Write – and vote – for a liveable Croydon

It’s time to vote again!  Well, it will be in a couple of weeks – 3rd May to be exact.

The act of voting is obviously important in itself – casting our ballot to elect the people who will represent us for the next four years on Croydon Council.  But, for the next couple of weeks, there’s a pool of people who all want your vote on 3rd May.  That’s a powerful position, as electors – able to tell those candidates what’s important to us, why we might/might not vote for them, and what we want to ask them to commit to doing if they are elected.

To that end, we’re writing to our party leaders in Croydon to ask them to commit to making our borough more ‘liveable’.  What do we mean by that?  In short, we want a borough – and, indeed, a city – where we can all walk and cycle happily and safely.

Liveable London

The Mayor of London has set up a ‘liveable neighbourhoods’ fund to support boroughs in developing and delivering schemes that can achieve this.  So we’re asking parties to commit to bidding for something for our borough that will help deliver it for Croydon.

We’ve done this.  We’ve written – as Croydon Cyclists – to the leaders of the Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green parties in Croydon.  But we’d like lots more people to write too – to get the message across! And, as it turns out, you can write to these four men (and they are all men…) very, very easily and quickly.  All you need to do, if you agree with this campaign, is to click on this link.

The campaign is being run by the London Cycling Campaign and Living Streets, and is London-wide.  So party leaders  – potential council leaders – in all London boroughs will hear about the campaign and be asked to make this commitment.

This is why we need as many people as possible to click on the link and spend the few minutes it takes to send a letter – make our voices as loud as possible!

Have a read of the letter we’ve sent (below), which is modified from the draft version which you can send as well.  If you agree, tell your local party leaders – and mention it to candidates when they come knocking on your door asking for your vote!

Our letter

Croydon Cyclists are asking for a more liveable Croydon

On behalf of Croydon Cyclists – part of the London Cycling Campaign – I’m writing to you ahead of the council elections in May to ask for your support for a ‘liveable Croydon’.

Our borough, like many in London, is suffering from illegal levels of air pollution, rising congestion and excessive traffic in residential areas – which all contribute to building an inactive and unhealthy population, and growing isolation in our communities.

On cycling in particular, we’ve heard too many promises and seen too little action.  Despite committed and knowledgeable officers who produce well-intentioned and potentially impactful policies, Croydon has been ill-served by politicians who seem unwilling to make real changes to help more people to choose cycling as a mode of transport into, out of and around our borough.

This is why Croydon Cyclists are backing the London Cycling Campaign and Living Streets in calling for politicians to focus on delivering a city more geared to the quality of life of its citizens – a liveable London. By creating places where everyone can walk and cycle safely and happily – where motor vehicles don’t dominate our public spaces – you, as our elected representatives, can make it easier for people to choose to leave the car at home, bringing our borough to life.

To help you do this, Transport for London and the Mayor have introduced the liveable neighbourhood programme. All boroughs can bid for funding up to £10 million, to create areas where it’s enjoyable and safe for everyone to walk and cycle locally, where there are relaxing places outside where residents can chat, and where children can safely roam and walk or cycle to school.

In the run up to the election, we want you to show that you will be part of a positive movement to make our borough more liveable for everyone by committing that, if elected, you will submit a high-quality and safe* liveable neighbourhood bid, demonstrating your ambition to:

  • Reduce harmful levels of air pollution we are exposed to
  • Increase safety and  number of people walking and cycling everyday journeys
  • Cut congestion and rat-running  through residential streets·
  • Break down barriers that leave so many in our community isolated behind their front doors

It’s time to take a big, bold step towards transforming our streets into places where families, friends and communities are put first; where motor traffic, pollution and congestion don’t dominate. It’s time to deliver somewhere that everyone can live well, breathe easy, walk and cycle safely and happily.

Please help us create a liveable Croydon – please email fran@lcc.org.uk if you will make that pledge and commit yourself to submitting a high-quality and safe bid for a liveable Croydon.

The party leaders

And this is who you’ll be writing to:

  • Tony Newman (Labour)
  • Tim Pollard (Conservative)
  • Peter Ladanyi (Liberal Democrat)
  • Peter Underwood (Green)

Thanks very much for taking the time – and don’t forget to vote on 3rd May!