Council makes it easier for Blue Badge holders to travel in people-friendly streets neighbourhoods

People-friendly streets neighbourhoods have been introduced in Islington to cut traffic on local roads, making it easier to walk, cycle, scoot and use buggies and wheelchairs, as the council moves ahead with tackling the climate emergency.       

The council has an exemption policy for Blue Badge holders living within a people-friendly streets neighbourhood, to make it easier for disabled people to travel if they need to use their car.

The policy has been introduced in all of Islington’s people-friendly streets neighbourhoods, with feedback showing that it has brought significant benefits to nearly 1,000 Blue Badge holders in Islington.  

Since implementing the exemption, the council has been listening to local people, seeking to ensure people-friendly streets work best for everyone. The policy will now be amended to allow a Blue Badge holder that resides within a people-friendly streets neighbourhood to nominate a vehicle that is not registered to the badge holder's address for an exemption. As before, Blue Badge holders can only register a single vehicle for the exemption.

This means that Blue Badge holders that regularly use a vehicle belonging to another person – such as a family member or a carer – will be able to apply for that vehicle to be exempt from camera-enforced traffic filters in their home people-friendly streets neighbourhood.  

The exemption will only apply when the vehicle is being used for the benefit of the Blue Badge holder, and can be used on camera-enforced traffic filters in the Blue Badge holder’s home people-friendly streets neighbourhood.

Cllr Rowena Champion, Islington Council’s Executive Member for Environment, Air Quality and Transport, said: “Our people-friendly streets neighbourhoods are helping to create a cleaner, greener, healthier Islington for everyone, where it’s easier to walk, cycle, scoot and use buggies and wheelchairs.   

“Islington’s streets belong to everyone, and throughout the process of implementing people-friendly streets we’ve been listening carefully to the helpful feedback that we’re receiving from local people. That is why we’ve introduced Blue Badge exemptions to all our people-friendly streets neighbourhoods, and we’re really pleased to see the positive impact this is having on nearly 1,000 disabled residents in Islington.

“Having listened carefully to feedback, we’re now updating the policy to make it easier for Blue Badge holders to travel in our people-friendly streets neighbourhoods, while ensuring the schemes continue to deliver cleaner, greener, healthier streets for all.” 

Further information on Islington’s people-friendly streets Blue Badge policy can be found on the council’s website.