Have your say on improvement plans for Essex Road area

To help tackle the climate emergency, the council has recently announced ambitions to bring liveable neighbourhoods to the borough to increase green space, bring communities together, and create more welcoming streets for all. If Islington’s ambitions are realised then liveable neighbourhoods, alongside the borough’s existing low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), would cover 70% of the borough.  

The proposals for the Essex Road area support these plans. They are designed to create a more pleasant atmosphere outside New North Academy, to reduce cut-through traffic on residential streets, and to ensure that main roads work better for people walking and cycling, and for vehicles. They include:        

• Allowing vehicles to turn right from Canonbury Road and New North Road into Essex Road. This proposal will make it easier for vehicles to travel on these roads and will help reduce the number of vehicles cutting through local streets.
• Creating a School Street at New North Academy Primary School, including additional greening and pavement improvements, as well as the introduction of a banned left turn from Greenman Street onto Essex Road. It is hoped that – like Islington’s 35 existing School Streets – the scheme will support children’s development by making it easier to walk, cycle, and wheel on the school run. 
• Introducing a new signalised pedestrian and cycle crossing across Essex Road at the junction with Rotherfield Street to support active travel and make it easier to cross Essex Road. The crossing will provide a key new cycle route that connects the Canonbury East and Canonbury West LTNs, and will also form part of the future Regent’s Canal to Highgate cycleway. Improvements to the area would also include additional greening, pavement improvements, and the installation of a traffic filter on Canonbury Street, at the junction with Essex Road.  

Local people are key in shaping Islington’s ambitions to create a net-zero carbon borough. The council is looking to hear views, insights, and ideas from people that live in, work in and travel through the area, and a consultation on the proposals has opened today and will run until Friday, 31 March. To have your say, fill in the survey on the council’s website, where you can also register to join an online meeting on Tuesday, 21 March, from 6pm to 7pm.       

Cllr Rowena Champion, Islington Council’s Executive Member for Environment, Air Quality, and Transport, said: “We know how pressing the climate emergency is, and how vitally important it is that we take urgent action to make Islington a cleaner, greener, healthier place for all.        

“Our proposals are designed to achieve just that, and will help make it easier for people of all ages to experience the mental and physical health benefits of active travel and improved biodiversity.        

“It’s crucial that the changes we introduce to the area work for local people, and we want to hear your feedback. Local people living in and around Essex Road know their streets better than anyone, so help us ensure the scheme creates a better place for all by taking part in our consultation.”     

Depending on the feedback received during the consultation, the council plans to start introducing the changes in May 2023.