Trials and temporary works
Photo credit: rytc
Without a trial, it is unlikely Times Square in New York City would be where it is today. Using some folding chairs and beanbags former Transport commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan was able to create a temporary space that showed the city how a traffic-free square could work for both motor traffic and as a space for people.
Closer to home, the trial of the Orford Road scheme in Waltham Forest’s mini-Holland probably rescued the scheme during a fraught consultation. Residents sitting outside cafes and bars and directly experiencing what removing ratruns felt like meant they could see the potential of a scheme that was being painted as apocalyptic for traffic and shops.
Trials can be a brilliant way to create better schemes. Not only can they demonstrate the potential of a scheme or idea, but they can also to test out in real world conditions and issues a scheme might cause.
But why doesn’t London see more trials like this, and how should they be done?
We’ve recently seen two trials of “bus gates” in east London collapse within hours of them beginning. The Browning Road bridge scheme in Newham was opposed by locals north of the gate, who blockaded the trial site with a banner. However the borough got an amended scheme up and running within two weeks, with Mayor Rockhsana Fiaz OBE writing in the local paper how doing nothing was not an option, and the climate emergency compelled the council to act boldly.
Contrast this with the trial on Tredegar Road in Tower Hamlets. Part of the borough’s Liveable Neighbourhood, the bus gate on this road lasted most of a day, with escalating aggression from taxi drivers the apparent cause of it being cancelled. However, unlike Newham, Tower Hamlets currently don’t plan to go back to Tredegar Road until next year. That's a worryingly long delay for a borough that hasn't been doing much actual digging in the roads of late.
So how can boroughs get trials right and use them to win support for bold changes for the better? And with more trials on the way, what do borough groups and campaigners need to know about them?
Our new page on trials and temporary works is over on LCC's Infrastructure pages here.