News | Politics The Conservative mayoral candidate has vowed to review London’s cycle lanes that “cause havoc” if she wins the race to run City Hall. Susan Hall claimed some bike lanes “gridlock” roads in the capital and hold up emergency service vehicles. She said just 2-3 per cent of people were cyclists and infrastructure for them should not be prioritised over motorists. Nearly a quarter of Londoners (24 per cent) reported having cycled in 2022/23, up from 21 per cent in the 12 months previously, according to the most recent figures from Transport for London. Asked if she would be a pro-cycling mayor, Ms Hall told the Standard: “I’m pro any form of transport, but we must remember there's only 2-3 per cent of the population that are cyclists. And we must look at some of these cycle lanes that have been put in. “I'll give you the example of Park Lane. It’s damn ridiculous quite frankly. It was virtue signalling by this mayor [Sadiq Khan] because there's a cycle lane that goes through the park right next door. “The traffic then gets gridlocked. Fumes all over the place.” A two-way cycle lane, which runs along the western edge of Park Lane’s northbound carriageway, is often blamed by motorists and Tory politicians for causing traffic jams. It was made permanent last year. Ms Hall added: “A successful city is a moving city. When you've put some of these cycle lanes in that cause nothing but havoc, when you put cycle lanes in because you're virtue signalling that is unacceptable. “The other thing that nobody seems to bring up, which is so important when we have gridlock streets, is how do we expect our emergency services to get through? Susan Hall takes swipe at
Sadiq Khan on first day of mayor campaign trail Susan Hall launches ‘listening to Londoners’ mayoral campaign Susan Hall launches 'vote for change' mayoral campaign to oust Sadiq Khan Make your next trip to the West End a celebration of
Women in culture “It is very important that ambulances,
fire engines,
police can get through the streets as quickly as possible, as well as the rest of us. “So, I am pro cycling, but equally we must look at everybody else that uses the streets. And this war on the motorists must stop.” Ms Hall officially launched her bid to lead City Hall in a cafe in Uxbridge on Sunday with no press present. She also vowed to scrap the Ulez expansion, axe 20mph speed limits on main roads and “get behind any group of people that wants to get rid of” low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNS) in their area. At her launch was joined by backbench Tory MP Steve Tuckwell, who won a Westminster by-election in the constituency last year with his anti-Ulez campaign. Just days earlier Sadiq Khan had been joined by
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer when he fired the starting gun on his push to be re-elected mayor. Asked why Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had not been at her campaign launch, Ms Hall said: "I'm not an inner
London glitzy politician. “That's not who I am. I'm the sort of person that wants to go out and talk to normal Londoners." MORE ABOUT Have your say...