WESTOW STREET DELAYS UNTIL ALMOST CHRISTMAS
Traffic delays in the Triangle area of Crystal Palace are likely to continue until almost Christmas.
Christmas decorations now adorn part of the fencing on Westow Street where Thames Water signboards say the work is expected to be completed on December 23rd – but one local trader said work could take until the end of January.
CROYDON PARKS WELCOME CAREFUL CYCLISTS
Three of Croydon’s main parks are to become more cycle-friendly as the council changes byelaws and invests in better paths and signage.
Lloyd park, Park Hill recreation ground and Wandle park are all to get cycle routes, making riding a bike to school or work and getting out on two wheels at the weekend as far safer and more pleasant experience.
The project is part of nearly £4m of investment by the council in improved connections across the borough and will complete Croydon’s Connect2 walking and cycling route, part funded by the charity Sustrans. It follows a consultation that received nearly 1,000 responses, approximately three quarters of which supported the idea.
“MAYOR SHOULD DOUBLE HIS PLANNED SPEND ON CYCLING AND WALKING”
London Assembly Green Party member Caroline Russell AM has urged Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, to commit more money to walking and cycling schemes, as he announced today that he will not be increasing spending beyond what the previous Mayor promised for 2016/17.
The Mayor announced that he will spend £154m per year on cycling, meaning spending on cycling and walking would stay at 2016/17 levels throughout his Mayoralty.
The previous Mayor had pledged £155m in 2016/17 and £166m in 2017/18 meaning there will be an £8m reduction in planned spending in the next financial year.
In her recent report ‘Prioritising People’ Caroline urged the Mayor to commit £1.5 bn to cycling and walking schemes over his first term and to pledge £725m of that money specifically for outer London healthy streets schemes over the same time period.
Caroline Russell said: “While it’s a relief that we are not going to see swingeing cuts to the cycling and walking budgets under Mayor Khan, he has missed an opportunity to invest even more money to transform our streets more thoroughly and more quickly.
“London is suffering from air pollution, congestion and transport capacity crises. “Getting more people onto bikes and getting around on foot could make life so much better for all but the evidence shows that without proper segregated infrastructure, people don’t change the way they get around.
“The Mayor must clarify whether the cycle routes he builds will be segregated. “Cycling on busy roads is too intimidating for many people. “So we need even more cycle routes than the Mayor is planning.
“I am, however, pleased that the Mayor is going to kick start consultations on cycle superhighways towards Greenwich and Hounslow. “But I would have liked to have seen him double the amount of money he was giving to walking and cycling projects over his first term.”
(Source: London Assembly Green Party Group)
‘REDUCE TRAFFIC’ CALL BY GREEN PARTY’S CAROLINE RUSSELL
Caroline Russell, (Green, London Assembly) has urged the Mayor of London to reduce traffic as a report by transport agency Inrix names the capital as Europe’s most congested city.
According to the report, London has more congestion ‘hotspots’ – a total of 12,776 – than anywhere else in Europe.
Caroline Russell has hit back at suggestions within the report that London’s congestion crisis is being properly addressed by ‘smart motorway all lane running’ – for example on the western M25 – and by Transport for London changing traffic light timings, referred to as ‘signal optimisation’.
Caroline said:
“Londoners need the Mayor to take the decisions that will prioritise journeys on foot, by bike and on buses and take urgent action to reduce car use.
“I sincerely hope that Mayor Khan will devote significantly more resources to walking and cycling during his time as Mayor.
“Messing around with traffic signal timings is just a temporary fix and has the potential to disadvantage pedestrians if more time is being given over to vehicles at the expense of people on foot.
“So I will continue urging the Mayor not to go down this route.
“The Mayor must fulfil the pledge he made to me on 26th July to get traffic down across London. “The best way for him to do this is to charge drivers to use the roads by time of day, distance travelled and engine emissions. “That way we can make our streets more pleasant and less congested and clean up the air at the same time.
“Road pricing is supported by the Federation of Small Businesses, London First, the Royal Town Planning Institute, the Institute of Civil Engineers and the Royal Academy of Engineering. “I will keep pushing the Mayor to take forward this common sense policy.” (Source: London Assembly Green Party Group)
