Cars were banned altogether during the first lockdown, although parking is now available again

Royal Parks has launched a consultation asking users if it should make its recently-imposed ban on through traffic in Greenwich Park permanent.

Drivers used to be able to use the park as a rush-hour cut-through, but The Avenue – the road leading up the hill from Greenwich town centre – has been closed since the coronavirus pandemic began in March, when all motor vehicles were banned from the park.

While the car parks have since reopened, The Avenue has stayed closed as part of a formal six-month trial which began in August. Trial closures are also taking place in other Royal Parks, including Hyde Park and Richmond Park.

Closing Greenwich Park to through traffic had historically been opposed by residents near Crooms Hill, who feared the traffic would switch there. However, the closure has coincided with a low-traffic neighbourhood scheme in streets west of the park, which was planned and consulted on last year. Traffic levels have soared since the coronavirus pandemic, leading to congestion throughout the area, with stubborn jams in streets to the east of the park, where traffic-blocking measures have not been put in place.

A Royal Parks spokesperson said: “We would like to make sure everyone, including residents, visitors and our partners, has a chance to share their views on these important trials and we urge everyone to take part in the consultation, between now and January.”

In a previous consultation carried out earlier this year, 82 per cent of 313 Greenwich Park users strongly agreed that the Royal Parks were “not intended to be commuter through-routes for motor vehicles”.

Park users can take part in the new consultation at www.royalparks.org.uk/movement.

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