Local people invited to have their say as St Peter’s people-friendly streets scheme delivers greener neighbourhood

Local people are at the heart of the council’s ambition to create a fairer borough together, and their feedback on Islington’s people-friendly streets schemes has been invaluable.   

The St Peter’s scheme is one of seven people-friendly streets neighbourhoods to be introduced as 18-month trials by the council, as part of efforts to create a safer, greener, healthier borough for all.   

Comparing data from June 2020 – a month before the scheme’s introduction – with updated figures from June 2021, a monitoring report published today reveals that the St Peter’s trial led to a 56% drop in traffic on internal roads.   

The number of speeding vehicles fell by 78% within the neighbourhood, while rates of cycling rose by 72% inside the neighbourhood. The report also reveals that the trial has not had a significant impact on traffic on boundary roads surrounding the neighbourhood.  

From today, the council is launching a public consultation on the St Peter’s people-friendly streets neighbourhood. Responses to the consultation will help decide if the trial should be made permanent, changed, or removed.   

Cllr Rowena Champion, Islington Council’s Executive Member for Environment and Transport, said: “We all have a role to play in tackling the climate emergency, and our people-friendly streets neighbourhoods are a key part of our efforts to create a safer, greener, healthier Islington together.  

“We are excited to reveal the positive monitoring data from the St Peter’s trial, which shows how the scheme has improved life for local people. By reducing traffic within the neighbourhood, the trial has helped create streets that are better suited to walking, cycling and using buggies and wheelchairs.  

“People-friendly streets are designed to create a better borough for everyone, and our ears are open to feedback from local people on the impact of the schemes.  

“That is why, from today, we’re encouraging people across the St Peter’s neighbourhood to let us know how the scheme has affected them so far by taking part in our online survey.” 

The public consultation on the St Peter’s neighbourhood will run for four weeks, ending on Monday, 11 October. During this period, the council will be reaching out to people in St Peter’s to understand the impact of the scheme on them, including through a series of events in the area.   

Local people will also be asked for their views on an exemption scheme for Blue Badge holders that the council is considering introducing.  

Further information on the consultation process and monitoring report can be found on the council’s people-friendly streets page. 

In order to account for the significant impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on transport in London, traffic figures in the monitoring report have been adjusted through a process known as “normalisation”. Further details on this process can be found in the report itself.    

It is also important to remember that the data used in the monitoring report was taken collected before changes were made to the St Peter’s neighbourhood to reduce traffic in the Packington Estate.