An important arterial road handling over 15 million vehicular movements each year, there is no doubt about the need to maintain the reliable and efficient movement of these vehicles. However, the route is flanked by well-established residential communities and is now the location where the Mayor of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets are focusing on the introduction of nearly 10,000 new homes supported by the designation of the area as the ‘Poplar Riverside Housing Zone’.
Conceived in collaboration with the University of East London’s Sustainability Research Institute and Leaside Planning, the A12 Green Mile has identified opportunities to humanise the road in light of the changing shape of the area. Comprising a series of small and medium-scale initiatives that can be delivered in the short-term, it is aimed at designing, implementing, testing and monitoring innovative solutions around noise attenuation, air pollution reduction, retro-fitted sustainable drainage and environmental enhancement. Some of the materials used will be new in this context and will be introduced in innovative ways achieving striking design solutions.
In 2018 Accents and Leaside Planning have been awarded significant funding through Transport for London’s Future Streets Programme to introduce green infrastructure and reduce air and noise pollution. This is just the first step towards achieving the Green Mile vision and sets the A12 apart as a site for clean air technological innovation.
