Save Oval Streets has been campaigning together for action on the traffic blighting our community since 2017, some of our members for far longer. We do so openly and transparently.
Prior to 2017, some of us lobbied successfully for a ban on HGVs inside the Triangle after construction vehicles, coaches and lorries began to use the area as a cut through to sites in Nine Elms and Battersea.
Since 2017 we have:
- Presented a united front to Lambeth Council on local traffic matters
- Campaigned for better traffic management inside the Oval Triangle and on the roads skirting it
- Listened to concerns as we walked and cycled our streets
- Monitored traffic trends and volumes
- Helped the Police conduct speed trap sessions which recorded some drivers travelling at 40 mph in a 20 mph zone.
- Measured air pollution with the help of Friends of the Earth.
- Held a protest on Cycleway 5 to draw attention to the dangers to cyclists and to congestion in general.
- Organised Play Streets to bring neighbours together.
- Flagged ways the LTN could be improved, not least for the Mursell estate and Palfrey Place.
- Updated residents on changes to the LTN as they happened.
- Worked with like-minded groups across Lambeth and beyond to promote active travel and reduce traffic volumes.
- Actively encouraged residents, our neighbours and those who travel through the area to take part in the autumn 2021 LTN consultation survey.
The above time lapse video shows the volume of traffic at the junction of Fentiman and Meadow Roads before the LTN was put in place.
To be clear, Save Oval Streets never campaigned specifically for the creation of a Low Traffic Neighbourhood within the Triangle. Nor were we consulted as to its design, layout, implementation or the timing of its launch.
However, when the Oval to Stockwell Low Traffic Neighbourhood was put in place, we strongly supported it and are doing everything we could to help Lambeth Council and its residents make it a success.
The scheme is now permanent. But this is not a case of ‘job done’.
We will continue to campaign for more liveable streets and reduced traffic both within the Triangle (particularly the cycle route) and on the main roads that border it.
We will work with like-minded groups across London and beyond, sharing our experiences with them and acting as living proof that change is possible.
We may also look to use the relationships we have developed inside and outside the Triangle to improve its residents’ quality of life in areas other than traffic.