Lewisham Council has applied for £2.9 million in funding from TfL to put emergency Covid-19 transport measures in place.  

The council confirmed the figures to the local democracy service on Monday (June 22) after Transport for London awarded it just £20,683 last week, the lowest amount on the list of 24 boroughs awarded cash so far.  

The Government gave TfL £45 million for councils to spend on emergency transport measures in the wake of Covid-19 that will help social distancing, and encourage cycling and walking as lockdown eases. 

Councils have been bidding since – the latest round of funding put Lambeth at the top with £2.6 million and Lewisham at the bottom. 

As of last week nearly half the funding from the Mayor of London’s Streetplace plans was allocated.  

The TfL money awarded last week will pay for a temporary cycleway in the Lewisham section of Cycleway 4 in Deptford, which aims to create a continuous segregated cycle route between Tower Bridge and Greenwich. 

The council set out emergency proposals in May, which it estimated would cost £460,000. 

But now it seems its plans are much bigger, with bids worth nearly £3 million - how successful they are will be revealed in the next few weeks.

See related: South Row barriers removed in Blackheath

See related: Lewisham Council sets out emergency coronavirus travel plan

Lewisham’s emergency measures include widening pavements in Deptford High Street, suspending parking on one side of Luxmore Gardens, suspending parking bays in Coulgate Street, Sangley Road, Darthmouth Road, Staplehurst Road, Hither Green Lane, suspending loading bays in Foxberry Road, and removing all footway parking in Wells Park Road.   

The council plans to introduce modal filters – temporary barriers – in some streets to create “quieter and safer residential streets for walking and cycling”. 

The council also plans to create more space for pedestrians and cyclists along key routes, which include the A21/A2209/A2210 corridor, including Deptford Church Street, Brookmill Road, Lewisham High Street, along with Bromley Road, the Lewisham Road corridor, Belmont Hill, Lee Terrace corridor, Brockley Rise, Brockley Road, Shardeloes Road corridor, Perry Hill corridor, Southend Lane, Downham Way corridor, Lee Road, Burnt Ash Hill, Baring Road corridor, and Ladywell Road corridor.   

The council is also planning to bring in school streets, which will be closed to traffic during drop-off and pick-up times.