I was taking the dog for a walk in the quiet suburban streets of leafy north London the other day. The rhododendrons were in full bloom, and the heady scent of clematis filled the air. It was the perfect expression of the sort of ordered living that the civic visionary and reformer Henrietta Barnett had in mind when she set out her plan, in the early 20th Century, to build a residential refuge away from the stress and bustle of the city.
Her legacy is protected today by a Trust which jealously guards the look and feel of the area. But there’s one thing that, sadly, they seem unable to do anything about. At regular intervals on our walk, we had to step over or round carelessly discarded electric bikes, strewn across otherwise well-kept pavements like the aftermath of a toddler’s birthday party. These e-bikes are big, heavy objects that obstruct the way for pedestrians, block routes for wheelchairs and generally contaminate the appeal of the area.
In Jane Ouartsi’s case, she was crashed into by a young boy riding a Lime bike while walking through an empty pedestrianised square in central London in August 2023. She suffered a broken femur, a fractured collarbone and two spinal fractures – and had to learn to walk again. She has now called for a “crackdown” from London mayor Sadiq Khan.
