Mayor confirms £4.6m for local transport improvements in Croydon

The Mayor of London today confirmed £4.6m for Croydon to spend on local transport improvements during 2010/11, including £829,000 for essential road maintenance. 

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

• £2.25m to regenerate Purley town centre, with investment to improve the existing townscape and create a cleaner, healthier, safer public realm, focused around the needs of pedestrians
• £25,000 for road safety measures, including borough-wide 'SpeedVisors' - speed sensitive message boards that advise motorists their speed and encourage compliance with the speed limit
• £100,000 to provide cycle training to children and adults in full employment to reduce cycling related injuries and encourage more sustainable transport choices
• £50,000 to improve walking and cycle route, connecting the Wandle Trail to the Waterlink Way and Green Chain
• £5,000 to install electric vehicle charging points in the borough to encourage electric vehicle use and reduce CO2 emissions

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: 'Croydon 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. 

'Croydon 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 Local Implementation Plan (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 Croydon: