FAQs

We are providing new temporary cycle lanes in those areas where our analysis has shown there is the greatest potential for more people to cycle. We are providing temporary measures to help people to safely social distance only where pavements are narrow and there is the potential for lots of pedestrians to gather - for example, at busy high streets or transport interchanges. It will take a little time after the introduction of each new temporary scheme for the numbers of people cycling and walking to increase.  

Of course we do. We want to emphasise that providing new walking and cycling facilities is intended to help everyone who can do so to walk and cycle more often. We know and understand that there will be some people who cannot do so, however these changes will offer benefits to them also. If we did not provide some people with the means to walk and cycle more often, there would be greater pressure on our road and public transport networks.  This would actively disadvantage everyone who needs a vehicle to travel because there would be greater congestion across London. It would also disadvantage people who rely on public transport, because there would be greater demand for buses and trains. 

Where changes are identified as being required, yes. Sometimes schemes will need to be adapted once they are in place, and introducing them as experiments better allows us to do that. Feedback from local people and other stakeholders and our ongoing monitoring help us to understand where changes might be needed, and what changes are required. 

We know that people who walk, cycle or use public transport shop more often than those who drive, and they spend up to 40 per cent more in high streets and town centres than those who drive there. For businesses who rely on making or taking deliveries, it is important that traffic is as free-flowing as possible. Introducing more walking and cycling facilities will help encourage everyone who can do so to walk or cycle, as an alternative to using the car. If we were not to help people to avoid private transport as much as possible, there would be an unmanageable increase in congestion across London. This would be highly disruptive, including to the emergency services and businesses who rely on deliveries, and would increase pollution, which contributes to thousands of premature deaths.  

We temporarily remove parking and loading bays only where absolutely required to provide more room for people to safely social distance, or to help people to cycle more easily or safely. Wherever possible, we introduce new temporary parking bays on side roads. As much as we possibly can, we plan the schemes so that some provision for loading or unloading is available as close as possible to local businesses. At the same time, it simply isn’t possible for us to provide parking or loading bays in close vicinity to every business in London.  

Yes. We are engaging with organisations representing people with specific accessibility requirements to understand their views on the changes delivered so far. Over the past year we have hosted a series of working groups with representatives from older and disabled people's organisations, including Transport for All, Disability Rights UK, Inclusion London, SCOPE and Royal National Institute of Blind People.