Lambeth Council has unveiled plans to transform kerbside parking in the London borough into more sustainable and accessible areas such as bus lanes, bike and scooter lanes and electric vehicle charging points.
The kerbside is the largest public space controlled by Lambeth Council, with an area equivalent to 194 football pitches. Currently, this space is primarily used for parked cars.
The council’s latest Kerbside Strategy will commit to reclaiming at least 25 percent of the kerbside from vehicle parking.
Instead, the space will be used for sustainable alternatives that prioritise active travel, social spaces, climate resilience and reduced traffic and emissions. This will include bus and micromobility lanes, as well as green spaces and trees.
In addition, the plan would enable a more diverse kerbside with new shared scooter and bike bays, electric vehicle charging points, cycle hangars and space for businesses using cargo bikes and electric delivery vehicles.
Cllr Rezina Chowdhury, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Lambeth and Clean Air, said:This is a landmark strategy and one of the first of its kind in both ambition and scope, which will ensure the shared kerbside is used for everyone’s benefit and not just for those wanting to park their cars.
Kerbside space is at a premium with large swathes taken up by parked vehicles, while our pavements can be cluttered and difficult to navigate for everyone else. We need this to change so people have more equal access to this important shared space.
Around 94 percent of the kerbside in Lambeth is currently taken up by parking spaces for motor vehicles, despite Lambeth having one of the lowest car ownership rates in London, with just two in five households owning a motor vehicle.
Cllr Chowdhury added:We need people to feel confident walking, cycling, wheeling or scooting in our borough and we need our kerbside to support as many people as possible to do this.
It will allow us to implement climate resiliency measures such as sustainable drainage systems to address flood risk, and more trees and green space to provide shade during the hottest days of the year. At the same time, more green spaces will help to make our streets more inviting places to be in.
