Pic: Danny P Robinson
Hackney and Lewisham have secured £1.25M funding as part of the Liveable Neighbourhood scheme which aims to make London boroughs safer, healthier and more attractive for local people and tourists.
The two ELL boroughs were awarded funding as part of the scheme, implemented by Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and Transport for London, alongside five other winning boroughs last Thursday. All boroughs of London could submit proposals on what they would want to do with the funding.
Lewisham’s plans are to reduce traffic through new restrictions, walking and cycling will be transformed by a new north-south traffic-free route along the former Grand Surrey Canal, new Copenhagen crossings, cycle parking, and street lighting and much more.
Hackney’s aims to change key routes in the town centre to reduce traffic, introduce two-way protected cycle lanes on Mare Street, the redesign of two dangerous junctions at the southern entrance to the Narrow Way, and at Pembury Circus, where there have been 58 collisions over the past seven years.
Councillor Feryal Demirci, Hackney Council Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Transport and Parks, said she was thrilled by the funding decision, which would help to “transform Hackney Central”. “By redesigning Pembury Circus and removing 80 per cent of through-traffic in the area, encouraging walking, cycling and the use of public transport, we will be making three of the borough’s most dangerous junctions safer,” she said.
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said the scheme would “see millions of pounds invested in schemes that will directly make walking and cycling a safe, enjoyable and convenient option for many more Londoners”.
This comes after the Mayor’s Draft Transport Strategy, in which he outlined his aims to increase the number of journeys made into London by foot, cycle and public transport, incorporating more active travel for commuters in the capital.
London’s Transport Commissioner, Mike Brown MVO, said: “Many of London’s streets were designed to give cars priority, but by working with London’s boroughs, we can help redesign them to put people first – making them better, safer, cleaner places.”
For now, £1.25 million has been given to the boroughs to help develop their proposals. The other five boroughs to receive this funding are Ealing, Greenwich, Haringey, Waltham Forest and Havering.
There will be another round of winners for this scheme next year, giving other boroughs a chance to change their area.
