News from Caroline Russell: Mayor should double his planned spend on cycling and walking

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. [1]

The previous Mayor had pledged £155m in 2016/17 and £166m in 2017/18 [2] 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 £1.5bn 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. [3]

Caroline Russell, Green Party Member of the London Assembly, 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.

“I will keep making the case to the Mayor to increase funding for cycling and walking and I will keep an eye on schemes he is prioritising such as Quietways as they develop – there have been quality issues with these routes.”