Mayor confirms £4.9m for local transport improvements in Sutton

The Mayor of London today confirmed £4.9m for Sutton to spend on local transport improvements during 2010/11, including £1.8m for essential road maintenance and £1.1m for major schemes. 

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

• £50,000 for improvements for cyclists in Sutton Town Centre as part of the wider High Street regeneration project, with measures to improve access for cyclists through one way streets including Throwley Way
• £540,000 for a pilot project in Wallington aimed at improving travel in the town centre through a combination of engineering measures and the promotion of sustainable transport, led by the local community
• £40,000 to reroute the S3 bus to access Kimpton Industrial and Tesco store in Cheam Park;
• £150,000 for the regeneration of the Beddington Industrial Area involving the upgrade and reconstruction of a 2km length of Beddington Lane to widen junctions, a cycle route and footway and provide new crossings
• £25,000 to continue the funding of the Smarter Travel Sutton roadshow, including a Bike Doctor and Personal Travel Planning advice to promote sustainable travel to local people
• £1,155,000 to complement the borough's investment in Sutton Town Centre delivering a high quality streetscape in the existing pedestrianised town centre with open less cluttered streets, new outdoor spaces, improved connections to the town hall, rail station and adjacent park and measures to improve safety and security

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: 'Sutton 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. 

'Sutton 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 Local Implementation Plan funding for Sutton: