Ms Pidgeon says the move would help make London’s roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as contributing to efforts to clean up air quality.
Official Transport for London figures show that lorries are disproportionately involved in fatal collisions with other road users and last year were involved in seven of the nine cyclist fatalities which occurred on London’s roads.
TfL, the boroughs and City Hall have already introduced a range of measures to improve the safety of HGVs, including mandating the fitting of additional side windows to ensure drivers can see other road users.
However Ms Pidgeon says she would go further and stop the lorries entering central London during peak hours when the number of cyclists is at its highest.
Instead of driving HGVs into the centre of the city, construction firms would be expected to use “consolidation centres” and businesses would be encouraged to move freight along the Thames and make use of smaller, greener vehicles and cargo bikes.
The mayoral hopeful and London Assembly Member is also promising “comprehensive enforcement” of safety standards to ensure that “rogue operators” cannot use unlicensed, untrained lorry drivers or unsafe vehicles anywhere in the capital.
Ms Pidgeon said: “Using my plan we can secure a safer environment for all road users while still allowing freight traffic to access central London at other times of the day.
“London is a great city, but the polluted air we breathe blights people’s lives.
“For our health, and the health of our children, the hard truth is we can’t let the growth in traffic go unchecked. My plan to ban HGVs at peak times for our most congested roads will start to tackle this problem.”
