Pledges are being made ahead of council elections on Thursday 3 May
Hundreds of Londoners have emailed their borough candidates
The pledges commit to improving streets for cycling and walking
Re-elected or newly elected? Find out about our June 2018 reception for London Councillors
Council leadership candidates are signing up to our safer streets pledge ahead of Thursday’s London local elections.
As Londoners get ready to vote for their councillors on Thursday 3 May 2018, prospective council leaders are signing up to Sustrans ‘Streets for People’ pledge to demonstrate how they intend to improve streets in their borough.
“ We’re delighted that so many prospective council Leaders and Mayors are able to personally endorse the Sustrans Streets for People pledge. ”
What is the Sustrans Streets for People pledge?
The Streets for People Pledge asks council leaders to use their term to:
- Create three neighbourhoods free of through-traffic
- Create at least two schemes that connect the places people need to go to with protected space for cycling on busy roads
- Ensure redesigned streets are easy and safe for people on foot to cross and are truly accessible to all
- Create places people want to be, by enhancing and increasing public and pavement space and introducing seating, shade and shelter
Matt Winfield, London Director for Sustrans, said,
“The hundreds of emails Londoners have sent to their council candidates shows just how seriously we all care about cleaning up air pollution from traffic and making our journeys on foot or cycle safer by creating streets for people.
“Nearly two-thirds of the journeys Londoners make every day are by foot, cycle or public transport, yet our streets are still dominated by motor-traffic. With London’s borough councils controlling 95% of the capital’s streets, we’re delighted that so many prospective council Leaders and Mayors are able to personally endorse the Streets for People pledge.
“The four commitments that make up the Streets for People pledge represent tried and tested things boroughs can deliver with the money they get from Transport for London. They’re based on real life examples from across the city, with real benefits for residents."
What can voters do?
Over the course of the election campaign, hundreds of Londoners have taken part and emailed their local candidates asking them to sign up to the pledge.
Help us to get more pledges - take a minute to email your candidates
Who has signed up to the pledge?
Sustrans has received pledges from 26 prospective leaders and Mayors, representing four political parties and covering 16 of the 32 London boroughs.
This is a list of candidates fully pledging.
| Council | Conservatives | Green Party | Labour Party | Liberal Democrats |
| Camden | Sian Berry | Georgia Gould | ||
| Ealing | Gregory Stafford | Julian Bell | ||
| Greenwich | Greenwich Green Party | |||
| Hackney (Mayor) | Alastair Binnie-Lubbock | Philip Glanville | Pauline Pearce | |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | Stephen Cowan | |||
| Haringey | Gail Engert | |||
| Harrow | Barry Macleod-Cullinane | |||
| Islington | Islington Green Party | |||
| Kingston | Kevin Davis | |||
| Lambeth | Lambeth Green Party | Lib Peck | ||
| Lewisham (Mayor) | John Coughlin | Damien Egan | ||
| Redbridge | Waltham Forest & Redbridge Green Party | |||
| Southwark | Anood Al-Samerai | |||
| Sutton | Tim Crowley | Sutton Green Party | Christopher Woolmer | |
| Tower Hamlets (Mayor) | Dr Anwara Ali MBE | John Biggs | ||
| Waltham Forest | Waltham Forest & Redbridge Green Party | |||
| City of Westminster | Adam Hug |
What have others said?
Sustrans wrote to all current council leaders and opposition or group leaders in all 32 boroughs on the 22 March. Of those that have not committed to the pledge outright or at all, we received the following responses:
| Borough Council | Response |
| Enfield | Cllr Daniel Anderson, Labour, stated "we have demonstrated a clear commitment to healthier and safer streets with our ongoing rollout of, and commitment to, both our Quieter Neighbourhoods and Cycle Enfield programmes." However, they felt they could not "commit to the first pledge to eliminate [through-traffic] fully in any neighbourhood at this time. All the rest of your pledges are deliverable and in line with our plans.” |
| Islington | Response from Cllr Richard Watts, Labour (PDF) |
| Lambeth | Lambeth Lib Dems were "pleased to confirm that our party is strongly committed to delivering liveable streets and a better experience for pedestrians and cyclists. Our manifesto is closely aligned with Sustrans priorities, and we are supporting the My Liveable London campaign." |
| Redbridge | Cllr Paul Canal, Conservatives, expressed support for pledges 2, 3 and 4, but reserved support for 1 pending case by case further assessment. |
| Richmond | Richmond Liberal Democrats: expressed support for points 3 and 4, regarding point 2 they stated: "We would look out for opportunities to do this but it would require more work to establish how many situations meeting these criteria exist in the borough or can be achieved". Regarding point 1 they stated: "It would therefore be disingenuous of us to commit to a specific number of such schemes here and now though we are in no doubt as to its general desirability." |
| Wandsworth | Response from Cllr Ravi Govindia, Conservatives (PDF) |