The Mayor of London today announced £6.3m of funding for Croydon to spend on local transport improvements to make the borough safer, greener and more accessible.
"This £6.3m investment will go towards directly improving transport for people in Croydon"
Peter Hendy
London's Transport Commissioner

This £6.3m investment will go towards directly improving transport for people in Croydon

The £6.3m funding includes £1m to improve Coulsdon Town Centre, £515,000 for more cycle lanes and better facilities for cyclists in Croydon as part of the London Cycle Network+, and £630,000 for school travel plans. It will also includes £450,000 funding to reduce traffic speeds and make walking safer, including improvements to sign and road markings in South Norwood Hill, Coulsdon Road and Parchmore Road.

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

Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone said:
"This new £6.3m investment in local transport schemes will make the daily journeys of people in Croydon, 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 1600 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 £6.3m investment will go towards directly improving transport for people in Croydon.  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 Croydon for 2008/09 include:

  • £1m to improve Coulsdon Town Centre. Measures being considered for the town centre include the widening of footpaths, better street lighting, tree planting and more direct crossings for pedestrians
  • £515,000 for the London Cycle Network+
  • £630,000 for school travel plans in Croydon
  • £1.3m to strengthen Woodcote Grove Bridge. The bridge on the A237 is situated over the Tattenham Corner railway line. Road users will benefit from a safer and more comfortable road
  • £450,000 to reduce traffic speed, improve facilities for pedestrians and improve sign and road markings, in seven areas in the borough including South Norwood Hill, Coulsdon Road and Parchmore Road
  • £377,000 to resurface part of the A237 on Smitham Bottom Lane to improve safety and comfort for road users

Note 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 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 an allocation breakdown of Local Implementation Plan funding for Croydon:

Principal road renewals - £554,000
Bridge strengthening - £1,300,000
Local safety schemes - £1,070,000
Education, training and publicity - £26,000
Walking - £150,000
Cycling - £60,000
London Cycle Network+ - £515,000
Bus stop accessibility - £109,000
Bus priority - £450,000
Town Centres - £1,030,000
School Travel Plans - £630,000
Work travel plans - £15,000
Travel awareness - £25,000
Freight - £100,000
Environment - £155,000
Controlled parking zones - £80,000
Local area accessibility - £80,000
Total £6,349,000

  • School Travel Plan - 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
  • London Cycle Network+ -The London Cycle Network+ is funded by TfL. 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.