Proposed London Car Ban Sparks Criticism

Posted by: Nate Berg

16 November 2007 - 1:00pm

Cars will be banned from many of London's central city streets as part of a plan by Mayor Ken Livingstone to improve the city's pedestrian friendliness. Many critics say the roads chosen for the ban are too crucial to lose.

"Cars will be banned from some of London’s busiest streets as part of a bold plan to create continental-style boulevards devoted to pedestrians and cyclists."

"Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, plans to replicate Paris Plage, the beach created on a highway alongside the Seine each August, on the four-lane Victoria Embankment beside the Thames."

"The first scheme will be the £18 million part-pedestrianisation of Parliament Square, which will involve removing traffic from the south side closest to Westminster Abbey from 2009. Mr Livingstone believes that the success of the Trafalgar Square scheme, where the road beside the National Gallery has been pedestrianised, will help to overcome objections by motoring groups and retailers."

Full Story: Cars out as London mayor clears way for Paris-style plage and cycle boulevards

Source: The Times, November 15, 2007