The borough has the third most cyclists in London.
Lambeth is battling to become one of the four outer London boroughs to be awarded £100million from Boris Johnson’s Cycling Budget.
The Mayor of London is working with Transport for London to create a ‘mini-Holland’ in four of the capital’s 33 boroughs.
The strategy hopes to bring to life a ‘tube network’ for cyclists, making streets safer and adding more green spaces that will aim to boost the number of people travelling by bike.
“I want cycling to be normal, a part of everyday life. I want it to be something you feel comfortable doing in your ordinary clothes, something you hardly think about,” said Mr Johnson.
Currently Lambeth has the third most cyclists in London and over the last year has rolled out initiatives to boost the number of cyclists, including innovative ‘bike hangars’ to solve the age-old storage problem in a borough where 60% of residents live in tower blocks.
Lambeth Council are also working closely with Lambeth Cyclists — a campaigning group headed by Charlie Holland.
They are working together to give all lorry drivers on-bike-awareness training to minimise the number of collisions involving cyclists.
Cllr Lib Peck, Lambeth Council Leader said: “Back in 2008, Lambeth was the first borough in London to introduce on-bike cyclist awareness training for our lorry drivers and we are pleased to maintain our position as one of the leading borough for lorry safety.”
News of the council’s plans has not been well received by all residents in Lambeth, some of whom think the surge of cyclists is a nuisance.
Rishli Singh, of Kennington Road, said: “In Lambeth the hoards of cyclist are on the rise which causes great concern.
“Motorists must pay insurance and what is mistakenly called ‘Road Tax’ only to be surrounded by cyclists causing congestion and accidents.”
For more information on the campaign as well as cycling in Lambeth visit www.lambethcyclists.org.uk.
Photo courtesy of juggzy_malone, with thanks
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