journeys made by Londoners start, end or happen entirely on our Streets . To enable these Streets to function in the way we want them to, we have to make them work for walking, cycling and public transport, so both individuals and the city as a whole can benefit.

8 Adopting the Mike Brown MVO. Healthy Streets Approach means using Transport Commissioner this simple idea to inform our decision making in our own schemes, our relationships with the boroughs, and our role in planning for London 's growth. 4 Healthy Streets for London Chapter 1. A new approach Re-examining our Streets We need to use the space cars take up The transport system has a huge influence more efficiently. As London grows on the character of our city, and the towards 10 million residents by 2030, experience of living, working and spending the imperative to do so will become time here. London 's Streets account for greater not least because of 80 per cent of the city's public space, yet increasing congestion. too often they are dominated by traffic. Car dependency brings with it road danger The nature of these places public places and air pollution. It limits opportunities to that belong to us all defines what walk and cycle, and damages the reliability London is like as a city.

9 Of our bus services. Above all, it has tied The Mayor has set out his vision of us into living inactive lives, a situation London as a city that is well-connected, that has contributed to one of the has Healthy residents, and is a good place most serious health challenges London to do business, visit and live. To achieve has ever faced1. this we need to re-examine how London 's Streets operate. Prioritising walking, cycling and public transport The impacts of car use Our vision for the future of London is of London has seen real progress in a city where people choose to visit their encouraging people to switch from local shops. A city where high Streets are using the car to taking public transport, designed for people and the neighbouring walking and cycling, and traffic levels have Streets are pleasant to be in; where remained largely stable, despite significant people choose to take the bus instead of growth in the city's population.

10 However, driving because buses are prioritised over the city's Streets still suffer because of other traffic. It is a city where essential Thoughtfully designed public realm creates a good place high levels of car use. delivery and service vehicles can get to interchange with public transport and a better place to around efficiently, keeping everyone's Private cars are a relatively inefficient walk and enjoy. (Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith and Fulham). lives running smoothly. means of moving people. Cars take up 19 per cent of street space in central London can become a city where people London , but account for only 11 per cent choose to walk, cycle and use public of journey kilometres. By comparison, transport more, bringing huge health London has taken significant steps to Roughly half of all walking journeys buses take up only 11 per cent of street and wellbeing benefits to everyone. do this in recent years, but there is still in London are part of longer public space, but account for 57 per cent of considerable potential for more car transport journeys3 walking to or Providing more appealing walking, cycling journey kilometres.