Fume clogged streets could be a thing of the past if cars are permanently banned in Wood Green under ambitious plans to create a “town centre of the future”.
The area is one of 12 earmarked by Transport for London to potentially benefit from a new network of bus and bike routes – by banning cars.
TfL’s transport strategy manager Mike Keegan mooted the idea at a Transport Forum as one of many schemes proposed for Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s Transport Strategy.
He said: “The town centre of the future could be something like this: a high quality public realm with lots of bike parking, bike hire, preference parking for electric cars, good access for bus and freight but probably keeping cars outside the centre itself. This could apply to Wood Green if the local authority wanted to take this up.”
Drivers ditched their cars in a pilot scheme in September last year, when the council closed the High Road to traffic between Turnpike Lane and Gladstone Avenue for five hours.
Other ideas put forward by TfL included:
Increasing the number of lanes on the North Circular and reducing the speed limit to ease congestion
Extending the Docklands Light Railway to Tottenham Hale
Improving capacity on the Victoria and Piccadilly lines
Making trains longer and more frequent on First Capital Connect services to Finsbury Park, Harringay, Hornsey and Alexandra Palace.
The plans are at a very early stage, with public consultation running until January. It will be finalised in April 2012.
To respond to the plans or make suggestions, see london.gov.uk/shaping-london
Hornsey and Crouch End Journal