Transport for London’s (TfL’s) Future Streets Incubator Fund is to fund a series of new projects to help improve the use of the roads and streets within the capital.
Transport for London’s (TfL) writes:
Four innovative schemes that will transform streets in the Capital have been awarded grants as part of Transport for London’s (TfL’s) Future Streets Incubator Fund. The fund, which is one element of the Mayor’s £4bn Road Modernisation Plan, has been created to encourage creative and more effective uses of the Capital’s limited road space and help alleviate the pressures on the network.
By funding original on-street projects, it is designed to trigger innovation that will lead to long-term improvements across London, addressing congestion, overcrowding, air quality and noise pollution.
The latest projects to receive TfL funding include an intelligent street to generate energy and improve air quality near Oxford Street, an innovative boardwalk to improve a traffic-dominated rat-run in Southwark, a noise-absorbing system to improve an underpass of the A12 and a novel delivery service to reduce vehicles on the Capital’s roads.
Previously-funded projects have included temporary parks and seating through the Ealing Parklet and Team London Bridge’s Fresh Air Squares and Westminster’s e-tag parking.
Deputy Mayor for Transport, Isabel Dedring, said: ‘Given the growing pressures on our road network to move people and goods, and tackle air pollution, we need to be evermore inventive in how we use our limited road space. These worthy winners are just a few examples of how we are trailing new approaches that could bring big benefits to roads across the city.’
Following the award, TfL will now work with the successful bidders to deliver the latest round of projects later this year. They include:
- Creating an ‘Intelligent Street’ in the West End; Bird Street – a traffic-free space off Oxford Street – will be transformed with a range of cutting-edge technologies designed to generate energy from the sun and pavement movement, and potentially improve air quality. Materials in roofs, canopies and pavements would generate the energy, and would be integrated into an enjoyable public space that will prioritise pedestrians and cyclists. This project will be delivered by the New West End Company.
- Using a flexible boardwalk to transform Lavington Street in Southwark into a pedestrian boulevard; an innovative new boardwalk system will be used to widen the path as one-way traffic is trialled on the traffic-dominated rat run. The boardwalk will include plants and greenery and points of interest drawn from the Southwark Local History Library, encouraging more people to walk and cycle safely through the area. This project will be delivered by Better Bankside, with the boardwalk system commissioned through an invited design and build competition.
- Creating an innovative noise-absorbing barrier to protect residents near the A12 Blackwall Tunnel; a new noise-absorption material will be trialled at the A12 underpass between Empson Street and Gillender Street to create a more attractive barrier that incorporates a green wall with integrated watering system. The project will investigate the potential for reducing the impact of noise and air pollution from major roads on local communities, as well as testing methods for reducing surface water on the A12. This project will be delivered by the Poplar Housing and Regeneration Community Association and London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
- Consolidation of deliveries to businesses within Holborn, Bloomsbury and St Giles; a central platform for ordering everyday items like milk and newspapers will allow consolidated deliveries to be made using electric vehicles or cargo bikes to up to 320 local businesses. The new consolidation service, delivered by the Inmidtown BID, could reduce vehicle miles by 81 per cent per year and achieve an annual 60 per cent reduction in delivery-related greenhouse gas emissions.
View the press release and find out more about other funding
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