Caroline's news

A report from the London Assembly Transport Committee, which is chaired by Caroline, warns that the number of cycling injuries on London’s roads has risen by 50 per cent since 2006 and recommends doubling funding for cycling and targets for the number of journeys made by bike.

Gearing Up calls on the Mayor to respond to falling cycle safety by prioritising ways to encourage more people on to bikes and reduce serious cycling incidents on London’s roads.

The Assembly’s recommendations to the Mayor, Transport for London (TfL) and the Government include:

Speaking to the BBC about the extremely low passenger numbers on the Thames cable car, Caroline Pidgeon said:

"All we're seeing is a publicly funded tourist attraction rather than a serious mode of transport. What the Mayor now needs to do is to incorporate it in the Travelcard network, to make sure people are using it, rather than the handful that are today."

Talking to the local 853 blog, Caroline Pidgeon criticised the lost opportunity to link Lewisham to central London with a cycle superhighway.

“Just one week after the Mayor and TfL were boasting about the new Victoria to Lewisham Superhighway we now discover that the plans have been seriously scaled back," said Caroline.

“The excuses for not linking the Superhighway to Lewisham show a total lack of ambition by Transport for London.

“This foolish decision suggests the Mayor of London is not really serious about introducing Dutch-style cycling infrastructure across London.”

You can read the full story here.

You can also read more at the News Shopper.

A petition with over 700 signatures has been sent to the Mayor of London, urging him to ensure that Richmond Council does not relocate bus stops away from King Street in Twickenham. As Chair of Transport for London, the Mayor of London has the ultimate authority to ensure that the TfL funded proposals are reconsidered.

The petition, which was started by Fulwell and Hampton Councillor Jerry Elloy, highlights the harm that moving the bus stops would have on many bus users.

Commenting on the need to retain the existing bus stops, Cllr Jerry Elloy said:

Transport for London’s junction review proposals for the Waterloo IMAX roundabout and the junction of Abbey Street and Tower Bridge Road do not go far enough to improve cycle and pedestrian safety and will fail to deliver a real step change in the way people travel predicts Caroline Pidgeon AM, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly.

Commenting on the proposals, Caroline said:
“While some of the changes are welcome they ultimately do not offer a real step change in the way that people will travel. For the occasional or nervous cyclist the Transport for London plans do not make cycling across Waterloo Roundabout or along Tower Bridge Road any more appealing.