From the London Mayor's Office
The
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and TfL have today unveiled their ‘London
Streetspace’ programme which will rapidly transform London’s streets to
accommodate a possible ten-fold increase in cycling and five-fold
increase in walking when lockdown restrictions are eased.
With
London’s public transport capacity potentially running at a fifth of
pre-crisis levels, millions of journeys a day will need to be made by
other means. If people switch only a fraction of these journeys to cars,
London risks grinding to a halt, air quality will worsen, and road
danger will increase.
To
prevent this happening, TfL will rapidly repurpose London’s streets to
serve this unprecedented demand for walking and cycling in a major new
strategic shift.
Early
modelling by TfL has revealed there could be more than a 10-fold
increase in kilometres cycled, and up to five times the amount of
walking, compared to pre-COVID levels, if demand returns.
TfL, working with London’s boroughs will make changes - unparalleled in a city London’s size – to focus on three key areas:
- The
rapid construction of a strategic cycling network, using temporary
materials, including new routes aimed at reducing crowding on
Underground and train lines, and on busy bus corridors.
- A
complete transformation of local town centres to enable local journeys
to be safely walked and cycled where possible. Wider footways on high
streets will facilitate a local economic recovery, with people having
space to queue for shops as well as enough space for others to safely
walk past while socially distancing.
- Reducing
traffic on residential streets, creating low-traffic neighbourhoods
right across London to enable more people to walk and cycle as part of
their daily routine, as has happened during lockdown.
Euston
Road is one of the first main thoroughfares to benefit from temporary
cycle lanes. Park Lane could follow suit under plans being studied.
The temporary schemes will be reviewed by TfL – and could become permanent.
TfL
has already begun making improvements to boost social distancing using
temporary infrastructure. Pavements have already been doubled in size at
Camden High Street and Stoke Newington High Street and widened at six
further locations* - with more to follow in the coming weeks.
TfL
has also worked with Hackney Council to close Broadway Market to
through traffic and, with Royal Parks, to close through traffic at
weekends to The Mall/Constitution Hill and all Royal Parks (except
Regents Park).
Further improvements as part of the London Streetspace plan will include:
· Creating
new walking and cycling routes along major corridors, including
temporary cycle lanes in Euston Road. TfL is also looking at creating
temporary cycle lanes on Park Lane. Upgrades will also be made to
existing routes including creating sections of temporary segregation
from Merton to Elephant and Castle, and Pimlico to Putney. Space for
cycling will be created between Catford town centre and Lewisham via the
A21, and on the A23 between Oval and Streatham Hill.
· The
Cycleway 9 scheme between Kensington Olympia and Brentford, and the
Cycleway 4 scheme between Tower Hill and Greenwich will be accelerated
with temporary measures so the Londoners can benefit from them more
quickly. Meanwhile on-street parking and lanes for cars and general
traffic will be repurposed to give people on foot and on bikes more
space.
· Widening
more pavements in town centres to allow people to access local
essential shops and services more easily. Pavements will be widened in
more than 20 locations, including in Brixton and Earl’s Court in the
coming days.
· Working
to make walking and cycling in local neighbourhoods safer and more
attractive by reducing the speed and volume of motor traffic. A
low-traffic neighbourhood will be created in Hounslow along the future
Cycleway 9 route by closing local roads to through traffic and further
locations across London will follow, with TfL actively supporting
boroughs to reduce motor traffic on residential streets to make walking
and cycling safer and easier.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The
capacity of our public transport will be dramatically reduced
post-coronavirus as a result of the huge challenges we face around
social distancing. Everyone who can work from home must continue to do
so for some time to come. The emergency measures included in our major
strategic London Streetspace programme will help those who have to
travel to work by fast-tracking the transformation of streets across our
city. Many Londoners have rediscovered the joys of walking and cycling
during lockdown and, by quickly and cheaply widening pavements, creating
temporary cycle lanes and closing roads to through traffic we will
enable millions more people to change the way they get around our city.
“I
urge the Government and boroughs to work with us to enable Londoners to
switch to cleaner, more sustainable forms of transport - and reduce the
pressure on other parts of our transport network – once the lockdown is
eased.”
The
measures announced today are just the beginning, with more information
on the London Streetspace plans set to be announced shortly.
Gareth Powell, Managing Director of Surface Transport at TfL, said:
“As people are choosing to walk and cycle, both for their essential
journeys and for exercise during the lockdown it is vital that they have
the space to do so safely and are able to continue socially distancing.
The London Streetspace programme – providing more space for walking and
cycling - will support that. It will also play a crucial role as London
approaches the challenge of maintaining social distancing as
restrictions on movement are relaxed.”
Stephen Edwards, Director of Policy & Communications at Living Streets, the UK's everyday walking charity says: "Wider
pavements and low traffic neighbourhoods will undoubtably help people
feel safer walking everyday journeys, especially during the coronavirus
pandemic. The pandemic has highlighted the importance that walking plays
in our lives; with huge numbers of Londoners walking as part of their
daily exercise and for local shopping trips. Where London's pavements
aren't suitable for safe social distancing, it is vital widening happens
to ensure people aren't forced into the paths of oncoming traffic.
Walking and cycling have a key role to play to take the pressure off
public transport as we emerge from the lockdown, so it's great news that
TfL are looking at enabling walkers and people cycling to travel
safely. We look forward to working with them on this project."
Giulio Ferrini, Sustrans London Head of Built Environment, said:“As
the charity making it easier for people to walk and cycle, we’re
excited to see ambitious plans at a London-wide and borough level. Local
authorities are critical in reshaping our streets to strengthen
London’s resilience now and as we emerge from lockdown. A potential
surge in car use would clog up our streets with traffic, choke our lungs
with pollution and exacerbate inequality. Now is the time to take
positive action that will give all Londoners a cleaner city to live and
work in. Bold actions from boroughs today can make a tangible difference
to Londoners’ daily lives and will lead to a healthier, happier and
fairer London as travel restrictions are lifted in the weeks to come.”
Dr Ashok Sinha, CEO of the London Cycling Campaign, said:
“As the lockdown is eased, London will need to get moving again, but in
a manner that maintains social distancing. The only way to do this
effectively - whilst also avoiding a calamitous return to toxic air,
high carbon emissions and traffic-choked streets - is to make it easier
and safer for millions of people to walk and cycle. Large numbers of
Londoners have already taken to cycling for essential travel and
exercise during lockdown; the demand is there, and the Mayor’s new
Streetspace plan can and should be the start of a permanent transition
to a greener, healthier and more resilient city.”
Since
London entered lockdown on 23 March, TfL has - as part of the national
strategy to beat the virus - been urging Londoners to only make
essential journeys.
TfL
will continue to look at its existing walking and cycling projects to
see where these could be used to create space for people walking and
cycling more quickly.
The
new measures will build on TfL’s work, which has seen roads across
London transformed under the Healthy Streets programme. The amount of
protected space for cycling in London has tripled over the past four
years, while major projects across the capital such as the
transformation of Highbury Corner have increased in the amount of space
available for people on foot. There are currently 160km of signed
Cycleways across London.
Specific measures of London Streetspace will be announced in the coming weeks.
