London’s streets are becoming healthier

Healthy Streets Scorecard 2025: School streets, controlled parking zones and 20mph speed limits spread across city

London boroughs are taking positive action to promote healthier streets by enabling more walking, cycling and public transport.

The London Healthy Streets Coalition has launched its Healthy Streets Scorecard for a sixth year. The 2025 scorecard rates each London borough based on work done to encourage active travel and reduce road danger.

This year saw on the introduction of 98 new traffic-free school streets across London. 

Five boroughs increased coverage of 20mph speed limits and six increased streets with controlled parking. There was also more limited progress on low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), bus lanes and protected cycle lanes.

The coalition of environmental, transport and road safety NGOs comprises: Action Vision Zero, CPRE London, Future Transport London, London Cycling Campaign, London Living Streets, Possible, Sustrans in London and Wheels for Wellbeing. 

The coalition hopes the scorecard helps councils and residents compare how well their borough is doing in relation to others and identify areas for action.

Awards have been given to four London boroughs which are recognising the links between public health and active travel and enabling people to switch from cars to using public transport, walking and cycling instead.

Accolades went to overall winner City of London, best Inner London borough Islington, and best Outer London borough Waltham Forest. These three councils have consistently topped the scorecard by continuing to take action each year and achieving outstanding scores on many indicators.

Newham was named the most improved borough.

A Healthy Scorecard coalition spokesperson said: “Congratulations and thanks to our winners, but we really need all councils pulling their weight, urgently. The boroughs now have dedicated Local Implementation Funding and need to move fast to deliver if any of the Mayor's healthy streets targets for London are to be met. Now is the time for boroughs at bottom of table to start acting more like Newham and the scorecard leaders, to show their declarations of action on road danger, climate, health and air pollution are in any way meaningful. We really hope to see much stronger action from all boroughs in the coming year.” 

The Healthy Streets Scorecard

Each year, the London Boroughs Healthy Streets Scorecard sets out data to show the health of each borough’s streets according to ten indicators. The aim is to enable councils and residents to compare how well their borough is doing in relation to others and identify areas for action. Ultimately the intention is to promote action on key infrastructure which will increase the proportion of trips made by public transport, walking and cycling; increase active travel rates (walking, wheeling, cycling) for healthier lifestyles; eliminate road casualties; and achieve clean air and net zero carbon emissions. 

The Healthy Streets Scorecard ranks London boroughs on how healthy their streets are according to ten indicators (six input and four outcome indicators). By combining the indicator scores, each borough is given a final Healthy Streets score. 

• Borough-wide Low Traffic Neighbourhoods 
• A default 20mph speed limit on all borough and Transport for London controlled roads 
• Small-area Controlled Parking Zones borough-wide 
• Protected cycle lanes on main roads 
• Traffic-free streets around all schools and safe walking and cycling routes to school 
• Bus priority on all routes 24/7. 

The London Boroughs Healthy Streets Scorecard shows to what extent London boroughs are putting in place these six key measures – what the coalition calls ‘input’ indicators. It also sets out data to show the health of each borough’s streets – what are called ‘outcome’ indicators. By combining the scores for the ten indicators we give each borough a final Healthy Streets score. 

Most Improved Borough: Hackney

This year the coalition named Newham as the Most Improved Borough Newham after it climbed five places, from overall 13th to 8th place on the scorecard.

The council increased the proportion of schools with a traffic-free school street from 21% to 44% of all schools in the borough – school streets are roads outside the school which are pedestrianised at times when pupils arrive and leave. Newham also increased the proportion of streets covered by a 20mph speed limit from 41% to 99%.  

Rokhsana Fiaz, Mayor of Newham, said: “I’m incredibly proud that Newham has been named the Most Improved London Borough in the 2025 Healthy Streets Scorecard. This is a testament to the success of our Healthy School Streets programme - putting the health and safety of our children and communities first by cutting traffic, reducing pollution, and transforming how we safely move through our neighbourhoods. With traffic volumes down by an average of 64%, and up to 80% in some locations, we are seeing the real impact of our commitment to cleaner, greener, safer streets. This progress is at the heart of Opportunity Newham – our mission to build a fairer, healthier, and more sustainable borough for everyone. I want to thank all our schools, families, officers and residents who’ve helped make this happen.” 

Overall Winner: The City of London 

Tom Sleigh, chairman of the City of London Corporation’s planning and transportation committee, said: “My thanks to the CPRE and our brilliant Officers for this award which recognises the progress of the City Corporation’s Transportation Strategy, making the Square Mile a safer and more pleasant environment for everyone to travel through. The recently completed improvement works at Bank Junction, in particular, have been a great success with many more people now relaxing and enjoying themselves in this more pedestrian friendly and vibrant area.”  

Best Inner London Borough Islington

Rowena Champion, Islington’s executive member for environment, air quality and transport, said: “We’re thrilled that Islington has once again been recognised as the healthiest inner London borough — five years running! This isn’t just about transport; it’s about creating streets that people enjoy, where children can walk to school safely, and where cleaner air and greener spaces help our communities thrive.

