Sadiq Khan wants to get more Londoners out of their cars and into “active transport” such as walking and cycling, his deputy mayor has revealed.
Val Shawcross said the Mayor was determined to pursue a radical transport agenda, focused on pedestrianising Oxford Street and aiming for “zero” fatalities by left-turning lorries.
The policies will also address his commitment to tackle “toxic” air pollution and growing congestion on the roads, City Hall aides confirmed.
Ms Shawcross, deputy mayor for transport, said: “In City Hall, I hear him say, ‘How can we progress modal shift? How can we get people into active transport — walking, cycling and public transport?’ I think the result could be a sea change for cyclists and pedestrians.”
In a speech setting out Mr Khan’s vision, she said there was a “pressing” need to pedestrianise Oxford Street before the opening of Crossrail in 2018.
She said plans were being drawn up to “make sure we take traffic out, rather than simply replace it”. It is hoped that a new “hopper” ticket, which will allow passengers to switch buses — probably within an hour — for no extra cost, will reduce the number of vehicles in Oxford Street.
“We do need to remove traffic to make Oxford Street work,” said Ms Shawcross. “That is pressing on us now. When Crossrail’s central section opens in 2018, there will be hundreds of thousands more people coming into central London.”
Despite fears that cycling would slip down the agenda at Transport for London, Ms Shawcross said she wanted to move it from “embattled flagship policy” under Boris Johnson to “mainstream core business”.
She said: “It’s core activity for us — to make London a great city to cycle, a great city to walk, a great city to work.” TfL’s five-year business plan will be published in November with the “intention” of increasing the £150 million a year spent on cycling by Mr Johnson.
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Ms Shawcross said her mission was to outline the benefits of such schemes to non-cyclists. She said: “We need to go out with an agenda that says, ‘This is not just for the cyclists, this is for all of us.’ The crucial thing in our aspirations is for an improved environment.”
The vision was welcomed by transport campaigners. Matt Winfield, acting London director of Sustrans, said: “In terms of a statement of intent, it was as good as you could have reasonably expected. I think it’s exciting that Val was talking about changing the environment for all Londoners.”
