Four innovative schemes that will transform streets in the Capital have been awarded grants as part of Transport for London's (TfL's) Future Streets Incubator Fund.
The fund, which is one element of the Mayor's £4bn Road Modernisation Plan, has been created to encourage creative and more effective uses of the Capital's limited road space and help alleviate the pressures on the network.
By funding original on-street projects, it is designed to trigger innovation that will lead to long-term improvements across London, addressing congestion, overcrowding, air quality and noise pollution.
The latest projects to receive TfL funding include an intelligent street to generate energy and improve air quality near Oxford Street, an innovative boardwalk to improve a traffic-dominated rat-run in Southwark, a noise-absorbing system to improve an underpass of the A12 and a novel delivery service to reduce vehicles on the Capital's roads.
Previously-funded projects have included temporary parks and seating through the Ealing Parklet and Team London Bridge's Fresh Air Squares and Westminster's e-tag parking.
Deputy mayor for Transport, Isabel Dedring, said, "Given the growing pressures on our road network to move people and goods, and tackle air pollution, we need to be evermore inventive in how we use our limited road space. These worthy winners are just a few examples of how we are trailing new approaches that could bring big benefits to roads across the city."
Following the award, TfL will now work with the successful bidders to deliver the latest round of projects later this year. They include:
- Creating an 'Intelligent Street' in the West End; Bird Street - a traffic-free space off Oxford Street - will be transformed with a range of cutting-edge technologies designed to generate energy from the sun and pavement movement, and potentially improve air quality. Materials in roofs, canopies and pavements would generate the energy, and would be integrated into an enjoyable public space that will priorities pedestrians and cyclists. This project will be delivered by the New West End Company.
- Using a flexible boardwalk to transform Lavington Street in Southwark into a pedestrian boulevard; an innovative new boardwalk system will be used to widen the path as one-way traffic is trialed on the traffic-dominated rat run. The boardwalk will include plants and greenery and points of interest drawn from the Southwark Local History Library, encouraging more people to walk and cycle safely through the area. This project will be delivered by Better Bankside, with the boardwalk system commissioned through an invited design and build competition.
- Creating an innovative noise-absorbing barrier to protect residents near the A12 Blackwall Tunnel; a new noise-absorption material will be trialled at the A12 underpass between Empson Street and Gillender Street to create a more attractive barrier that incorporates a green wall with integrated watering system. The project will investigate the potential for reducing the impact of noise and air pollution from major roads on local communities, as well as testing methods for reducing surface water on the A12. This project will be delivered by the Poplar Housing and Regeneration Community Association and London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
- Consolidation of deliveries to businesses within Holborn, Bloomsbury and St Giles; a central platform for ordering everyday items like milk and newspapers will allow consolidated deliveries to be made using electric vehicles or cargo bikes to up to 320 local businesses. The new consolidation service, delivered by the Inmidtown BID, could reduce vehicle miles by 81 per cent per year and achieve an annual 60 per cent reduction in delivery-related greenhouse gas emissions.
Richard De Cani, TfL's managing director of planning, said, "The fabulously creative and innovative ideas we are funding as part of the Incubator Fund capture the spirit of turning London's streets into places for all to enjoy and work to deliver the vision of the Mayor's Roads Task Force. By trialing new ideas we are able to look to the future at how we can make our roads and public spaces work better for everyone."
TfL established the fund in 2014 to invest in creative and original on-street projects and inspire bright ideas to help make the Capital's streets fit for the future. Schemes are delivered in partnership between TfL and the successful bidders and the trials have the potential to be expanded across London.
It is just one part of the Mayor's Road Modernization Plan to radically transform the way the Capital's roads and public spaces are used. The £4bn plan is the largest investment in the Capital's roads in a generation and includes an unprecedented £1bn investment in cycling, new major projects to transform dozens of key junctions across the city, the roll out of world-leading technological innovations to get more capacity out of the road network, and an urgently-needed maintenance and renewals program for London's aging road network.
