Managing traffic

Road Safety and Traffic Schemes

We are one of the smallest boroughs in London yet the most densely populated local authority area in England and Wales. This can create heavy traffic levels that need careful management.

We are committed to:

• improving safety and well-being
• encouraging active and sustainable modes of travel

Our approach to traffic management includes:

• offering a range of walking and cycling incentives
• working with local schools and businesses to develop their travel plans
• encouraging electric vehicle use

Requests for traffic restrictions (such as new one-way streets or banned turns)

To avoid redirecting traffic onto other – often residential - roads, the Council’s presumption is against introducing traffic restrictions designed to move motor traffic from one street to another, unless one or more of the criteria below are met: 

• the road is too narrow for two-way traffic (resulting in frequent ‘stand-offs’ or damage to parked vehicles)
• to protect our historic (cobbled) mews streets with no or limited footways from heavy volumes of traffic. 
• to allow for a street improvement scheme, (known as “Amazing Spaces”)
• to support a scheme offering benefits beyond the directly affected road. Examples could include supporting a cycle route, a road safety scheme or a street market
• the changes would re-direct traffic only onto a “Red Route” (major roads managed by Transport for London)  

Requests for speed reduction measures (such as speed humps or speed indicator devices)

Speed reduction measures can only be implemented as part of a successful Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) funding application. Applications are open all year round, but decisions on those applications are made twice a year: in June for applications received 1 August to 31 January, and in December for applications received from 1 February to 31 July.      

More information about NCIL can be found here: Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) 

Decisions on NCIL applications are made by local ward councillors.  It is often worth seeking their views prior to making an application.  You can find your local ward councillors and their contact details here.

When submitting an application, it’s useful to demonstrate wider community support for the project and also provide evidence of the issue. If ward councillors are supportive of you making an NCIL application, the Transport Projects team can commission some traffic speed and volume surveys which may help support your case.  

Contact the Transport Projects team at [email protected].

Requests for new pedestrian crossings or junction upgrades

The Council has limited funding with which to implement new crossings and junction upgrades.  This means that the Council must prioritise resources where they will have the most impact. 

Each request we receive for a new crossing is logged and investigated, with justification based on a number of different factors, such as how likely pedestrians are to use the crossing facility, how hard it is for pedestrians to cross currently (for example, how much traffic there is on the street, existing traffic speeds, and how wide the crossing distance is currently) and also whether the location has a history of collisions that have resulted in injuries.  Requested new crossing or junction locations ranked with the highest priority are then allocated funding for concept design and local resident consultation to see whether the implementation of a new crossing or junction upgrade would be supported. It can take a number of years from initial request to implementation.  

If you would like to propose a new crossing or junction upgrade, please contact [email protected] 

Vehicle speed enforcement 

Only the Police have the power to enforce speeding. The Council has no powers to do so.  In London, speed enforcement cameras are implemented by the Police in partnership with Transport for London.  These are usually at sites with a poor history of traffic collisions. 

You can report anti-social driving to the police, so they can provide some targeted enforcement to discourage drivers driving recklessly. The Police have a useful online reporting tool where you can report anti-social behaviour (including reckless driving): Making a road traffic incident report | Metropolitan Police. 

Contact us

If you have any concerns or suggestions about road safety or transport schemes in the borough, contact us at [email protected].