There was a major announcement today from the London Mayor regarding
cycling and walking after a bit of a build up over the weekend.

Essentially, it is a new programme entailing an investment of around
£500 million over the next decade on cycling which, as the press
release puts it, is "the biggest investment in cycling in London's
history".

Key points in the announcement were:

* Central London bike hire scheme with up to 6,000 bikes

* Around a dozen radial Cycling Corridors for commuters

* Creation of a series of Bike Zones for shoppers and the school run
in Inner and Outer London

* Expansion of the Legible London signage system to help people make
short trips around the capital on foot

* Working with London Boroughs on 200 'Streets of Gold' – urban
makeovers which link key local destinations

"The new programmes are in addition to existing commitments, which
will continue the investment in projects including cycle training,
cycle parking, the greenway programme, and the London Cycle network
Plus, as well as funding for a bigger and better London Freewheel,
the summer mass bike ride for cyclists of all abilities, for at least
60,000 participants this year."

Obviously all this will depend on the elections on 1st May, but it
seems to be an initiative that's been a fair while coming, so doesn't
seem to be electioneering.

Full text in this link:

http://www.london. gov.uk/view_ press_release. jsp?releaseid= 15612

and here's how it was reported over the weekend:

http://www.guardian .co.uk/uk/ 2008/feb/ 09/transport. world1

Regards
Philip Loy