London’s boroughs to get £63m TfL funding to create safer, people-friendly streets

TfL funding will pave the way for more safe cycling routes

Councils across the capital are to get more than £63m from Transport for London (TfL) to deliver new cycle routes, School Streets, new or upgraded pedestrian crossings, bus priority schemes and 20mph speed limits on borough roads.

In 2023/24 nearly £39m will be allocated to outer London boroughs while inner London boroughs will get more than £24m, as part of TfL’s Local Implementation Plan (LIP) funding.

Funding for outer London boroughs includes £4m to Barking and Dagenham, £1.8m to Hounslow, £2.5m to Hillingdon and nearly £2m to Sutton. 

Meanwhile, £24m has also allocated to inner London boroughs, including nearly £1.9m to Islington and nearly £2.3m to Newham. 

The £63m allocated to boroughs is the latest allocation of the £138m made available to boroughs as part TfL’s funding deal with Government last year. Boroughs have already invested £59m in vital schemes improving access to walking, cycling and public transport said TfL.  

More than 90 of the funded bus priority schemes are planned in outer London boroughs. This will contribute to London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s target of building 25km of new bus lanes by March 2025.

The LIP funding will enable a range of schemes:  

• Newham to complete construction of a bus priority scheme on the approaches to the junction of Prince Regent Lane and Tollgate Road, including the provision of approximately 600m of new bus lane 
• Richmond upon Thames to consult on the conversion of Hail and Ride sections on route 419 to fixed stops 
• Barking and Dagenham to complete construction of a bus priority scheme on Wood Lane, introducing 250m of new bus lane and upgrading the existing traffic signals 
• The funding will also allow London’s boroughs to develop proposals on a number of additional schemes including:   
• Junction and corridor improvement schemes 
• Five Liveable Neighbourhood schemes in Holborn (Camden), West Ealing (Ealing), Enfield Town (Enfield), Greenwich Town Centre (RB of Greenwich) and Coppermill Village (Waltham Forest)  
• More than 150 proposals for new or upgraded pedestrian crossings    
• Cycle training for more than 20,000 adults and 40,000 children  
• More than 3,500 secure residential cycle parking spaces 
• More 20mph speed limits on borough road networks, as well as continuing a rollout of School Streets across Barking, Brent, Ealing, Hounslow, Redbridge, Richmond, and Waltham Forest, and more than 50 feasibility schemes for new cycle routes.  

TfL said it will work work with the boroughs to expand London’s cycle network, aiming for 70% of Londoners to live within 400m of the network by 2041. New cycle routes are planned between Colliers Wood and Sutton, Leyton and Lea Bridge, Ealing and Greenford and Enfield Town and Broxbourne.  

In September 2022 TfL reached a £1.2bn funding settlement with the DfT up to March 2024. This follows four short-term emergency deals, totalling about £5bn, since the first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020.

TfL said the long-term settlement has enabled it to resume spending on vital projects, with £80m per year to be spent on London’s roads through TfL led schemes on walking and cycling as part of its Healthy Streets Programme. This includes the start of construction of safer junction schemes at Holloway Road/Drayton Park and Lambeth Bridge, pedestrian and cycling improvements at Streatham High Road and Manor Circus in Richmond, and a further section of Cycleway 9 to connect the cycleway in Watermans Park to Brentford.  

Walking and Cycling Commissioner Will Norman said: “The funding will give boroughs the certainty to deliver improvements to public transport, support Vision Zero and make active travel safer and more appealing.  

“The funding will also support more active travel in outer London and help Londoners prepare for expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone. Boroughs have an essential role to play as we continue to build a safer, greener London for everyone and the Mayor and I will continue to work closely with them.”  

Following the announcement on Monday 27 March, London Councils' executive member for climate change, transport and rnvironment, Mayor Philip Glanville, said: “London boroughs are championing active travel solutions for Londoners and are already making changes on the ground to increase healthier and greener travel options across the capital. It is essential that all of London's diverse communities can benefit from the projects that each borough's Local Implementation Plan programme will deliver.

“We are committed to a strong partnership with TfL to deliver on this ambition, recognising that 95 per cent of London's streets are managed by the boroughs and City of London.This funding is hugely welcome as a starting point, but we will continue to work with government to address the funding backlog to improve London's highways infrastructure, including cycle routes, footpaths, lighting, trees, gullies, bridges and tunnels. Our soon to be launched State of the City Report has revealed this backlog now surpasses £1.5bn.

“We look forward to working alongside TfL and government to make sure active travel is a sustainable and viable option for all Londoners wanting to make greener choices for themselves and for London's green future.”