Transport for London awarded Southwark Council £1.3 million for emergency measures that will see rat-running cut from neighbourhoods and traffic banned from outside schools.  

The Government gave TfL £45 million for councils to spend on emergency transport measures in the wake of Covid-19 – nearly half the funding has been allocated now. 

The Mayor’s Streetspace plan aims to rapidly transform London’s streets to help facilitate social distancing, cycling, and walking as lockdown eases. 

Southwark received £1,330,500, eighth highest on the list of 24 boroughs who have received funding so far. 

The council’s 18 successful bids include building cycle routes, social distancing space in town centres, implementing low traffic neighbourhoods which stop rat-running by closing off streets to vehicles, and creating school streets.  

TfL granted £127,500 for strategic cycle routes in Southwark Bridge Road and £17,250 for one in Rye Lane.  

The council was awarded more than £200,000 to implement low traffic neighbourhoods in Dulwich Village, Dog Kennel Hill/Champion Hill, Melbourne Grove North, Melbourne Grove South, and Great Suffolk Street/ Southwark Bridge Road.  

Bids for five school streets were granted £17,000 in total- Comber Grove Primary School, Alleyn’s School, Goodrich Primary School, Rye Oak Primary School, and Camelot Primary School will be closed to traffic at pick-up and drop-off times. 

TfL granted £150,000 for social distancing measures for Peckham Rye, Bermondsey Street, and Consort Road, and £750,000 to extend the cycle route from Lower Road to Cycle Superhighway Route 4.  

The bid for Rotherhithe to Peckham cycle route was granted £65,000.  

Councillor Richard Livingstone, cabinet member for environment, transport and the climate emergency, said: “I am glad that the Mayor and his team have recognised the value of the proposals that we have put together so far in our Southwark StreetSpace programme.   

“This will enable us to make necessary changes to our highways to make them safer for walking and cycling as the lockdown eases.  

“With lower levels of public transport use, not making these changes would risk a sizable increase in car travel and the negative impact this has on air quality.” 

The council is also rolling out other ‘experimental travel measures’, which have not received funding. 

In Walworth, identified as a priority area, it is implementing permeable closures – streets closed to motor vehicles but open to pedestrians and cyclists – on Larcom Street, Browning Street, Merrow Street, Amelia Street, Manor Place, Alberta Street, Penton Place, Chapter Road, Cooks Road, Blackwood Street and Walworth Place. 

The council is widening footways on Braganza Street and Carter Street, as well as introducing a bus gate on the latter.