London Mayor Sadiq Khan is to introduce a host of measures to tackle the city’s road congestion.
The mayor’s plans include faster repairs to London’s roads; lobbying government for greater powers to manage the city’s roadworks; a review of 200 traffic signals’ timings to reduce delays and the use of cameras at pedestrian crossings to cut the time traffic is held at red lights.
The mayor also aims to give buses greater priority, improve information for road users via using social media and smart technology, and cut the cost of public transport.
The plans will run alongside other more long-term strategic approaches being developed as part of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy, due to be published in spring 2017.
Khan said cutting congestion was vital to London’s future prosperity.
He said: “We need to be much smarter in how we use our roads and tackle the causes of congestion head-on.
"Today I’m setting out practical and immediate steps we can take to reduce disruption, including better prioritising buses on our streets, better information for road users, and substantial improvements in how roadworks are coordinated."
Natalie Chapman, FTA head of policy for London said: “FTA strongly welcomes the mayor’s focus on managing congestion, and hopes that this approach will produce benefits for Londoners.
“The capital needs more than 360,000 tonnes of goods moved on its roads every day - construction materials to build new homes, food and drink to restaurants, clothes to shops and of course the waste to be taken away - so, it's in everyone’s interests if these goods can get where they need to be efficiently.”
Simon Moore, CBI director for London & South, said businesses will welcome the measures but warned that “in the longer term, bolder solutions will be required to increase our deteriorating road capacity”.
Jack Semple, RHA director of policy, said: "It sounds good. London, and central London in particular, have faced a significant worsening of severe congestion and if these measures recognise that essential vehicles such as lorries and buses have to move about the city more quickly, that is a good thing because previous measures over many years have resulted in slowing traffic.
He added: "There is a great deal to be done. Scrapping the London Lorry Control Scheme would help as far as goods movement is concerned. I was recently at a freight Forum meeting in London at which one of the boroughs called for more lorries to be used to deliver, rather than vans, as a way of cutting congestion."
