Greens commit to Safe Streets for Southwark

Green Party councillors in Southwark will prioritise funding public transport as well as cycling and walking infrastructure if elected in the local elections next month.

As voters prepare to go to the ballot box on 5 May,

Southwark has said residents should not have to put up with the area’s lack of active travel facilities and needs an ambitious commitment to Safe Streets.

Southwark Green Party candidate Catherine Dawkins said each elected Green Party councillor would do everything they could to improve public transport, walking and cycling in the borough to help people through the cost of living crisis, improve air quality and safety by reducing the number of cars on the roads, adding:

“People in Southwark are being hit hard by a dramatic increase in the cost of living, and rising fuel costs are only adding to these difficulties. We need a credible alternative to people using their cars, yet Southwark is not doing enough to make this happen.

“Green Party councillors will do everything in their power to develop a sustainable transport plan for Southwark which would include high quality cycling and walking infrastructure.

“The erratic and piecemeal approach of Labour in Southwark means that many are put off taking up more active travel options to access local services and shops. Not only is this bad for our local environment, but also for our individual health and makes our streets less safe.

“A public transport revolution is possible and, if elected, Greens will do everything they can to turn that into a reality for Southwark.” 

Green Party candidate Catherine Dawkins gets around Southwark by bike and public transport

On the broader questions of what makes streets safe, the Green Party recognises that there are many factors at play and we advocate urgent action in Southwark and beyond to:

• Protect and increase access to green spaces and nature and defend them from encroaching development, as we witness at Burgess Park.
• Create pockets of green space throughout urban areas to promote biodiversity and help people access the physical and mental health benefits of nature.
• Invest money into education, employment and youth services, helping to keep children and young people away from crime and reduce the likelihood of anti-social behaviour.
• End the war on drugs by deprioritising policing on cannabis, allowing resources to be focused on things like organised crime. We would treat problematic drug use as a health issue.
• Integrate police forces more closely with communities by creating new liaison and equality officer positions to improve police relationships in their communities and get more officers on the beat.

For a full list of Green Party candidates standing for election in Southwark, click here.