Dismore questions mayor over progress on cycling commitments

At today’s Assembly plenary session on transport, Labour London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden Andrew Dismore AM questioned Mayor Sadiq Khan over progress on his cycling commitments.

Mr Dismore asked the Mayor:

‘What action have you taken to improve cycling infrastructure in London over the past four years?

‘Can I firstly welcome the improvements for cycling and pedestrians at Stirling Corner, which have made a fast and dangerous junction much safer- I am pleased to see that my 20 plus years campaign for this, ignored at best and actively opposed at worst by the Conservatives, has finally come to fruition, before I bow out at the end of my term on the Assembly.

‘TfL have said that “Most people who cycle in London do so quite regularly and have been doing so for more than five years. They also tend to be mostly male, white, in employment, and with relatively higher household incomes.” How are you encouraging under-represented groups to cycle?

‘You promised to “Continue the Cycle Superhighway Programme…with a focus on segregated provision”. What level of segregation have we seen since you became Mayor?

‘There has been some level of underspend in the cycling budget, why is this and is this something you will look at reversing?

The Mayor said that to encourage underrepresented groups, he was improving dangerous junctions and offering free cycling lessons. Under the previous Mayor there was only 50 km of protected cycle space over 8 years. Now, 163 km has been provided. Protected space is also “benchmarked” for effectiveness. Underspends are due to, for example, borough councils challenging plans often at a late stage, so he is now over-programming schemes to ensure the budget is spent.

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