Mayor announces £6.1m for transport improvements in Richmond

The £6.1m funding includes £895,000 for resurfacing work on the road and pavement on Hampton High Street, £725,000 for the London Cycle Network+ for more cycle lanes and better facilities for cyclists in Richmond, £490,000 for four schemes to introduce 20 mph zones in Barnes North and other areas and £250,000 to fund the construction of a new cycle path in Richmond Park.

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 £6.1 million investment in local transport schemes will make the daily journeys of people in Richmond, safer, greener and more accessible, whether they are travelling by public transport, by car, on foot or by bike.

'Thanks to 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' Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy, said: 'This £6.1 million investment will go towards directly improving transport for people in Richmond. 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 the boroughs to make improvements to local transport.'

Projects funded in Richmond upon Thames for 2008/09 include:

• £895,000 for road and pavement resurfacing work on the busy A311 Hampton High Street. This is one of two road schemes awarded to the borough this year to improve the environment for road users and pedestrians, improving safety and comfort and minimising future unplanned works
• £725,000 for the London Cycle Network+
• £490,000 for four schemes to introduce 20 mph zones in areas including Barnes North and Hampton in order to reduce collisions involving speeding vehicles and pedestrians
• £900,000 to continue development and implementation of town centre improvements in the George Street area of Richmond
• £250,000 to fund the construction of a new cycle path in Richmond Park between Ham Gate and the Dysart Arms in conjunction with the Royal Parks and construct a new pedestrian crossing on Petersham Road
  

Notes for editors:

• Each year the borough prepares a Local Implementation Plan to demonstrate how they propose to implement the Mayor's Transport Strategy locally.  While Transport for London 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 Richmond:
  Principal road renewals - £1,188,000
  Local safety schemes - £700,000
  20mph zones - £490,000
  Education, training and publicity - £20,000
  Walking - £115,000
  Cycling - £115,000
  London Cycle Network+ - £725,000
  Bus stop accessibility - £140,000
  Bus priority - £1,530,000
  Town Centres - £900,000
  School Travel Plans - £55,000
  Work travel plans - £20,000
  Travel awareness - £30,000
  Environment - £38,000
  Local area accessibility - £50,000
  Total - £6,116,000

• 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 Transport for London. The London Cycle Network+ 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.