Mayor announces £3.3m for transport improvements in Barking and Dagenham

The £3.3m funding includes £1m to make Dagenham Heathway town centre safer including improvements to the central crossing near Dagenham Heathway Tube station, £355,000 for new 20mph zones, £100,000 for more cycle lanes and better facilities for cyclists as part of the London Cycle Network+ and £150,000 for better crossing facilities and street lighting near Upney Station and Manor School.

The funding is part of the record-breaking five-year £792m programme for local transport schemes included in the Transport for London (TfL) £10bn Investment Programme.

Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said: "This new £3.3m investment in local transport schemes will make the daily journeys of people in Barking and Dagenham safer, greener and more accessible, whether they are travelling by public transport, by car, on foot or by bike.

"Thanks to the extra investment in local transport schemes, cycling has increased by 83 per cent since 2000 and more than 1,600 school travel plans have been approved which encourage and enable more children and their parents to walk to school."

Improving local transport

London's Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy, said: "This £3.3m will go towards directly improving transport for people in Barking and Dagenham.

"Local people feel strongly about transport in their area and this funding will make a real difference to their experience each day.  

"The investment will fund both large and small projects that will improve bus journeys and access to public transport, reduce congestion, improve the environment and promote a healthier lifestyle. 

"This funding is an important part of our wider programme of spending in Barking and Dagenham and across London to make improvements to local transport."

Projects funded in Barking and Dagenham for 2008/09 include:

• £1m to complement borough investment in Dagenham Heathway to improve accessibility, safety and security and enhance conditions for pedestrians, cyclists and bus users using the shopping areas. For example the central crossing will be widened to cope with the flow of people coming out of Dagenham Heathway Tube station at peak times
• £355,000 for 20mph zones to improve safety in local streets
• £590,000 to improve bus services and journey times
• £150,000 to improve crossing facilities and street lighting in the area between Upney Lane Station and Manor School. This will make journeys on foot safer and encourage walking. This area is heavily used by pedestrians, especially 300 children every day going to and from Manor School
• £13,000 to promote campaigns that encourage greener travel, including: 'Bike Week', 'In town without my car day', 'National Liftshare Day' and 'Walking Works' - to promote walking to work
• In addition to the £3.3m, Barking and Dagenham, as leader of the Thames Gateway London Partnership (TGLP), will be coordinating £776,000 of improvements to station access that complement local rail services
  

Notes to editors:

• Local Implementation Plan - Each year the borough prepares a Local Implementation Plan to demonstrate how they propose to implement the Mayor's Transport Strategy locally. While TfL awards funding for individual schemes, project delivery is the responsibility of the borough
• Priorities for the Local Implementation Plans include:
  • Improving road safety
  • Improving bus journey times and reliability
  • Relieving traffic congestion and improving journey time reliability
  • Improving the working of parking and loading arrangements
  • Improving accessibility for all on the transport network
  • Encouraging walking and cycling
  • Bringing transport infrastructure into a good state of repair
• Below is a list with a breakdown of Local Implementation Plan funding for Barking and Dagenham in 2008/09:

Principal road renewals - £310,000
Local safety schemes - £305,000
20mph zones - £355,000
Education, training and publicity - £10,000
Walking - £150,000
Cycling - £150,000
London Cycle Network+ - £100,000
Bus stop accessibility - £170,000
Bus priority - £590,000
Town Centres - £1,000,000
School Travel Plans - £34,000
Travel awareness - £13,000
Local area accessibility - £70,000
Total £3,257,000

• A School Travel Plan is a package of measures, tailored to the needs of individual schools to deliver alternative transport methods for the school run. The aim of a school travel plan is to reduce single occupancy car journeys to school, reduce congestion and increase safety around schools
• The London Cycle Network + is funded by TfL and will provide 900km of safer, faster cycle routes through the Capital. It's due to be finished by 2010 and is one of our major investments