The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced that a record £154 million per year will be spent on cycling over the next five years. The investment, part of the Transport for London (TfL) draft Business Plan being published later this week, goes well beyond his manifesto commitment to increase the proportion of TfL’s budget spent on cycling.
The record investment will help Londoners get about quickly without having to use a car, which will benefit people’s health, improve air quality and encourage the shift towards more healthy and active travel. It will also include substantial benefits for pedestrians with new pedestrian crossings and more pavement space.
Over the course of the Business Plan, up to 2021/2022, a total of £770 million will be spent on infrastructure and initiatives to promote cycling. At an average of £154million per year, it is almost double the £79 million per year spent over the last mayoral term. This investment represents an average £17 per head per annum and is on a par with Denmark and the Netherlands.
Sadiq Khan hailed the record amounts of money being committed for cycling in the capital and promised 'further detailed plans for making cycling a safe and obvious choice for Londoners of all ages and backgrounds'.
Over the previous Mayor’s last term, 2.4 per cent of TfL’s budget was spent on cycling. Over the course of the new Business Plan 5.5 per cent of TfL’s budget will now be spent on cycling. Previous Cycle Superhighways have been mired in controversy with criticism of consultation processes and construction not being properly coordinated. The new Mayor has pledged to learn the lessons from the past.
This new cycling budget, which will help achieve the target of 1.5 million cycle journeys per day by 2025/26, includes the completion of phase two of the North-South Cycle Superhighway from Farringdon to Kings Cross, which will begin construction next year. It also includes the extension of the East-West Cycle Superhighway from Lancaster Gate and work to deliver Cycle Superhighway 11 from Swiss Cottage to the West End, which the Mayor has given his endorsement for and next steps will be announced imminently.
The Business Plan also confirms funding for two new Cycle Superhighways. Consultations will begin next year on Cycle Superhighway 4 from Tower Bridge to Greenwich and Cycle Superhighway 9 from Olympia towards Hounslow, with each route also tackling a number of traffic-dominated junctions. These new routes will open up even more of south-east and west London to cycling. The gaps in cycle routes left by the previous administration will also be looked into to make sure they usefully connect with each other, particularly in central London.
Working with London boroughs, the three Mini Hollands in Enfield, Kingston and Waltham Forest and at least 20 more Quietway routes will be planned or rolled-out, making cycling safer and easier in different parts of London including Hammersmith, Finsbury Park, Croydon and Barking.
The record investment will deliver more joined-up cycling infrastructure right across the city, including a new cyclist and pedestrian bridge linking Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf, creating easier connectivity in the area. It will create an important connection between south-east London, the docklands and beyond, linking the forthcoming CS4 to the existing CS3 and CS2 routes north of the river.
Having now secured record investment in cycling over the next five years, analysis will continue to be undertaken to develop a strategic cycle network that identifies potential new Cycle Superhighways and Quietways, as well as new Liveable Neighbourhoods.
Research, to be published in the next few months, identifies the links that are fundamental to the development of a cycle network. These include connections between Wembley and Hammersmith, Kilburn and Edgware, East Finchley and Hoxton, Tottenham and Camden Town, Hackney and Canary Wharf, Greenwich and Oval, Streatham and Oval. TfL will work with relevant boroughs and other partners to assess the feasibility of these much needed improvements.
The Mayor will very shortly be appointing a new walking and cycling commissioner for London. Unlike with previous Mayoral appointments the post has been properly advertised with an open and fair recruitment process. The Commissioner will be an advocate for active travel in London – raising the profile of both cycling and walking, and working with TfL to make cycling safer and easier.
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said: “I said in my manifesto that I’d be the most pro-cycling Mayor London has ever had. Today I’m delighted to confirm that TfL will be spending twice as much on cycling over the next five years compared to the previous Mayor. Making cycling safe and easier can provide huge benefits for us all – improving our health, cleaning up our toxic air, and helping tackle congestion. By spending £770 million over the course of the next TfL Business Plan, we’ll now be spending the same per head as Denmark and the Netherlands – places famous around the world for their cycling.
“Our plans include consulting on two new Cycle Superhighways next year, in addition to a new East-West Route. And unlike the previous Mayor, we will continue to focus on how we can minimise disruption and congestion as we push ahead with the construction of new cycling infrastructure.
“With record amounts of money now committed for cycling in London, we will continue to work over the coming months developing further detailed plans for making cycling a safe and obvious choice for Londoners of all ages and backgrounds.”