Pedestrian priority programme

Date updated: 11/02/2021

The City of London Corporation is developing a three-year Pedestrian Priority Programme, from 2021 to 2024, to enhance the comfort and safety of pedestrians in the Square Mile.

The Programme will directly help deliver targets for pedestrian priority and comfort levels in the Climate Action Strategy and Transport Strategy. It will initiate, develop, co-ordinate and deliver a number of pedestrian priority and pavement widening schemes on individual or groups of streets (subject to approval) over the three-year period.

The type of measures required on each street to provide pedestrian priority will vary depending on the type of street and level of change needed but could include several of the following:

Pavement widening and carriageway narrowing
Timed access restrictions for vehicles
Bus and cycle gates/restriction of general traffic
Changes to the street layout
Changes to traffic flow/direction of traffic
Retention and expansion of planters and parklets temporarily where these have already been relocated as part of the COVID-19 measures

The public consultation on these modifications will open in December and available on this webpage.

Continue pedestrian priority interventions, where appropriate, that have been delivered as part of the COVID-19 transport response. These include running experimental traffic orders where temporary traffic orders have been in place and making pavement widening and other non-traffic measures permanent.
Identify and deliver further experimental schemes to introduce pedestrian priority and improve pedestrian comfort levels.
Provide an improved walking environment that provides adequate space for pedestrians which, along with improving the quality of the City streets and public realm, contributes to the continued success of the Square Mile as a global centre for business, place to live and visitor destination.
Improve the safety of pedestrians by reducing conflicts with vehicles and making streets easier to cross.
Create a more accessible Square Mile where everyone will feel more able and confident to walk on City streets
Reduce the exposure of pedestrians to air pollution and contributing to overall emission reductions in the City.
Introduce public realm enhancements to improve the look and feel of the City and introduce greening and seating where appropriate.

The type of measures required on each street to provide pedestrian priority will vary depending on the type of street and level of change required but could include several of the following:

Pavement widening and carriageway narrowing
Timed access restrictions for vehicles
Bus and cycle gates/restriction of general traffic
Changes to the street layout
Changes to traffic flow/direction of traffic
Retention and expansion of planters and parklets temporarily where these are already relocated as part of the COVID-19 measures

A report seeking initiation of the project was approved by the City of London Corporation’s Streets and Walkways Sub (Planning and Transportation) Committee in April 2021 and Court of Common Council in June 2021.

In October 2021, these Committees voted that the current on-street measures should be kept in place as a more formal traffic experiment


Experimental Scheme location	Proposed Measures
Cheapside east of Bread Street	Point “no entry” (in both directions) except buses, cycles Planters and seating adjacent to point closure
Old Jewry	Full closure (except for pedal cycles) on Old Jewry between Cheapside and Frederick’s Place Remainder of Old Jewry from Frederick’s Place to Gresham Street converted to two-way
King Street	One way working, contra-flow cycling Footway widening Loading bay in Gresham Street
Chancery Lane between Carey Street and Southampton Buildings	“No motor vehicles” restriction (Monday to Friday between 7am – 7pm) except for access Parking bays suspended in places Planters and parklets
King William Street and Abchurch Lane (south)	“No motor vehicles” restriction (Monday to Friday between 7am – 7pm) except buses, loading, vehicles accessing off street premises Footway widening in locations
Threadneedle Street and Old Broad Street (south)	One way working, contra-flow cycling Footway widening Loading bays

Contact the City Transportation Team