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

Hope you’re keeping well during lockdown.

It has been a very busy month for Southwark Cyclists with a lot of our focus on campaigning for Southwark Council to reallocate road space so that people can physically distance while ensuring streets are safe as we emerge out of the crisis.

Streets for Distancing

We are asking Southwark Council to reallocate road space so that people can safely physically distance. We want our council to:

• Create safe cycle routes so key workers can commute.
• Filter streets to reduce cut through traffic giving people space to exercise.
• Widen pavements to allow people to do their essential shopping.

The Council is expected to announce their transport response plan soon. Our asks are especially important as lockdown restrictions are lifted and many people will be avoiding public transportation. We need to ensure our streets are safe and welcoming for people cycling and on foot, if not we risk gridlocked traffic that will make the roads unsafe for all as well as increase air pollution.

Do you want to take action?

• Contact your MP, London Assembly Members and councillors, we need action from all levels of government.
• Tell us which streets could most benefit from interventions.
• Spread the word, including on Twitter. If you’d like to help us campaign on these issues, do get in touch.

You can also find out more about our campaign to see how you can help.

We will be discussing all of this work at our next meeting, on the evening of Wednesday, 13 May. It will be held over Zoom, and if you’d like to attend, contact us at Southwark@lcc.org.uk

Community Infrastructure Levy

Southwark Council has £6m available to fund community projects, including public realm improvements that will enable safer and easier cycling across the borough. We are bidding for projects that will improve cycling. Do you have an idea for a project, or do you want to support one of ours? The deadline is 31 May, so see how you can improve provisions for cycling in your ward.

Cycleway 4

The council has published reports about the Cycleway 4 Lower Road extension and the Rotherhithe Cycleway and both have overwhelming support with 70% and 78% strongly supporting respectively. Thanks to the hard work our volunteers put in handing out leaflets to passing cyclists and promoting the consultations. Read our blog.

Short Rides for the Lockdown

We’ve added more short rides that you can do by yourself or with a member of your household, bringing the number of rides up to 8. The latest ride will take you from Burgess Park to Vauxhall Bridge. The rides start in different locations around Southwark so you can find one close to you.

Dunwich Dynamo

We have taken the decision that we will not be running our transport from this year’s Dunwich Dynamo. We’re due to pay deposits to our contractors about now, and as a volunteer organisation we can’t afford to take on that financial risk.

If you’ve bought a ticket, we’ll be in touch soon to offer you a refund. We’ll also ask you to consider donating the cost of your ticket to the London Cycling Campaign. Please check our Dunwich Dynamo page for the full announcement.

Thanks for reading and stay safe,

Jakub