Mayor’s new £100m scheme could transform cycling in Barking and Dagenham

Cycling could be set for a transformation in Barking and Dagenham (Image: Archant)

The Mayor of London is encouraging Barking and Dagenham, along with all 19 outer boroughs, to apply for his scheme and become a “mini-Holland” with the aim of making them as cycle-friendly as their Dutch equivalents

The scheme aims to redesign the town centre for bike riders, create a good cycling commuter route from the borough to central London and create cycle “superhubs” at railway stations where large numbers of bikes can be parked securely.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “This will go beyond anything seen in the UK before.

“It could amount to a complete transport makeover of the successful boroughs — benefiting everybody in them, not just cyclists — and we expect councils all over London will see the huge potential to make significant improvements using this funding.”

Only four boroughs will ultimately be chosen for the “substantial investment” which the Mayor’s office claims will concentrate spending on a relatively small area for a “genuinely transformational impact”.

If chosen, the borough could also see new cycle and pedestrian bridges built across major roads, railways and waterways, a network of cycle routes radiating out from the town centre and the redesign of “problem” junctions for cyclists.

“We are looking for the boroughs to tell us how they will do these things,” said Mr Johnson.

“We are looking for radicalism, imagination, and political commitment to genuinely substantial change. Boroughs shouldn’t worry if they haven’t done much for cycling before. It is the future we are interested in, not the past.”

Candidate boroughs who are unsuccessful in a bid may get funding under different programmes for interesting aspects of their proposals.