Sadiq Khan sparks fury with London car-free day plan which costs taxpayers £1million

The Mayor of London announced plans to tackle the dangerous levels of pollution in the city will involve a car free day on September 22 with 12.3 miles of road - which equates to the length of 200 football pitches - closed for 12 hours. Roads around Tower Bridge, London Bridge and the City of London for “celebrations”, the Sun Online reports. It means commuters will be forced to either walk, get the Underground, train or ride bikes to their places of work.

The plan will cost £1million - paid for out of the Greater London Authority’s group budget.

This includes £400,000 on shutting the roads, managing traffic, site management and security.

A further £600,000 will be used on health and safety, marketing, and managing the event.

The Tory Party called the Labour politician’s plan an overpriced PR stunt.

Keith Prince, the Conservatives’ transport spokesperson, said: “Londoners will rightly be angry to learn that they are having to pay £1 million just to be banned from driving in their own city. This is nothing less than a slap in the face and heinous waste of money.

“Londoners worried about the quality of our city’s air will question why the Mayor has chosen to splurge a million quid on a silly PR stunt rather than invest in robust measures to improve air quality. This money could have been used to buy a handful of electric buses, helping to clean up the air in some of our city’s most polluted areas.

“Once again the Mayor has demonstrated that he is more interested in indulging in shameless virtue signalling instead of properly getting to grips with the big issues facing London.”

He also took to Twitter to re-iterate his view, sparking more fury towards Mr Khan.

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One social media user said: “And how exactly are the elderly and those with disabilities expected to get around London during this day?”

Another added: “If you were trying to design an idea that would negatively impact the widest range of already-negatively-impacted people while sparing those who aren’t, this is what you’d come up with.”

Another said: “It’s a ridiculous distraction from the fact he is totally incapable of doing the job he is employed to do.”

Another, referring to the Prime Minister’s stint as Mayor of London, said: “Closing roads for a day in London to promote, for example, healthy air and cycling, began in 2012 under Boris Johnson. Nice spin, though.”

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A fourth commenter added: “How about a Khan free day?”

A fifth, referring to the Brexit deadline day, said: “Surely the car-free shut down should be 31 October so we can all celebrate Freedom Day!”

Mr Khan said a large picnic will take place outside Bank station during the day of celebration, which also includes a hedge maze and go-karting around London.

He also wants to fill the streets with arts and crafts while the roads are closed from 7am to 7pm.

A Mayor of London spokesperson said today: “Toxic air pollution is causing a public health crisis and more than 50 per cent of London’s harmful air is caused by vehicles.

“Car Free Day will allow people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to experience traffic-free streets and inspire them to walk and cycle as part of their daily routine.

“Encouraging more Londoners to walk, cycle and use public transport is a key part of Sadiq’s transport strategy to tackle air pollution, get more people active and improve their health.”