Modeshift is an organisation that provides safer and greener practices. They hosted the National Sustainable Travel Awards last night where Moreland street re-imagined won the excellence in walking award. The awards recognise projects that further the titular cause. Moreover, they highlight best practices and showcase the innovation of like-minded peers.
Moreland street before redevelopment
Moreland street was a mixed site of poor traffic control and speeding, despite the local school. The project set to re-imagine the street to reprioritise children and locals instead of vehicles. Accordingly, we aimed to make Moreland street safer, greener and healthier for pedestrians.
After consultation with the school, some of the pupils submitted their own ideas which were taken forward into the designs. We improved the aesthetic with the new layout. In addition, we considered TfL’s Healthy Streets Indicators to improve environmental impacts. For example, we ensured clean air quality and ease of movement.
On behalf of the London Borough of Islington, Project Centre Technical Director Tim Mantle oversaw construction and pre-design consultation while Senior Landscape Architect Sookyoung Im worked on the design. Together with the borough we carried out extensive engagement with the local primary school, the residents’ association and other relevant stakeholders to gauge the support of the scheme. In addition, we carried out a workshop with thirty Year Five students whose creative drawings were incorporated into the design.
The new design reduces speeding and through traffic, provides a cleaner space, reduces noise and ensures safety. We used wider pavements, benches for rest and shelter as well as a new colourful design for added vibrancy.
Project Centre is delighted to announce that Moreland Street won the Excellence in Walking award due to the significant improvements to the pedestrian situation, specifically for nursery and primary school pupils as well as the curved road alignment to combat high vehicle speeds and as a result, air pollution. We are extremely proud to have been involved in such an worthwhile scheme and we congratulate the other project team members for their invaluable contributions which has wrought the well-deserved award.
