Mayor confirms £4.6m for local transport improvements in Newham and £191,000 to support Cycle Superhighways

The Mayor of London today confirmed £4.6m for Newham to spend on local transport improvements during 2010/11, including £600,000 for essential road maintenance and £1.2m for major schemes. 

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

• £200,000 for improvements to Romford Road.  A package of measures to address the needs of all road users including the de-cluttering of street furniture, a review of bus stop locations, the provision of parking bays and localised widening to minimise traffic disruption, enhance streetscapes and improve conditions for road users
• £200,000 for improvements to Barking Road. A package of measures to improve the corridor including resurfacing the carriageway, review of bus stop locations to minimise traffic disruption, de-cluttering of street furniture and major reconstruction of the footway between Priory Avenue and Hartley Avenue
• £160,000 for improvements to Green Street, including the major reconstruction of the footway between Jutland Road and Beckton Road
• £107,000 for improvements to High Street North/South, including a review of bus lanes and bus stops, a review of waiting/loading and access restrictions and improvements to footways
• £22,000 for a borough-wide powered-two-wheeler campaign, funding for a project aimed at young people interested in starting to ride or who have been referred by the police for riding illegally. The project aims to contribute to reducing the number of young riders becoming a casualty of Newham roads

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.

'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. 

Promoting greener travel

London's Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy, said: 'Newham 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. 

'Newham 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.'

Alongside Local Implementation Plan (LIP) allocations for cycling projects, the Mayor announced an additional £191,000 for Newham as part of £1.49m funding for the eight boroughs benefitting from the two pilot Cycle Superhighways being delivered next year. 

The money has been allocated to provide the appropriate cycle training, parking and maintenance to address the increase in demand from residents living near the new cycling infrastructure, part of the Mayor's cycling revolution in London.

The money allocated to Newham is as follows:

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 Newham: