Grant of almost £6m to improve borough transport
Press Release Details
- Ref
- 3582
- Date
- Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:55:33
The money forms part of the £5.8 million grant awarded to Croydon by Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London.
Croydon's excellent track record in design and delivery has resulted in one of the top settlements to the capital's local authorities.
This year's award follows on the heels of the completion of Coulsdon's Woodcote Grove Road bridge, and confirms that the regeneration of the nearby town centre will continue with the second tranche of funding, amounting to £1.9 million.
The key areas in which the money will be spent are:
- £600,000 for principal road renewal
- £400,000 for bridge assessment and renewal
- £470,000 for bus issues
- £500,000 for cycling and walking
- £1,000,000 for local safety schemes.
Other smaller sums have been allocated to Neighbourhoods and Smarter Travel.
Responding to requests from boroughs for more flexibility and reduced bureaucracy, the Mayor has streamlined the process and given each borough £100,000 to spend on transport priorities of their own choice.
Transport for London allocates the annual funding based on borough applications, which form part of their Local Implementation Plans for transport.
Councillor Phil Thomas, cabinet member for environment and highways, said: "Overall, the council's happy with the level of settlement from the Mayor of London.
"I'm sure residents will be pleased to see that local safety issues will benefit from having a million pounds spent on them. And anything that encourages people to make greater use of buses, or take up transport options that can only improve their health - cycling and walking - has to be applauded.
"The steps toward more flexibility and local democracy mean that decisions that directly affect our residents can be made with local knowledge, rather than by distant planners who don't have the advantage of knowing how the people on the ground feel about them.
"Another step in the right direction is the fact that the Mayor now specifically encourages alternatives to road humps, something which has been Croydon Council policy for some time."
