Sian Berry will spend at least 15 percent of her total expected transport investment on cycling and walking over her first term if she is elected Mayor of London, she announces today.
In her proposals, she pledges to commit £1.55 billion over four years. This will pay for the completion of the original Cycle Superhighway programme, including stalled or cancelled routes. It will also allow new investment in main road, town centre and neighbourhood People Friendly Streets projects across London, with spending equivalent to a ‘mini-Holland’ project in every borough.
It will be funded by rebalancing investment, including the cancellation of road-building projects such as the Silvertown Tunnel, as well as the introduction of a workplace parking levy, a revised, more effective Ultra Low Emission Zone and a new system of smart congestion charging. Public transport investment will not be affected.
Sian says: “We have made some progress in recent years on high-quality, safe, segregated cycling facilities in London. But Boris Johnson will leave office having completed only five of the 12 Superhighways he pledged to deliver.
“His current budget plans for Transport for London see a steep decline in funding for major cycling infrastructure and no guarantee of continuing the ‘mini-Holland’ projects beyond the current three pilot boroughs.
“A Green Mayor will guarantee continued funding of the Superhighway programme at its current level, enabling stalled projects to be planned again, and allowing the extension of these facilities to more of outer London.
“So far we have barely scratched the surface in terms of the potential for cycling in London. I want to make sure the wheels don’t fall off the cycling revolution we have begun, and make the bicycle the default option for short journeys – just as it is in European cities such as Amsterdam or Copenhagen.”