Travelling by bicycle and foot to become easier in Lewisham

New street designs to make travelling easier for cyclists and pedestrians in Lewisham will go into place from Monday June 15.

Councillor McGeevor, Cabinet member for Environment and Transport said: “At the start of 2020, nobody would have thought that Lewisham’s streets would ever be empty, but the impact of COVID-19 has led to fewer vehicular journeys and many people walking and cycling for local journeys. Vehicles are starting to return to our streets, but we are determined to provide a safe environment for those walking and cycling trips and to change our travel habits, starting with measures to make walking and cycling more appealing to everyone.

“Informed by local people, including the stakeholder groups, Lewisham Pedestrians and Lewisham Cyclists, these initiatives are consistent with years of thought into how to create a sustainable transformation of our streets. Now we are ready to roll out our first measures, and are planning more for the future.  We want to see how effective they are in creating much needed safe space for pedestrians and cyclists for social distancing and to help everyone get around as lockdown restrictions are eased.

“In a borough with high levels of obesity, ten minutes of walking or cycling twice a day would make a huge contribution to good health, reducing the risk of diabetes and heart disease, both of which are risk factors for COVID-19. It would also help keep our air quality higher, which has happened during the lockdown.”