Year-on-year motor traffic congestion levels in London have soared in areas outside the city centre with schools reopening for the new academic year as lockdown restrictions ease.
According to a report in the Guardian, during August levels of traffic outside the central Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) – which includes the whole of the City of London, plus parts of the City of Westminster, Camden, Islington, Southwark and Lambeth – were already ahead of 2019 levels.
On average, while falling sharply within the CCZ itself, the levels of congestion outside the zone are a fifth higher than they were at the same point last year, with a 153 per cent year-on-year rise recorded on Monday September 7 – the day many of the capital’s schools went back.
The figures come from direction finding app Waze’s programme, Waze for Cities, in which it partners with municipalities throughout the world to harness GPS data provided by users of the app to provide insights on where problems arise on the road network and help inform decision-making going forward.
Using data from around 1 million active monthly users in the capital, which includes their journey times, Waze for Cities is able to calculate daily congestion, which it defines as roads on which traffic moves at 80 per cent or less of the speed achieved when traffic there flows freely.
Within the CCZ itself, levels of congestion have fallen by half year on year – possibly due to an increase in the cost of the congestion charge introduced in June following a suspension of it earlier in lockdown leading motorists to seek routes that avoid it altogether.
Stephen Edwards, director of policy at the walking charity Living Streets, said: “This concerning data should serve as a warning that the opportunity to embed the health and environmental benefits of fewer vehicles is not lost.
“Better streets for walking and cycling are better for us all. We must move ahead with schemes to promote these behaviours.”
News of the increase in traffic in London comes amid continued small but vocal opposition to Low Traffic Neighbourhoods in boroughs around the country, with such schemes aimed at removing rat-running drivers from residential roads and make them less dangerous and more pleasant for the people who live there.
> There are probably more low traffic neighbourhoods on the cards than you think
Have to say, I'll sometimes make stupid offers (50p, say) when someone's listed something at a ridiculous price or put something clearly stolen on....
Most councils will overfill/do something about correctly informed potholes because that makes them accountable if they don't fix them.
On the 'rate' point - the victim does not care one jot how far someone has travelled to hit them or whether it's their third journey of the day....
In Australia, not only is government refusing to give any subsidy to EV purchases, they are looking how to tax people that buy EV's, as the...
That is a conversion from USD, it is a $55,000 goal. There will be a celebratory meal if we succeed but it will likely be mac and cheese while we...
Of course the van was over the white line.. if the driver had stayed within the white line, he would have actually hit the cyclist. The driver...
This road is a fucking nightmare to ride on and always has been. And I regularly ride DCs, so I'm not exactly a shrinking violet when it comes to...
Whilst I wouldn't go that far I'm rather surprised that there are 2 Condor Frames out of 7 total. I'm sure they are fab but given the range of...
Do not be taken in by Mr King's occasional posturing. The AA campaign for measures such as the fuel duty freeze, free parking and 'fair' (i.e. lax)...
This project was misguided from the outset- if those new non-disc wheels were intended for a previous bike, then use them on it. Don't lumber a new...