Car ownership falls in Borough, Bankside and Bermondsey

Department for Transport figures published last week by Southwark Council show that 18 out of 21 wards in the borough saw a fall in car ownership, bringing the total number of cars registered in the borough to 53,887.

The numbers for SE1 demonstrate a net reduction in the number of cars of 178 in the five wards which make up the Bermondsey Community Council and Borough & Bankside Community Council areas.

• Cathedrals ward: 2,085 (89 fewer cars than last year)
• Chaucer ward: 1,966 (68 fewer cars than last year)
• Grange ward: 2,192 (46 fewer cars than last year)
• Riverside ward: 2,423 (57 fewer cars than last year)
• South Bermondsey ward: 2,331 (49 more cars than last year)

"Car ownership has continued to decline in 2010/11, with just under 1,000 fewer private cars registered in the borough," says the borough's annual planning policy monitoring report for the year to March 2011.

"Estimated annual traffic flows fell by over 20 million kilometres this year, which at 3 per cent is a steady continuation of the trend experienced in recent years.

"The Southwark Annual Transport Review 2010 suggests that 38 per cent of journeys continue to be by public transport, with 34 per cent by foot or bike and 27 per cent by car. This is much better than the London-wide picture where only 23 per cent of journeys in 2009 were by foot or bike.

"Although the number of casualties as a result of road collisions has remained fairly constant since 2006, this year witnessed at 33 per cent increase. A considerable proportion of these accidents continue to be on the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN), so there is a clear need to work closely with Transport for London to ensure the safety of the network."

Figures from the London Road Safety Unit contained in the council report show that 169 people – including 22 children – were killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions in Southwark in 2010/11, up from 127 in the previous year. The council had set a target to reduce the number of casualties to 119 by 2010.

The report adds: "This year we also experienced a greater volume of accidents involving cyclists, which could potentially be linked to an increase in cycling in the borough, as evidenced in the council's Annual Transport Report."