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Southwark Council sets out vision to boost cycling and walking in the borough

28 August 2024

Southwark Council has launched new plans to make walking, wheeling and cycling quicker, easier and safer for everyone in the borough.

The Walking Plan prioritises pedestrians and sets out how the council will improve streets and paths for everyone, including people with mobility issues, people who use wheelchairs or mobility scooters, the visually-impaired and people with children or pushing prams.

It builds on great work already underway, including:

  • The installation of 165 new pedestrian crossings over the last six years to make walking safer; more are planned to make it easier to walk across the borough
  • 29 School Streets schemes in place – these timed closures reduce congestion, and therefore air pollution, outside schools, encouraging parents and pupils to walk, cycle, scooter or use other greener ways to get to school. The council aims to get at least three new schools signed up each year

The Cycling Plan will create a network of safe and accessible streets and routes for all types of cycles, ensuring Southwark is a borough in which everyone who would like to cycle, can.

  • Since April 2023, free cycle training has been delivered to over 9,400 adults and children since; the council will continue to invest in cycle training for all ages and abilities
  • Over 750 cycle hangars have been installed with almost 4,000 bike spaces available across the borough; the council aims to install more than 1,000 hangars (providing over 6,000 spaces) by 2025

The council committed to developing the new plans when it launched its Streets for People strategy in July 2023. Streets for People sets out a series of ambitious commitments to improve the air we breathe in Southwark, address the climate emergency, and make the borough even greener and safer.

Cllr James McAsh, Cabinet Member for the Climate Emergency, Clean Air and Streets, said: “In July 2023, when we launched our Streets for People strategy, we said we would implement more measures and take more action to make walking and cycling quicker, easier and safer. We know this is what people wanted - over 9,000 residents responded to our borough-wide engagement and some of their top priorities were accessible pavements, segregated cycling; cycle hangars and pedestrian crossings.

“Since that time we've installed 165 pedestrian crossings and 29 school safety schemes.

"While it is still early days to measure the full impact of these actions, I think everyone will agree that having fewer cars and less pollution around schools, as well as more accessible routes for all pedestrians, are positive steps, which is why our fresh cycling, walking and EV plans are all the more important."

Increasing walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport are key priorities, but where these are not possible the council will support residents and businesses to electrify their fleets, as well as its own fleet.

  • With 1742 charge points installed to date, Southwark is already several years ahead of Government targets. The EV Plan sets out how the council will respond to requests from residents and businesses for more EV charge points
  • The council will bid for government funding for 700 charge points across its housing stock
  • The ambition is for Southwark to fully own and operate all of its EV charge points which will benefit residents and help the council electrify its fleet vehicles

Page last updated: 28 August 2024

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