“From reducing traffic pollution and calming roads, to planting more trees and delivering new walking and cycling routes, we’re making it easier than ever to walk, wheel, and breathe easy in Islington. Our school street improvements, like the recent changes at Christ the King in Tollington, are helping to make school runs safer and healthier for families.

“We’re proud of what we’ve achieved, but we know there’s more to do. Through our borough-wide Liveable Neighbourhoods programme — shaped by local people, for local people — we’re continuing to transform our streets into places that benefit everyone.” 

Best Outer London Borough: Waltham Forest

Cllr Clyde Loakes, deputy leader of Waltham Forest Council and cabinet member for climate and air quality, said: “It’s been another great year for active travel in Waltham Forest, and I’m delighted that we have won the London Healthy Streets’ best outer borough award for the fifth year running.  

“Local residents are already benefitting from a new low traffic neighbourhood around Lloyd Park as well as new separate cycle track in Hoe St and rain gardens, parklets, and modal filters across the borough. These improvements not only help encourage walking and cycling, but at the same time help to mitigate against extreme weather and make our local neighbourhoods greener and more climate resilient.

“Over the next year, we will be progressing our extensive improvement work along Forest Road that goes through the heart of the borough, as well as creating dedicated walking and cycling routes on the busy Whipps Cross Road and rolling out hundreds more cycle hangars, all helping to support even more people to walk and cycle more of their local daily journeys. 

“Waltham Forest will continue to champion and roll out active travel infrastructure and initiatives, because we know the benefits for the health and well-being of our residents and families and improvements in air quality and climate resilience are very real.” 

Rising stars

Ealing also made improvements, rising from 18th place to 15th, and is now the second best Outer London borough. The west London council increased the proportion of schools with a school street (from 25% to 36%) and the proportion of roads with a 20mph speed limit (from 88% to 100%). 

Lambeth rose two places from 8th to 6th place, with a big increase in the proportion of schools with a school street, rising from 35% to 48%, and small improvements on many other indicators.  

Falling down the table

However, at the other end of the scale, Tower Hamlets dropped four places – the most of any borough in terms of falling rank order – largely due to inaction compared to others.

Despite a top score on traffic-free school streets, Lewisham dropped three places, with small decreases across many indicators, and despite a promising and welcome increase in controlled parking coverage from 21% to 26% of roads. 

Lewisham and Kensington & Chelsea remain at the bottom of the Inner London boroughs, while Bexley and Hillingdon remain bottom of the outer London boroughs.
Bexley remains bottom of the table with little or no action on most indicators despite an increase in controlled parking from 16% to 23% of streets. 
 

Metric	Best boroughs	Worst boroughs
% of streets with Low Traffic Neighbourhood	69% (Hackney*)	6% (Bexley)
% of schools with traffic-free School Streets	56% (Lewisham)	0% (Bexley, Hammersmith & Fulham)
Controlled Parking Zone coverage final scores as %	98% (Hackney)	10% (Bromley)
20mph speed limits as % of borough managed roads	100% (Camden, Ealing, Lewisham, Islington, City of London, Southwark, Hammersmith & Fulham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster)	5% (Bromley)
Protected Cycle Track. % of borough roads where cycling is physically protected	Waltham Forest (12%)*	Kensington and Chelsea (0%)
% of bus routes with bus priority  (through bus lanes or modal filters)	51% (Hackney*)	1% (Bexley)
Cars registered per 100 households	29 (Islington*)	106 (Hillingdon)
% households with no car	75% (Westminster**)	22% (Havering)
% of polluting diesel cars	13% (Sutton)	21% (Barking & Dagenham)

 

London LTN Map

The London Low Traffic Neighbourhoods by borough map has been created by the Healthy Streets Scorecard coalition. The Scorecard used the LTN map data to calculate the proportion of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods in each borough relative to the area which is potentially suitable to be LTNs. TfL’s Strategic Neighbourhood Analysis was used to identify the total area in each borough appropriate for LTNs. 

Protected Cycle Tracks Map

This year the coalition carried out an audit of the data it held on protected cycle tracks and removed a number of inherited records that did not meet its criteria for inclusion, including TfL-designated routes that didn’t offer physical protection.  As part of Its work to improve the accuracy of the data the coalition has created a new map of London’s protected cycle tracks. 

London Bus Priority Map

The London Bus Priority Map has been created by the Healthy Streets Scorecard coalition by mapping London bus routes (using Bus lane data from January 2021 (TfL)). Each route within a borough was assessed to calculate the length with priority (through bus lanes or modal filters (LTN data from London Low Traffic Neighbourhoods by borough map). Length of route with priority were added together to obtain the proportion of priority relative to total length of bus routes to give an overall borough score. 

London CPZ Map

The London Controlled Parking Zones by borough map has been created by Will Petty in conjunction with the Healthy Streets Scorecard coalition by mapping area of Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs). The CPZ map data is used to calculate the CPZ score, as a proportion of total area appropriate for CPZs. Boroughs where ‘roaming’ is allowed (i.e. where a parking permit allows the holder to park throughout the borough, are marked down this does not discourage short car trips TfL’s Strategic Neighbourhood Analysis was used to identify the total area in each borough appropriate for CPZs).