Islington has a huge number of people travelling within and across it every day whether on the buses or London Underground and Overground, by bike, by car or on foot. I have been working to make the sure my constituents get better, safer and greener transport.
I’m pleased with improvements that have been made to all Tube stations in Islington, such as installation of CCTV and better lighting, and with the investment coming into the constituency for Crossrail, which will see the construction of a new ticket hall at Farringdon. After having met with Transport for London bosses, I’m also glad my constituents will find it easier to use the East London Line when it is incorporated into London Overground and extended all the way to Highbury & Islington station.
We’ve started to see ‘green’ hybrid buses on our streets, after Labour councillors, local residents and I successfully petitioned to see them introduced in Islington. They use 40% less fuel and emit 90% fewer polluting exhaust particles, cut noise levels by a third and reduce CO2 emissions by 38%.
Cycling is environmentally friendly and healthy – it’s also the quickest way to get to Westminster from Islington – and you can do it no matter what shape, size or age you are. I cycle to work virtually every day. I was chair of the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group from June 2005 until July 2008 and I continue to be involved as Vice Chair of the group. We’ve lobbied for better provisions for cyclists across London and the UK, but things could be improved even further by increasing the number of cycle lanes and improving integration with the rail network.
To find out what I, and other members of the cycling group, learned from a recent fact-finding trip to the Netherlands, click here. You can also read an earlier speech I gave to Parliament about how we can make things better for cyclists here.
