The details outlined in two council reports focus on The Big Shift, costing £1.7million, to help people cut car use and the next stages of borough’s bold Transport Strategy which will see more than £16million invested in transforming street layouts, reducing traffic and promoting sustainable travel – such as walking, cycling and scooting.
The full reports can be read here and here.
Measures outlined include more protected cycle lanes, a huge increase in bike storage for residents, new walking routes, more electric vehicle charging points, community grants for local greening projects, e-cargo bike hire schemes and seven new Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, the most recent of which has been created in Streatham Hill.
Word from the Cabinet
Cllr Rezina Chowdhury, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Lambeth and Clean Air, said: “Lambeth has taken great strides in improving local street and air quality over the last eight years by cutting traffic, helping people to embrace cycling or walking, and also greening our neighbourhoods.
“But we must do more, and go much further, to achieve our long-term goals and the aspirations of our residents which came across loud and clear during our citizens’ assembly on climate change.
“We must rid our neighbourhoods of the inherent inequalities that see our most at-risk residents being disproportionately affected by dangerous streets and worst hit by dirty air. We want to help those most vulnerable to air pollution with targeted support for children, the elderly, or people with existing health problems who suffer the most.
“These latest measures are part of the bold action we are determined to take as part of our Climate Action Plan but they also help people in the short term by providing cheap, safe and accessible ways to get around Lambeth.”
The council is taking a leadership role in delivering climate action to create a fairer, greener place to live, work and study. The borough’s Climate Action Plan puts equity, collaboration, and impact at the heart of what we do and sets out an ambitious roadmap to become “net zero ready” and climate resilient by 2030. This includes the need to reduce motor traffic levels in the borough by 27 per cent.
“Net zero” means not adding to the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere – through both reducing these emissions as much as possible and offsetting any that remain.
