Press Release
Mayor withholds £1.5m pending inquiry into Barnet Council's use of transport funds
13-4-2004 155
Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, announced today that £1.5million of Transport for London (TfL) funding has been withheld from Barnet Council, pending an investigation by TfL.
Evidence shows that Barnet is pursuing a policy of ripping out traffic calming measures, withdrawing cycle lanes and introducing parking on pavements, increasing the danger to pedestrians. These policies are directly opposed to the Mayor’s commitment to improving road safety in the capital and the agenda set out in his Transport Strategy for London.
Barnet Council has cut its funding for cycle training in schools, failed to spend its £120,000 allocation from Transport for London for improvements to the London Cycle Network last year, and has not bid for funding the London Cycle Network this year.
The Mayor said: “Barnet’s half baked policies are putting children’s lives at risk. All of the research shows that traffic claming and other accident prevention measures on residential streets and around schools save lives. Nine out of 10 pedestrians hit by a car at 40 mph are killed. Half of those hit at 30mph are killed. But only one in ten hit by a car at 20mph is killed.
“Obviously, a balance has to be struck recognising that different roads serve different purposes – trunk routes prioritise moving vehicles, residential streets must be safe for local families. London’s road safety policies, which Barnet want to reverse, have reduced the number of children under 16 killed or seriously injured on London’s roads by 41 per cent between 1994-98 and the 12 months to September 2003.
“London has one of the best road safety records in Europe. We are not going to allow that to be undermined by the loony right in Barnet Council. Transport for London will not fund schemes that jeopardise road safety or cuts things like cycle training for school children.”
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