Liberal Democrat London Mayoral candidate Caroline Pidgeon has launched a campaign calling for all HGVs and construction vehicles to be banned from central London at peak hours.
The measure is aimed at improving road safety, particularly for cyclists, and reducing freight traffic on London's roads.
Caroline is also calling on everyone working in the construction industry to adopt standards including direct vision lorry cabs, and the confidential reporting of bad practice.
The ban will also help tackle the issue of air pollution and air quality in London, which is thought leads to around at least 10,000 early deaths in the capital every year.
Caroline said:
“Anyone who cycles at rush hour knows how congested our roads can get. However safely they cycle, during the busiest times cyclists often find themselves fighting for space with HGVs and construction vehicles and feeling scared for their safety. Despite some of TfL’s positive initiatives in recent years more must be done.
“As Mayor I will ban all heavy freight and construction traffic in central London at peak hours to help reduce congestion and improve safety for cyclists. Banning HGVs during rush hours, when all the figures show they are of most danger to cyclists, would make roads far safer for all.
“To aid deliveries to businesses my strategy would include greater use of the consolidation centres as were used during the 2012 London Olympics, and much more use of the River Thames for transporting freight. We would also encourage the use of greener vehicles and cargo bikes.
“Using my plan we can secure a safer environment for all road users while still allowing freight traffic to access central London at other times of the day.
"London is a great city, but the polluted air we breathe blights people’s lives. For our health, and the health of our children, the hard truth is we can’t let the growth in traffic go unchecked. My plan to ban HGVs at peak times for our most congested roads will start to tackle this problem.”