Cash-Strapped TfL To Divert Oxford Street Money To CS9
Cycle superhighway through Chiswick getting funds from ditched pedestrianisation
Transport for London (TfL) have confirmed that funds that would have been used to pedestrianise Oxford Street are to be diverted to other projects including Cycle Superhighway 9 (CS9).
The transport company have released a business plan this week which shows how they are dealing with the consequences of a falling revenue base which is expected to result in a reduction of income of over £2bn over the next five years.
This has required the delay of a number of projects including the upgrade of the deep level tube lines including the Piccadilly line which will mean an even longer wait for a permanent stop at Turnham Green. In addition above inflation fare rises are expected from 2021.
The proposed pedestrianisation of the western end of Oxford Street was going to cost £43 million but that money will now be diverted to other cycle superhighway projects including CS9 which would run from Brentford to Hammersmith as well as similar schemes in Greenwich and Hackney. These are all part of TfL’s Healthy Streets programme which aims to make London a more attractive place to walk, cycle and use public transport, and reduce the dominance of motorised transport.
There had been speculation that, with TfL suffering from falling income due to decreased usage of public transport and the delay in Crossrail, projects such as CS9, which is budgeted to cost £70 million, would have been scrapped.
The business plan recently published by TfL does not specifically commit to the scheme, which is currently being redesigned based on information collected during the consultation, but it does say that the intention is to expand the network of segregated cycleways.
A TfL spokesman said, “Following Westminster City Council’s sudden, unexpected and unilateral decision to abandon our joint plans to transform Oxford Street and its district, we have now re-allocated funding which was allocated to the scheme to help accelerate a number of schemes across London designed to create safer, healthier and less polluted streets. These include new high-quality cycle routes in Greenwich, Hackney and Hounslow.”
The Conservative run Council say that the majority of residents were against the scheme to make Oxford Street traffic-free and effectively blocked Mayor Sadiq Khan’s plan earlier this year. The Mayor was hoping that this flagship policy would be implemented at the same time as the opening of the Elizabeth line which would have had a station nearby.
Although 64% of the 14,377 responses to a consultation on the scheme were in favour, the Council said that the results showed that local people were against. They have made an alternative proposal which would reduce the number of buses and consider a ban on taxis and cars at certain times of the day. TfL have declined a Freedom of Information request from this site to release data on the post code breakdown of responses to the consultation on CS9.
December 12, 2018