Celebs Respond—Badly—to London’s Potentially Permanent Closure To Cars Of Many Major Roads

Celebrity news reporter Adam Boulton and controversial actor Laurence Fox are not fans of London’s plan to ban cars on some its busiest roads as the coronavirus lockdown is eased.

“Anyone who is in central London knows that bike riders are irresponsible and constantly break the laws on the roads,” stated Boulton to the London Mayor on Sky News on May 15.

And Fox tweeted, “I’d be happy to support a permanent lockdown of two wheeled road facists [sic] that run red lights at 25mph, nearly killing my loved ones.”

Neither are likely to be happy with how London’s roads could be transformed in the weeks and months ahead. Park Lane in the West End of London has already seen the overnight installation of a pop-up cycleway, and a statement from City Hall said there are now plans to “transform parts of central London into one of the largest car-free zones in any capital city in the world.”

“This,” continues City Hall’s statement, “is necessary to enable safe social distancing on public transport in London as lockdown restrictions are eased, and will help support increased walking and cycling and improve the city’s air quality.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan added: “If we want to make transport in London safe, and keep London globally competitive, then we have no choice but to rapidly repurpose London’s streets for people.”

This, admitted the Labour politician, “will mean a fundamental reimagining how we live our lives in this city.”

A fundamental reimagining that has irked commentators such as Boulton and Fox.

Boulton was challenged on Twitter to cite sources after he had told London’s Mayor on air that cyclists routinely flout the law but that motorists don’t. The Sky news reporter provided anecdotes rather than facts.

Responding to Boulton, the Metropolitan Police’s Superintendent Andy Cox wrote:

“We do enforce cycling offences including breaching red lights; riding on footpaths, no lights, though enforcement is proportionate to risk. [Motorists] pose a much greater risk of harm [than cyclists] hence more enforcement.”

Cox, who leads London’s road crime team, revealed that “extreme speeding enforcement” on lockdown’s quieter roads was “up 172% compared to same period in 2019.”

Starkly, he added: “In 2020, sadly 35 people have died in London in collisions; none as a consequence of a crash with a cyclist.”

According to statistics from the U.K.’s Department for Transport in 2018, 86% of those driving cars exceed the speed limit on 20mph roads during weekdays, and it’s even higher at weekends, with 91% flouting the law.

Post-lockdown gridlock

It’s congestion, not speeding, that’s most worrying officials at Transport for London (TfL).

“With public transport capacity reduced dramatically when restrictions are eased, up to eight million journeys a day will need to be made by other means,” said London’s cycling and walking commissioner Will Norman on May 1.

“If just a fraction switch to cars, London will grind to a halt, choking our economic recovery,” he added.

And it’s this fear of gridlock that is behind London’s bold “Streetspace” plans to expand space for pedestrians and cyclists, and reduce it for motorists.

According to a TfL statement issued on May 15, plans have been triggered to “quickly [build] a strategic cycling network, using temporary materials and including new routes, to help reduce crowding on the Tube and trains and on busy bus routes.”

Sidewalks on high streets will be widened to “give space for queues outside shops as people safely walk past while socially distancing.”

Roadspace will be taken from motorists by “creating low-traffic corridors right across London so more people can walk and cycle as part of their daily routine.”

Pop-up cycleways and widened sidewalks “could become permanent,” suggested TfL.

In reality, TfL does not have control over all roads in London. Most roads—especially non-strategic ones—are controlled by boroughs. TfL has said it will work with boroughs to increase space for cyclists and pedestrians because “London’s road to recovery cannot be clogged with cars.”

The City of London Corporation—which administers the Square Mile, London’s financial district—could soon start to restrict private cars on Cannon Street, Cheapside and Poultry, Old Jewry and Coleman Street, Lombard Street, Leadenhall Street, Threadneedle Street and Old Broad Street. 

Furthermore, streets between London Bridge and Shoreditch, Euston and Waterloo, and Old Street and Holborn, could soon be limited to buses, pedestrians and cyclists.

“We can’t see journeys formerly taken on public transport replaced with car usage because our roads would immediately become unusably blocked,” stated Khan. The Mayor of London added that should that be allowed to happen “toxic air pollution would soar.”

As well as creating more space for pedestrians and cyclists, Khan said he would reinstate London’s Congestion Charge on May 18. In addition he revealed that in June the fee for entering the charging zone will rise from £12 to £15 per motor vehicle.

Expect more snarky comments from celebs.


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