Lea Bridge Road/Walthamstow mini Holland

Put another way, the scheme wouldn't have gone ahead without the agreement of the emergency services, as they are statutory stakeholders. Moreover, Orford Road isn't filtered with bollards or gates but relies on timed through motor traffic restrictions, maintaining bus and emergency service access at all times. I do sympathise with shopkeepers, but as I said, the key is to demonstrate that the improvements mean people spend more time (and money) in their local shopping area, and that more/other active uses are created, showing once and for all that the urban economy is actually damaged by people constantly travelling by car, either short distances that they should and could walk or cycle, or longer distances in which they bypass the local centre (because most of the drivers going through don't stop). Needless to say, there's a huge amount to be done to shift the weight of employment away from Central London, creating more locally, and it's presently anyone's guess whether this scheme will have a major effect on that, but it's the only conceivable start.