Mayor announces over £1.8m for local transport improvements in Sutton
Every London borough is receiving money that will directly benefit communities, making London an even better place to live and work.
The funding has been allocated by Transport for London (TfL) through the Local Implementation Plan (LIP) process and is awarded to the borough to spend on projects that support the Mayor's Transport Strategy, including safer roads, smoothing traffic flow, rejuvenating town centres and better facilities for cycling and walking.
The £1.8m funding package in 2012/13 will finance a range of transport projects in Sutton, including:
- £665,000 to improve transport choices and public realm in Worcester Park and North Cheam through the Integrated Transport Package approach to encourage more sustainable travel in the borough and building on the success of Smarter Travel Sutton
- £150,000 for the ongoing upgrade of a 2km stretch of Beddington Lane to improve accessibility to the Beddington Strategic Industrial Estate and help boost the local economy. Works will include road realignment, improved junctions to allow traffic to flow more easily and the creation of an off-road shared foot and cycle path with new crossings
- £238,000 to promote cycling in the borough through improved cycle parking, cycle training to cyclists of all ages and creation of new cycling routes on Green Wrythe Lane and Belmont and Brighton Road, supporting the Mayor's Cycle Revolution.
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said: 'London is undergoing a neo-Victorian level of investment in its transport network.
'Every London borough is receiving money that will directly benefit communities, making London an even better place to live and work.
'We've also cut bureaucracy to make it easier for the boroughs to decide how they want to spend their funding.'
The Local Implementation Plan funds hundreds of large and small scale transport projects every year.
Last year in Sutton it financed cycle training for 1,440 children and 78 adults, the removal of 356 metres of guardrail, 68 road safety education and training events, 15 new accessible bus stops, 41 schools to participate in walking events and 12 in cycling events and 538 new street trees.
Working in partnership
Notable larger projects undertaken in Sutton this year include the Wallington Integrated Transport Package, a pilot project designed to deliver local traffic, streetscape and environmental improvements to make walking, cycling and taking other forms of public transport the easiest option for local residents and to help regenerate and revitalise local town centres.
London's Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy said: 'Year on year the boroughs continue to deliver innovative projects that support the Mayor's vision for transport in the capital.
'This investment will build on the excellent work that has already been achieved and complement the huge programme of work we at TfL are undertaking to make his vision a reality through working in partnership with the boroughs.'
The funding was previously forecast to reduce year on year to reflect the reduced general grant TfL receives from the Department for Transport.
However, because of the importance of the boroughs in delivering the priorities of Mayor's Transport Strategy, the funding has been kept at a consistent level to 2013/14.
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 Transport for London allocates funding for individual schemes, the LIP and delivery of individual projects is the responsibility of each borough.
- A detailed breakdown of funding for bridge strengthening projects (£5.3m), which will be allocated to the bridges in most need of work will be announced in the New Year.
- Total allocation by programme area:
| Programme | Allocation Across London (£million) |
|---|---|
| Principal Road Maintenance | 214 |
| Local Transport Funding | 100 |
| Corridors, Neighbourhoods and Supporting Measures | 1,547 |
| Total | 1,861 |