Here’s our newsletter for June. If you want it to your inbox, then sign up here.

Southwark Council has just announced their initial measures to enable safe walking and cycling as lockdown is lifted. We take a look at the details below. We have also put together a list of priority measures we want the council to take and they need your support. Our monthly meeting is next Wednesday and we’ll be talking about getting your streets filtered.

Southwark’s Streetspace Plans

Southwark Council has just announced their initial measures as part of their Covid-19 transport response. This includes road closures in Walworth, Dulwich, upgrades to Cycle Superhighway 7, motor vehicle restrictions in front of 4 schools, and more. We are taking a look at the announcement in detail and will share this on our website and Twitter, so keep an eye out.

We hope to start seeing changes within the next week. We’re also looking forward to the next set of interventions, but we need your help. It’s just a few clicks to send a letter to Peter John, the leader of Southwark Council, to tell him we need more action. If you have a bit more time, write a personalised letter to your councillors and council leaders. We have a guide to help you.

We expect councillors will be getting letters from people telling them they don’t want these changes, so we want to show support and tell them we want to see more.

We have also published this Tweet thread about why urgent action is so important. If you’re on Twitter, tag your councillors.

Put Southwark on the Map

We have identified priority measures Southwark Council needs to implement to enable people to travel in and through the borough whilst physical distancing is necessary. With reduced public transport capacity there will be a much greater reliance on active travel. By allowing most people to walk and cycle easily and safely, space on public transportation will be left for those that need it.

This takes into account current Council projects, public transport corridors, ease of implementation and TfL’s Temporary Strategic Cycling Analysis, which will ensure support and funding from TfL. This is just the first step of what is needed, so this list is far from complete. We have shared these with the council and will be receiving a response.

See the full list here

We need your support for these changes to happen. If you click through the list you can give them a thumbs up on Southwark’s Commonplace map (you can also add your own suggestions). Even better, email your councillors and tell them about the proposals that would make cycling safer for you.

Pembroke House Dr Bike

Volunteers at Pembroke House in Walworth have been delivering food and vital supplies to self-isolating residents. Our mechanics have been helping volunteers keep their bicycles running by providing basic maintenance. It’s great to support such a wonderful project helping so many people.

We’re also working with London Cycling Campaign to see how we can restart our regular Dr Bike sessions, along with other activities. We’ll let you know as soon as we do.

Filter Your Street

Our monthly meeting is next Wednesday, 10 June. This month Helen from Clean Air for Dulwich will be speaking about campaigning to filter their streets from motor traffic. The council is currently looking at this scheme as part of their Covid-19 transport response.

Do you want a low traffic neighbourhood in your area? Learn how to engage with your councillors and council officers, and build support amongst your neighbours.

The discussion starts at 7:30pm and will be held over Zoom. Email us at southwark@lcc.org.uk if you’d like to join. Click here for further info.

Build Back Cleaner Air

We’ve been speaking to the people behind the #BuildBackCleanerAir campaign, funded by Guy’s and St. Thomas’ charity and Global Action Plan. To take part you can share photos of what low-traffic and cleaner air means to you, using the hashtag #BuildBackCleanerAir or email them to team@globalactionplan.org.uk.

That’s it for this month. Thanks for reading,

Jakub