Transport for London (TfL) has announced up to £80.4m for boroughs to improve public transport, make walking and cycling safer and create new school streets.
The transport authority described this as an increase of 16% from 2023/24, when boroughs were allocated £69m; however, it will initially allocate just £66m, with £41m going to outer London boroughs and £25m to inner London boroughs.
The Local Implementation Plan (LIP) funding recognises that London boroughs play a key role in schemes that meet the aims of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy and will help to deliver a number of new schemes on the capital's roads, including:
- proposals for more than 150 new and upgraded pedestrian crossings including dedicated pedestrian signals at busy junctions in Barnet, Kensington and Chelsea, and Enfield
- the introduction of 20mph speed limits on roads in Barnet, Brent, Harrow, Redbridge, Waltham Forest Enfield and Richmond
- junction and corridor improvement schemes that TfL said will make London's streets safer, better for active travel and more reliable for buses
Lea Bridge Road traffic filters
Bus priority schemes will also be funded, including the delivery of new bus lanes across London, although TfL said that of 125 schemes funded, 89 are planned in outer London boroughs.
TfL said it will continue to work with boroughs to expand London’s cycle network ‘at pace’, with this round of funding enabling them to deliver 30km of new routes across London.
Funding will also deliver more than 2,000 secure residential cycle parking spaces and £2.7m has been allocated to London boroughs to provide free cycle training sessions to thousands of children and adults.
Deputy mayor for transport Seb Dance said: ‘It’s fantastic that London boroughs will receive this funding from TfL to continue the vital work they do to keep London’s streets clean, safe and accessible.
‘It is only by working together, with boroughs at a local level and with central Government that we can keep building a better, safer, greener city for all Londoners.’
TfL and London Councils also published a report setting out how boroughs have used LIP funding over three years (2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22), including:
- 89 new accessible bus stops, more than 110 schemes to increase bus priority or accessibility and 7km of new or improved bus lanes
- 50km of wider footways, 157km of new or upgraded cycling routes and 74 new pedestrian crossings
- nearly 110,000 new on-and off-street cycle parking spaces and training provided to 50,000 adults and just under 135,000 children
- around 500 School Streets have also been introduced, with almost 25% of primary schools now having a School Street.
