Green Assembly Member Darren Johnson calls the plans “the last thing London needs”, stating the Mayor should instead be building “more car free developments, near to public transport, with increased space for bike storage”.
Gridlock in New York city, photograph courtesy of Roy Googin.
The number of car parking spaces in London could go up by 10,000 a year, if the Mayor goes ahead with proposals to increase the amount of parking in residential developments. He has issued draft planning guidance to London councils which increases the maximum car parking that can be provided for dwellings of 3 bedrooms or more.
Car ownership per household in London peaked in 1991 and has declined ever since. 4 in 10 households have access to a car within Inner London and 55% across the whole of the Greater London area. Car use has decline by around 13% since 2000. Car ownership has declined since 2005.
Darren Johnson commented: “The last thing London needs is an extra 10,000 cars a year. It makes no sense to encourage car ownership by increasing residential parking when London’s population is growing so rapidly. London is only going to avoid grid lock if we build public transport into its DNA and that starts with all the new developments that we are cramming into our already busy city. The Mayor should be encouraging councils to build more car free developments, near to public transport, with increased space for bike storage.”
“Increased car parking is another backwards step by a Mayor who has prioritised car travel, under-invested in cycling and brought an end to the rapid expansion of the bus network.”