High rates of car ownership and few regular cyclists are among the reasons Havering streets have again been rated among the most unhealthy in London.
The Healthy Streets Scorecard - an annual ratings system drawn up by a collective of transport, health, road safety and environment campaigners - has placed Havering 29 out of 33 London boroughs for overall street health.
While this represents a slight improvement on last year’s 32, the scorecard’s review of Havering’s efforts notes it “will stay in the bottom quarter of all London boroughs unless it makes dramatic improvements”.
Havering performed poorly in most of the scorecard’s indicators, including a lack of protected cycle tracks, which make up just one per cent of total road length compared to leaders Waltham Forest with 12.5pc.
It also had the joint-highest proportion of polluting vehicles out of any London borough, tied with Hounslow, and few roads with 20mph speed limits - 9.9pc, the report found, which is far below the London average of 52.2pc.
Vehicle ownership remains high, with Havering having the smallest percentage of households without a car (23pc).
The borough also recorded having the joint-lowest percentage of adults cycling five times per week, at just 0.9pc.
In addition, the scorecard said, it seems little has been done to improve the health of Havering’s streets since the last scorecard in 2021.
However, Havering is set to implement a traffic scheme to restrict car access around some schools and has introduced a new climate cabinet position in Havering's administration.
A spokesperson for Healthy Streets Scorecard said quick wins for the borough could include declaring a climate emergency, increasing streets with 20mph speed limits and putting more controlled parking zones (CPZs) in place.
In the "medium term", they suggested the council could "tackle the speeding, through motor traffic that blights neighbourhood streets" and create more protected cycle tracks.
They added: “Without action, Havering will remain a borough where residents, local communities and businesses are unable to experience the huge benefits that high levels of active travel can offer.”
Havering Council was approached for comment.
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