City of London is one of the greenest and least densely populated cities in the world. This is due to careful planning in the past, with open spaces, nature reserves, parks and water features that include lakes and water reservoirs to provide constant water supply, as well as act as sporting venue and leisure centre for water loving enthusiasts. But London is most famous for its’ huge parks, like Richmond, Hyde, Regent’s, Bushy, Greenwich Parks and many more.
While most parks are pedestrian only with clean, pollution free air, supporting abundant of wild-life, some parks, like Richmond and Regent Parks, have roads passing through the center, the heart of the park, used by many motorists, using it as a short-cut to save journey time, as Londoners are always in a hurry to reach their destinations as quickly as possible. Who can blame them, as London roads are chock-a- block at most time, traffic moving at snail’s speed, especially at peak times.
As these parks are regularly used by nature lovers, children, cyclists and athletes training for main events like Olympics, it creates dangerous hazards for their health and safety. These roads were not designed as commuters’ through-roads. They were mainly access roads for parks’ upkeep and occasionally for emergency through-way for ambulance, police and fire-brigades.
While all these parks have lakes, some even have streams passing through, supporting wildlife such as ducks, swans, variety of fishes, as well as rich bird-life like sparrows, woodpeckers, wood pigeons, stork as well as kites, eagles, magpies, parakeets, geese and many more, some permanent residents while others seasonal visitors who fly all the way from Canada and Russia preferring our mild winters rather than bone-chilling winters, temperature routinely touching -40c in Siberia.
Out of all the parks, Richmond Park is most famous for its wildlife, especially huge heard Red and Fallow deer, numbering some 600 on London’s door-steps, unique achievement rarely seen in such metropolitan cities. Although deer are no threat to people, even children, they can be aggressive during rut season, may attack anyone who may encroach their territory.
It is Mayor Sadiq Khan’s initiatives to make these Parks safe for visitors, cyclists and athletics with restricted access to motor vehicles, speed limit 20 mph, as well as time restrictions, such as no traffic on week-ends when parks are busiest.
Bhupendra M. Gandhi
By email
