FITTING TOGETHER THE PIECES TO CREATE A PEOPLE-FRIENDLY VISION

After a period of pandemic-related fiscal uncertainty and stagnation, TfL unveiled an array of funding pledges earlier this year. The aim was to kick-start schemes designed to meet net zero targets, cut car dependency, encourage active travel, and improve air quality and road safety.

This flurry of activity was made possible by a £1.2bn funding settlement with DfT up to March 2024, in the wake of four short-term emergency deals, totalling about £5bn, since the first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020.

Among the headline announcements was TfL’s award of more than £63m to London councils to deliver cycling routes, new or upgraded pedestrian crossings, bus priority schemes and School Streets.

In 2023/24 nearly £39m will be allocated to outer London boroughs while inner London boroughs will get more than £24m, as part of TfL’s Local Implementation Plan (LIP) funding.

Outer London is to get more than 90 bus priority schemes. This will be complemented by the Superloop bus network that will circle the capital. The full orbital network is due to be in operation by the end of 2024, linking town centres, railway stations, hospitals and transport hubs.

With the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to expand across all the capital’s boroughs on 29 August, mayor Sadiq Khan made Superloop one of his commitments to improve transport links in outer London.

In an effort to improve road safety, meanwhile, works are due to start in September to roll out lower speed limits. TfL plans to extend 20mph limits across 65km of roads in Greenwich, Kensington & Chelsea, Lewisham, Southwark, Wandsworth, Merton, Bromley and Lambeth. This form’s part of the mayor’s Vision Zero plan, with the aim that no one is killed in or by a London bus by 2030, and there are no deaths and serious injuries from road collisions on London's streets by 2041.

You can find out more about these initiatives in this guide. There’s also an update on how School Streets are steadily taking root across the capital, as described by Claire McDonald from campaign group Mums for Lungs (p32). Hackney lays claim to leading the way, with 50 School Streets now installed (p35). This forms part of Hackney’s strategy to make three-quarters of the borough low traffic. There are plans for another five Low Traffic Neighbourhoods in Hackney to add to the 19 already in operation.

Lambeth has also drawn up ambitious plans to transform its streetscape. Currently 94% of kerb space in the borough is allocated to parking vehicles, the council estimates. Under a £31.7m plan, it wants to transfer 25% of kerbside to bus lanes, street trees, rain gardens, parklets and cycle parking.

Green infrastructure is gaining traction as an effective way of boosting climate resilience, as illustrated by the proliferation of on-street planters, parklets and rain gardens (p44).

Elsewhere in this guide, our expert contributors discuss 15-minute neighbourhoods (p10), 20minute communities (p15) and the rise of cargo bike deliveries (p49).

There’s also advice on how to overcome conflict on social media when challenging the dominance of the car (p24) and why the transition to peoplefriendly streets must be backed by good data (p28).

And on the important issue of accessibility for all, the Disabled Citizens’ Inquiry sets out its solutions for making walking and wheeling more inclusive.

All the seemingly disparate elements discussed in this guide are actually connected – what ties them together is an ambition for positive change. The aim? Neighbourhoods that are truly people-friendly. It really is as simple as that.

Deniz Huseyin, Editor