The London Borough of Southwark has been awarded £1.3 million by Transport for London (TfL) for emergency measures including dealing with ‘rat-runs’ and banning traffic from outside schools.
The council’s 18 successful bids include building cycle routes, social distancing space in town centres, implementing low traffic neighbourhoods, which stop rat-running by closing off streets to vehicles, and creating school streets.
The Government gave TfL £45 million for councils to spend on emergency transport measures in the wake of Covid-19 and nearly half the funding has been allocated now.
The Mayor’s Streetspace plan aims to rapidly transform London’s streets to help facilitate social distancing, cycling, and walking as lockdown eases.
TfL granted £127,500 for strategic cycle routes in Southwark Bridge Road and £17,250 for another one in the borough.
The council was also awarded more than £200,000 to implement low traffic neighbourhoods in six areas as well as £17,000 for its school streets project.
TfLgranted £150,000 for social distancing measures for Peckham Rye, Bermondsey Street, and Consort Road, and £750,000 to extend the cycle route from Lower Road to the Cycle Superhighway Route 4. A bid for Rotherhithe to Peckham cycle route was granted £65,000.
Councillor Richard Livingstone, cabinet member for environment, transport and the climate emergency, said: “I am glad that the Mayor and his team have recognised the value of the proposals that we have put together so far in our Southwark StreetSpace programme. This will enable us to make necessary changes to our highways to make them safer for walking and cycling as the lockdown eases.
“With lower levels of public transport use, not making these changes would risk a sizable increase in car travel and the negative impact this has on air quality.The council is also rolling out other ‘experimental’ travel measures, which have not received funding.”
The council is widening footways on Braganza Street and Carter Street, as well as introducing a bus gate on the latter.
