Green Party's candidate for London Mayor commits to 'people-friendly' streets

Sian Berry joins Living Streets for walking tour

The Green Party’s London mayoral candidate Sian Berry has committed to creating more ‘people-friendly' streets if elected. Berry made the commitment while on a walk through south London today organised with Living Streets, a charity that promotes everyday walking.

Berry said: “I have long been a fan of the work that Living Streets does to improve walking in London. Two-thirds of Londoners live within a five-minute walk of their high street, and for many of us that’s what makes life in the big city liveable. Yet pedestrian casualty rates are often at their highest and air quality at its lowest in these local town centres.

“We need to make them better and safer places to walk to – not least because this boosts the local economy and helps create jobs. It’s great that City Hall has established town centre projects in Peckham and Tooting to help local high streets put walking first, but what about the rest of London? If I’m elected mayor I will commit to creating more people-friendly streets in every borough.”

The walk was part of the charity’s campaign to encourage the next London Mayor to increase walking in London town centres. Emily Humphreys, Living Streets’ director of policy and communications, said: “We want London to be a world-leading city with the freedom to walk, breathe fresh air and experience our iconic streets, public spaces, and fantastic, thriving town centres. To achieve this, the next London Mayor must put walking first.”

Emily Humphreys explained the decision to select Merton for the walk: “The Greater London Authority has established town centre projects in Peckham and Tooting to make them brilliant examples of putting walking first, and putting people back into the heart of our high streets. Living Streets wants to see this type of project rolled out in all other town centres in London under the next mayor.”

Living Streets’ Merton supporter group took Green candidate Berry through the stages needed to make Morden a more desirable place to walk. These include better crossing points, 20 mph speed limits and making the streets look more attractive. Tom Killick of Living Streets Merton group said: “I’d be thrilled to see Morden given a makeover to make it a safer and more attractive place for people to walk. By putting walking first, we can improve Morden as a destination for shoppers, workers and residents alike.”