In one of his first initiatives to tackle London’s traffic problems, new mayor Boris Johnson has announced plans to rephase traffic lights across the city, in a bid to ease congestion on the capital’s busiest routes.

The plans involve a change to the sequences to allow more cars through on a green light, which would help to keep traffic moving and thus cut down on carbon emissions, as vehicles would spend less time stationary in traffic queues while pumping out polluting emissions.

The change would mean longer waits for pedestrians at red lights, which has attracted criticism from various quarters – in particular Living Streets, formerly the Pedestrians Association – but Mr Johnson promises that pedestrians would still have sufficient time to cross.

Mr Johnson told the London Assembly that he wants “to make sure that traffic flows more smoothly in London” and that this can be achieved “without any prejudice to the rights and needs of pedestrians or vulnerable road-users”.

He also said that contrary to the green credentials of the previous mayoral administration under Ken Livingstone, there was “an appalling legacy of neglect of London’s traffic lights” and that 727 traffic lights do not conform to the guidelines set by the Department for Transport.

But his proposal came under fire from green motoring groups who said it would simply encourage more cars on to London’s streets. He was also criticised for delegating key planning powers to the deputy mayor for government relations, Ian Clements, an unelected official, rather than making the decisions himself. Mr Johnson said that his delegating planning proposals to others did not mean that he had ceded authority but simply that this would enable proposals to be put into motion.

Mr Johnson also said he would continue to try to bring in a new generation of Routemaster buses, but that at this point these plans were still “aspirational”.