Radical plans to scrap gyratories, remodel the suburbs for bikes and reconnect neighbourhoods torn apart by racetrack main roads are among the ideas shortlisted today for the Mayor’s £100 million "mini-Holland" funding.
Eight of the 20 outer London boroughs today go through to the final stage of the Mayor's competition to choose a small number of boroughs for dramatic and transformational change.
The three or four winners, to be announced early next year, will benefit from very high levels of spending concentrated on relatively small areas to make them, over time, into places every bit as cycle-friendly as their Dutch equivalents. The £100 million will be shared between them, though not necessarily equally.
The shortlisted boroughs (in alphabetical order) are Bexley, Ealing, Enfield, Kingston, Merton and Newham. Richmond and Waltham Forest are also shortlisted subject to addressing certain gaps in their initial proposals.
The boroughs which did not make the shortlist today, and those which are not chosen at the final stage, will still receive substantial funding to achieve many of the objectives they set out in their submissions.
Some of the submission highlights include:
· Bexley – Creating radical new junction solutions for cyclists in key locations and rolling out an extensive segregated and semi-segregated cycling network.
· Ealing – A cycle-friendly redesign of Ealing town centre and a special cycling "quietway" between Ealing and Southall.
· Enfield – Introducing a Dutch style roundabout, with protected cycle lanes, in Edmonton Green, segregated routes along main roads and a "Cycle Superhub" in Enfield town centre.
· Kingston – a New York "High Line" style public space, for pedestrians and cyclists, along the railway line and across the Thames, a new network of routes, a cycle boardwalk on the banks of the river and cars removed from part of central Kingston.
· Merton – Redesigning Wimbledon town centre on Dutch principles and building a cycle hub at the Centre Court shopping centre.
· Newham – A complete redesign of Stratford town centre, removing the gyratory; new off-road Superhighway routes.
· Richmond – New cycleways on unused land alongside railway lines.
· Waltham Forest – A new cycle superhighway on Lea Bridge Road and a Dutch-style roundabout at Whipps Cross.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: 'It's fantastic that so many boroughs have embraced the idea of going Dutch. We've seen some really creative ideas – from a floating bicycle boardwalk to cycling super hubs – and they’ve all got huge potential to revolutionise how we get around on two wheels.'
TfL and the Mayor's Cycling Commissioner for London, Andrew Gilligan, will now work closely with each of the shortlisted boroughs to draw up more detailed final submissions. The plans will be assessed for their deliverability and the benefits they add for cycling. Each finalist’s political commitment and delivery capacity will also be examined.
Andrew Gilligan said: "Councils across outer London have stepped up to the plate and we are thrilled with how many want to redesign their town centres around cycling. There is enough money available to deliver dramatic change in the chosen boroughs, and make them places that suburbs and towns all over Britain will want to copy."
Leon Daniels, Managing Director of Surface Transport at TfL said: "The level of aspiration in some of the Mini Holland bids has been truly eye-opening and this huge investment will transform town centres for cycling. With more than half of all potentially cycleable trips being in outer London, these plans will help further encourage more people to take to two wheels while also provide wider benefits to the urban realm, pedestrians and public transport in these areas."
The mini-Holland programme aims to move significant numbers of suburban car journeys, which are often short and eminently cycleable, on to the bike. Each outer London borough was invited to submit proposals for:
- A substantial redesign of the main town centre to make it genuinely excellent for cyclists.
- Redesigns of some of the secondary town centres.
- Addressing severance, where this is a problem: new cycle and pedestrian crossings of major roads, railway lines or waterways.
- A network of good cycle routes radiating out from the main town centre, and secondary centres, to other parts of the borough, paralleling all the main local travel routes. Redesigns of problem junctions where they are used by cyclists.
- At least one good commuter route from the borough to central London.
- Cycle superhubs at local railway stations.
Eighteen of the twenty boroughs applied, an exceptionally high response. During September, Andrew Gilligan and TfL officials will visit all shortlisted boroughs for more intensive discussions about the shape and detail of their plans. Following these discussions, the Mayor and TfL hope to be able to make an announcement of the winners in early 2014, allowing work to begin on detailed designs and consultation by summer next year. ENDS
Notes to editors
Most of London’s cycling growth in recent years has taken place in central and inner London, but more than half of all potentially cycleable trips are in outer London, according to TfL research.
The vast majority of trips in the suburbs are less than two miles, around ten minutes by bike, but are currently mostly made by car< Information about the Mayor's vision for cycling can be found at: http://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/transport/publications/mayor-s-vision-for-cycling