The Enjoy Waltham Forest programme, which was awarded the Ashden Award for Clean Air in Towns and Cities, was designed to encourage people to use alternative sustainable transport modes for short journeys in a bid to reduce emissions.
Through changing the physical infrastructure of the borough’s roads, as well as delivering a wide range of complementary measures to support behaviour change, the programme has been able to deliver real benefits to residents. These include:
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More than 26km of segregated cycle lanes
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50 road closures
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Improved over 120 junctions and crossings
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Planted more than 700 trees, and created 15 pocket parks
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Installed 350 bikehangars
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Provided seven station cycle hubs with over 500 secure parking spaces
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Trained more than 7,500 children to ride a bike and 5,000 adults
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Supported 261 people to take part in All Ability Cycling sessions since March 18
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2,795 bikes serviced by Dr Bike since January 2017
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298 Community Bike hires since May 2018
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101 Cargo Bike hires since May 2018
Not only have these changes enhanced air quality in Waltham Forest as fewer people rely on their cars as the quickest way to get around; the programme has proved popular among residents whose health, wellbeing, businesses and culture has profited as traffic is decreased by 44%.
A report from the Environmental Research Group at King’s College London found that highways improvements in Waltham Forest is contributing to a six-week increase in life expectancy for the borough’s children.
You can watch a video of the programme’s achievements since 2014 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvVI3Xjpsn4
