London’s roads to be transformed to boost green travel in life after lockdown

The new plan suggests the city could see a possible ten-fold increase in cycling and a five-fold increase in walking when lockdown restrictions are eased

The Mayor of London and TfL have unveiled their ‘London Streetspace’ programme which aims to rapidly transform London’s streets to accommodate a possible ten-fold increase in cycling and a five-fold increase in walking when lockdown restrictions are eased.

The project will prioritise the rapid construction of a cycling network including new routes aimed at reducing crowding on the London Underground and train lines, as well as on busy bus corridors.

London will also have wider footways on high streets giving people more space not only to queue for shops but also to maintain ‘social distancing’ from others.

It says the changes aim to reduce traffic on residential streets and create low-traffic neighbourhoods across London to enable more people to walk and cycle as part of their daily routine.

Euston Road is one of the first main routes to benefit from temporary cycle lanes, followed by plans for the transformation of Park Lane.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The capacity of our public transport will be dramatically reduced post-coronavirus as a result of the huge challenges we face around social distancing.

“Many Londoners have rediscovered the joys of walking and cycling during lockdown and by quickly and cheaply widening pavements, creating temporary cycle lanes and closing roads to through traffic we will enable millions more people to change the way they get around our city.

“I urge the government and boroughs to work with us to enable Londoners to switch to cleaner, more sustainable forms of transport and reduce the pressure on other parts of our transport network once the lockdown is eased.”

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