Safer and friendlier streets for everyone

This idea is to make safer and more welcoming streets and public space for everyone in Manor Park.

Neighbourhoods should be places that prioritise the people who live and spend time there. For too long they have been designed around cars, leaving less space for walking, cycling and spending time in; things that make our lives better and add to our happiness.

Car-dominated spaces create congestion and damage our environment and health. Newham has the most polluted air in the UK. Emissions harm people who are already disadvantaged the most. Manor Park could – and should – be designed with everyone’s health and wellbeing in mind, rather than cars.

This proposal suggests introducing the following measures, as appropriate, to make Manor Park’s streets better, cleaner and safer for everyone: 

• Footways made wider and more accessible for wheelchair and buggy users

• Reduced speed limits

• Planters 

• Benches 

• Mini biodiversity gardens 

• Protected cycle lanes on all roads, especially main roads

• Restricted through traffic

• School streets closed to vehicles

• Streets closed to vehicles

These measures could be implemented with help from expert organisations such as Sustrans (https://www.sustrans.org.uk/). We need to create an East Ham that connects us to each other, to the facilities we need, and where everyone can thrive without having to use a car. We need sociable places where friends and facilities are a short walk away, and it’s easy and pleasant to travel beyond our neighbourhood. We need places with clean air and green spaces where everyone has the choice to walk, cycle, scoot or wheel safely to school, work and around their local area. These suggestions will help us to achieve those goals.