Mayor confirms £3.2m for local transport improvements in Hackney

The Mayor of London today confirmed £3.2m for Hackney to spend on local transport improvements during 2010/11, including £200,000 for essential road maintenance and £453,000 for major schemes.

Hackney has been developing proposals for a number of schemes that it will be financing with the funding package, including:

• £165,000 to extend the school travel plan programme, building on the good work already being done to cut out the 'school run'
• £190,000 for make road safety improvements for cyclists and pedestrians around Amhurst Park, improve the urban realm on West Bank, East Bank and Amhurst Park and install cycle parking for rail travellers using Amhurst mainline station
• £126,000 to introduce measures to improve air quality in the borough including vehicle emissions testing
• £97,000 for cycle parking and training programmes - Hackney is London's most popular cycling borough and the funding will boost cycle parking facilities and safety training
• £175,000 for 20mph zones around Victoria Park in line with Hackney's commitment to introduce 20mph zones on every residential road by 2012

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: 'Even in these tough economic times I am committed to providing this funding to all of London's boroughs.

'The investment means that across the Capital town centres and public spaces are being overhauled, cycling and walking facilities are being improved, and roads are being made safer.

'We have cut red tape to make it easier for borough councils to choose the local transport projects that benefit their residents the most, simplifying the funding system and working together to give local people the improvements they want.

Fairer funding formulas

'This time we're also giving an extra focus to cycling - helping to provide the training, cycle parking, and maintenance knowhow to support the introduction of the first two Cycle Superhighways next year.'

Funding for local schemes is allocated each year by Transport for London (TfL).

The Mayor has simplified the system - reducing the number of funding streams from 23 to five, and introducing fairer funding formulas where needed. 

London's Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy, said: 'Hackney has identified a range of small and large scale projects that will make a real difference to local people by improving town centres and public spaces, reducing the number of collisions on our roads, improving the environment and promoting greener forms of travel.

'Hackney also has the flexibility to move certain funding between projects if, during the course of the year, they find more or less funding is needed for individual schemes.'

Notes to editors:

• Each borough produces a LIP to demonstrate how they plan to implement the Mayor's Transport Strategy locally
• While TfL allocated funding for individual schemes, the LIP and delivery of individual projects is the responsibility of each borough
• In addition to the usual borough allocation, TfL has included £100,000 for each of the boroughs to spend locally on transport as they choose
• Below is a table with a breakdown of LIP funding for Hackney: