Funding and greater freedom over spending for Greenwich to cut road deaths, improve town centres and cycling facilities, tackle the school run and carry out essential main road maintenance.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, today announced £3.2m of funding from Transport for London for Greenwich to deliver local transport improvements during the financial year 2009/10.

As well as increasing next year's local transport funding from TfL - up to £168.3m from £161m in 2008/09 - the Mayor also confirmed that London's boroughs will have greater freedom in choosing local transport projects.

TfL has included £100,000 for the borough council to spend locally on transport as it chooses.

 The £3.2m package will allow the borough to finance several schemes to improve local transport for residents including:

  • £577,000 for the renewal of the carriageways and footways of the A2016 Eastern Way both eastbound and westbound which are currently in poor condition and will be renewed to correct any uneven surface, potholes and cracks. Pedestrians and vehicles will benefit from smooth, defect-free roads resulting in safer journeys in the boroughs
  • £230,000 for the Shooters Hill Local Safety Scheme which aims to increase safety and security and reduce the number of road accidents. The road will be resurfaced and anti-skid treatment will be applied, centre island refuges will also be introduced. The scheme will also promote cycling and the use of buses
  • £110,000 to fund a cycle training co-ordinator and cycling training instructors
  • £95,000 to improve walking provision in the Riverdale Road/Speranza Street area. Measures to tackle footway obstruction include kerb build outs to combat indiscriminate parking. Steep sections of the area will also be designed out to make the route more pedestrian friendly
  • £20,000 to help fund the installation of ten Electrical Recharging Points in the borough. They will provide an alternative energy source which aims to improve local air quality for businesses, residents, visitors and fleet operators by assisting in reducing CO2 emissions.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said: 'When I was elected I promised I would be different and give greater freedom to the Boroughs.

'This is why this year I have introduced a £100,000 award for Boroughs to spend as they choose.

'Boroughs are being given greater freedom to develop and deliver the schemes they want, which means more choice over a range of key local schemes to improve town centres and cycling facilities, tackle the school run and improve local roads.
 
'I am awarding Greenwich a budget of £3.2m next year for local schemes that will make travelling safer, more accessible and more environment-friendly, helping to improve the quality of life for people across the borough.'

Funding for local transport schemes is allocated each year by TfL in response to the applications from boroughs based on their Local Implementation [transport] Plans (LIPs).

Funding is currently available for a wide range of programmes including road safety, maintaining borough roads, tackling the school run, improving walking, cycling and the local environment, making transport more accessible and measures to improve bus journeys.

Notes to editors: 

Below is a table with a breakdown of Local Implementation Plan funding for Greenwich:

 20mph zones  360k
 Bus Priority  405k
 Bus Stop Accessibility  75k
 Education, Training, Publicity  60k
 Environment  37k
 London Cycling Network  +215k
 Accessibility  70k
 Local Safety Schemes  435k
 Cycling  165k
 Parallel Initiatives  75k
 Principal road renewal  577k
 School Travel Plans  282k
 Town Centres  150k
Travel Awareness  20k
 Walking  95k
 Work Travel Plans  8k
 Trial funding  100k
 Bridge Strengthening and Assessment  70k
 TOTAL:  3,199k

  • Each London borough has a Local Implementation Plan (LIP) approved by the Mayor containing proposals to implement the Mayor's Transport Strategy locally.  While Transport for London (TfL) allocates funding for individual schemes, LIP and individual project delivery is the responsibility of each borough
  • 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, aiming to reduce single occupancy car journeys to school, cut congestion and increase safety near schools
  • Priorities for Local Implementation Plans include:

    • Improving road safety
    • Encouraging walking and cycling
    • 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
    • Bringing transport infrastructure into a state of good repair
    • School travel planning

  • Funding can be broken down by LIP programmes as above once final allocations have been approved
  • Electrical Charging points: £390k has been allocated to 12 Boroughs to install a further 70 points across London. The cost of a charging point is £7k. The first on street vehicle charging point in London was implemented in August 2006 in Covent Garden followed by an individual 28 points in 8 Boroughs in 2007 /2008. Information on location of charging points can be found on the newride website