Sadiq Khan will today urge more local councils to work with him to deliver safe cycling routes in order to boost Londoners’ health and clean up the capital’s air.
Claiming to have beaten his predecessor’s record in building ‘protected’ cycling routes, the Mayor will use a speech to the London Walking and Cycling Conference to praise councils including Enfield, Hackney and the City of London for putting him on course to deliver an election pledge to treble the amount of protected space.
Mr Khan will also use the speech to delegates at the Guildhall event to accuse Westminster and other boroughs of “harming the health of Londoners” by being “wedded to the status quo”.
The speech, in which the Mayor will pledge not to fund or support new routes that “aren’t up to scratch,” comes just days after the completion of improvements for cyclists and pedestrians around Bloomsbury and St Pancras.
Mayor Khan said: “I said before the election that I wanted to increase the pace of change building new cycling infrastructure.
“I’m delighted that in just 3 years we have achieved more than the last Mayor did in 8 years, already doubling the amount of protected cycle routes on streets across London.
“I want to now deliver even more high-quality cycling and walking infrastructure across all parts of the capital, but even with record investment from the TfL we can’t achieve that on our own.
“Boroughs across London must recognise the huge benefits of getting more people out of their cars and cycling as part of their everyday routine – getting more people active, improving their health, and reducing the air pollution on our streets which causes so much harm.”
Fran Graham, Campaigns Coordinator at the London Cycling Campaign, said: “The Mayor and TfL are to be applauded for having doubled the provision of protected space for cycling on main roads, meaning they need to build 43km more in order to fulfil his pledge to our members and all Londoners to triple the mileage of protected space by the next election.
“With less than a year to go, it’s vitally important they, and particularly the boroughs, pull out all the stops to deliver the cycling network Londoners deserve and need to ensure the city can keep moving sustainably and healthily.”
