Charity calls on 2012 candidates to endorse transport commitments

Transport charity Sustrans is calling on candidates in next year’s Greater London Authority elections to sign up to 6 commitments which it says will enable the capital to “become a better place to live, work, shop and visit.”

The charity wants candidates for Mayor of London and the London Assembly to back its calls for:

• An increase in the mode share for cycle trips to 10% and for walking trips to 30% by 2020
• Default 20mph on streets where we live, work, shop and play
• A review of congestion charging to look at the potential for a more sophisticated model which extends beyond the central charging zone, to tackle congestion where it is most severe
• Increased funding for the development of London Greenways which enable new, nervous and inexperienced groups to get out on foot and by bike4
• A commitment to making walking and cycling the norm for half of school journeys
• The cycling revolution to be focussed on outer London where need and potential are greatest

The six points are set out in a manifesto published last week which warns that the “increasing size and the changing demographic of London’s population will not only increase pressure on the already strained transport system but could also see an increase in inequality”.

The full manifesto can be downloaded from the Sustrans website.