Merton could be set to benefit from a multi million pound pot created to improve cycling facilities and transform the borough into a "mini Holland".

Eight London boroughs have been shortlisted for part of a £100m cycling improvement programme run by the Mayor of London.

Up to four boroughs will be selected.

The council has already pledged to create more segregated cycle facilities, encourage more people to cycle, bridge cycle ways across railways, rivers and major roads, provide better cycle storage, free cycle training and maintain cycle paths as part of its initial bid and will now receive £25,000 to submit its final application which will place Wimbledon at its centre.

Councillor Andrew Judge, cabinet member for environmental sustainability and regeneration said: "We are one hundred per cent focused on being one of the final selected boroughs.

"A multi-million pound investment in cycling will be of huge benefit to Merton and will help us not only make our road network cycle-safe, but will also go a long way to encouraging many people, who wouldn’t normally get on a bike, to do just that."

The successful boroughs will be announced early next year.

Just last month it was revealed Merton had one of the worst safety records for cyclists on heavy goods vehicles routes, prompting the council to sign up to a charter to the London Cycling Campaign’s Safer Lorries, Safer Cycling Campaign.

Merton was one of just three London councils to score zero out of five on a survey carried out by the London Cycling Campaign (LCC) on lorry safety and cycling.

The criticism came just a week after thousands of professional and amateur cyclists pedal through the streets of Wimbledon as part of the two-day Ride London cycling festival.

The festival is expected to return to the streets of Merton next summer.

 

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