What Green London assembly members have done to promote cycling in London

Putting Safety Back on the Road. As the Mayor's Road Safety Adviser, Jenny Jones has supported the efforts of road traffic accident victim support charity, RoadPeace to put some sense back into the road safety agenda and has also campaigned energetically against the removal speed cameras. Jenny also managed to increase TfL's budget for road safety.

Cycling Centre of Excellence. Jenny Jones set up the meeting between LCC and Mayor that led to the setting up of the CCE.

Bike Racks at City Hall. Jenny Jones worked with Southwark Cyclists to get bike racks installed outside City Hall for the use of visitors. Previously, there was no provision for cycle parking at City Hall for visitors. Jenny Jones also hosts meeting of City Hall Bicycle Users Group.

Saved the LCC from Savage Cuts. Jenny Jones worked with LCC to ensure that funding £8 million for London Cycle Network was not cut from 2002 GLA budget.

Cops on Bikes. The Green Group provided the political support that helped put 500 policemen on bikes and out of cars. Jenny Jones hosted the 999 cycling awards event, which rewards members of the emergency services who use a bike at work.

Safe Routes to School. The Green Group has promoted Safe Routes to School scheme and is working hard to provide every child in London with a Safe Route to School by 2008.

Bike Week. Jenny Jones fronted TfL's activities during Bike Week in London. Jenny Jones also hosted an event at City Hall involving the Croydon disability cycling group, Access for All Cyclists.

Pedicabs. Jenny Jones has supported the successful efforts of the London pedicab operators to fight spiteful legal actions brought against by the London Taxi Driver's Association, and is helping them get recognised by the various statutory bodies.

If re-elected, Green assembly members will work towards the following:

• Quadruple TfL's budget for cycling.

• The Green Group's target is to increase the number of journeys by a factor of 5 to 10% of all journeys by 2008.

• Expand the cycle training programme as part of a package of measures that will provide a stepping stone to the normalisation of cycle use within London, including Cycling Proficiency for children, education and training for parents, training for novice and returning cyclists and the Bike Buddy scheme.

• Make the whole of Greater London a 20mph zone (with rare exceptions).

• Expanding the Congestion Charge Zone to include most of Greater London and extending it to scooters and motorbikes.

• Keeping motorbikes and scooters out of Bus Lanes.

• Make our roads safer: The Green Group will make reducing road accidents a priority. They will continue to push for increasing enforcement of existing road traffic laws by the Metropolitan Police.

• The Tour de France and Eastway: Providing London with high profile cycling showcase event namely the Tour de France and linking bringing the TdF to London with a shopping list of minimum requirements. Top of this list will be ensuring that London does not lose the use of its flagship cycle sport facility, the Lee Valley Cycle Circuit (Eastway) to Olympic redevelopment. Jenny Jones is lobbying hard to keep Eastway intact. Darren Johnson, Green Party Candidate for Mayor of London, has pledged to preserve Eastway if he is elected.

• The Green Group will make reducing road accidents a priority. They will continue to push for increasing enforcement of existing road traffic laws by the Metropolitan Police.

What has Mayor Livingstone done that wasn't good for cycling in London

• In his manifesto of 2000, Ken said that the London Cycle Network would be completed by 2004. The revised (and smaller) programme, now called LCN+, also has a revised projected completion date of 2009. Senior London borough cycling officers privately predict a completion date of 2015, given Ken's current level of funding for it.<

• Took 4 years to agree the Cycle Action Plan for London.

• Failed to give sufficient support to Safe Routes to School, thus allowing the likely completion date to slide to beyond 2015.

• Allowed TfL to become involved in a futile and wasteful copyright wrangle with LCC over the LCN maps.

• Has frozen the existing LCN+ budget for 2004/5.

• In 4 years Ken has spent more on strengthening road bridges around London so that they can take the weight of 40 ton HGVs (£56.9m) than he has on cycling and Safe Routes to School combined (£45.95m) and nearly double what he spent on Road Safety (£30.7m)

• Ken did bring in the Congestion Charge, which was an act of political bravery for which he should be congratulated, and as a result, the number of people cycling has increased. But the expansion of the Congestion Charge zone is a second tier priority, unlike the building of the Thames Gateway Crossing, a six-lane motorway bridge in East London, which is a top priority for Ken and will cost £450 million.

• As born-again member of the Labour Party, Ken will have the support of Assembly Member and Leader of the GLA Labour Group Lord Toby Harris, who in a recent GLA budget debate described a proposed increase in funding for cycle projects 'another £8.5 million to cycle fascists'.

Extracts from London Green Party's Manifesto for the 2004 GLA Elections

Transport

• As a key step towards enhanced quality of life for Londoners, the Green Party is proposing a total overhaul of our public transport system in London - to make it truly reliable, affordable, safe and also properly integrated, with improved conditions for cyclists, pedestrians and disabled people.

• The recent welcome reduction of four per cent in London motor traffic is threatened by cuts in funding. Mayor Livingstone has abandoned his pledge of a 15 per cent reduction by 2010.

• Funding has been diverted into building road bridges instead of cycle routes, safe routes to school and green travel plans.

• Greens want to turn this round. Only the Green Party is firmly committed to further traffic reduction and to extending the congestion charge to cover the whole of Greater London in concentric zones, with charges at lower rates than for the centre.

• London Cycle Network completed.

• Cycling budget to be increased four-fold.

• Green Route Patrol for enforcement of cycle facilities and safety.

• Improved cycling conditions on main roads.

• Creating many both-way cycle ways in one-way 20 mph roads.

• Ten per cent of all journeys by cycle by 2008.

Housing

• New requirements for all new housing developments to say they must have secure parking for bicycles

Health

• Promotion of the benefits of regular exercise, especially walking and cycling

Safer Neighbourhoods

• Shifting 20 per cent of all police officers out of patrol cars and onto bicycles, for closer access to the streets.

London's Waterways

• All new waterside developments to incorporate public access to the water front, to create continuous waterside pathways. We would encourage existing developments to open up continuous public walkways, and allow cycle riding where it is safe along pathways

• New pedestrian and cycle bridges across the Thames

---

back