London-wide + Barking and Dagenham stories
River Thames is a great opportunity for transport
23 December 2011 - 8:55pm — Administrator
The River Thames is a forgotten highway, a tube line effectively, across the centre of London and yet under-resourced in terms of transport.
In January, the London Assembly Transport Committee is looking into river transport services - so Caroline and other Committee members spent a chilly morning in early December out and about on the river with Thames Clippers from Putney to Erith, looking at the challenges and opportunities to really expand river transport services for Londoners.
347 pedestrian crossings unfit for blind and partially sighted Londoners
9 December 2011 - 9:23pm — AdministratorThe huge number of pedestrian crossings in London which have no facilities for blind and partially sighted people is “a total disgrace “ says Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group.
No grounds for complacency over transport crime
3 June 2011 - 5:58pm — AdministratorCaroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the Mayor welcoming the latest crime figures for London’s transport network, said:
“The Mayor should not be complacent with these latest figures. Across the whole of London’s transport network there has been no uniform fall in crime – indeed in some areas levels have increased, and in some cases by a significant degree.
Mayor continues to mislead on bus crime figures
2 June 2011 - 9:30pm — AdministratorThe Mayorwatch website reports on Boris Johnson's misleading claims in his election literature that bus crime has fallen by 30% across London during his term in office. In fact, the detailed statistics show that the local picture is patchy, with bus crime actually increasing in many areas.
Caroline told Mayorwatch:
Just three months ago the chairman of the UK Statistics Authority warned Boris Johnson that the way he was using the bus crime data could ‘be damaging to public trust in the statistics’.
Sadly the Mayor has totally ignored this warning and is up to his old tricks of using misleading figures. It is simply wrong to suggest that bus crime is falling across the whole of London, when in fact in more than one third of boroughs it is increasing – and in some boroughs significantly.
Even where there has been some fall in the figures there should be no grounds for complacency about the level of crime on London’s buses. Bus crime is a problem everywhere, and in far too many places it is a growing problem.
You can read the full article here.
You can also read local coverage in the Barking and Dagenham Post, in the East London Advertiser (Tower Hamlers), the Wimbledon Guardian and at the Wimbledon SW19 website.
Making London's roads safer for cyclists
30 May 2011 - 3:39pm — Administrator
Caroline Pidgeon is continuing to support action to tackle the high number of accidents and fatalities that face cyclists on London's roads. London faces an especially serious problem with accidents involving collisions between lorries and cyclists at junctions.
A recent question asked by Caroline to the Mayor revealed that in 2009 six cyclists were killed on London's roads in accidents involving a Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV), and with a further two cyclists killed in accidents involving a refuse lorry and a cement mixer. In 2010 there were two cyclists killed in accidents involving vehicles and two further two fatal collisions including a skip lorry and a cement truck.
Caroline has already given her full support to the campaign by the London Cycling Campaign (LCC) for better training for lorry drivers and recently received the petition that had already gathered more than 10,000 signatures. Read more information about the campaign here.
Liverpool St commuters overcharged £1.6m on Oyster in 2010
19 March 2011 - 8:55pm — AdministratorThe East London Advertiser and the Essex Enquirer have articles about the £1.6m in Oyster card overcharges for Liverpool Street commuters in 2010, as revealed in the Mayor's answer to a question from Caroline Pidgeon.
Read the Advertiser's full article here, and the Essex Enquirer's article here.
Barking and Dagenham members visit City Hall
7 August 2010 - 4:35pm — Administrator
Caroline was delighted to take several members from Barking and Dagenham on a tour around City Hall. Caroline showed the group the Chamber, London’s Living Room at the top of City Hall and the wonderful aerial photograph of London on the lower ground floor.
“It is always lovely to chat with Londoners about the work we do holding the Mayor to account and showing them around City Hall” commented Caroline.
Caroline backs Felicia Taiwo
2 July 2010 - 7:49pm — Administrator
On Saturday 26th June, Caroline joined Lib Dem candidate Felicia Taiwo in the Goresbrook ward in Barking. The team knocked on doors talking to local residents about issues from the state of the economy to the need for a strong representative for the area.
“Given that every other councillor in Barking is Labour, local residents clearly felt they need a strong local Champion from their neighbourhood to stand up for Goresbrook. Felicia Taiwo lives locally and is a really energetic person. I hope local residents will back Felicia on Thursday 8th July.”
Photo: Caroline joined Felicia Taiwo and the local Lib Dem team in Goresbrook
Assembly team explores noise impact of City Airport
19 June 2010 - 8:52pm — Administrator
On Thursday 10 June Caroline joined other Assembly Members on a visit to meet residents who live near City Airport to hear their concerns about noise and pollution. The members then went and visited City Airport to talk to their Chief Executive and team about their plans and ways they work with the community.
"It was interesting to see around City Airport and to talk to local people about the impact it has on their lives. It is clear that all noise from airplanes using different airports needs to be mapped together in one place so that we can really understand the noise impact of London's airports on different parts of the capital," commented Caroline Pidgeon.
Crossrail is vital but needs to learn lessons
24 February 2010 - 9:15pm — AdministratorThe London Assembly Transport Committee has launched a new report, questioning the sums Londoners are paying for the Crossrail project, and criticising the way compulsory purchases of businesses and homes have been handled.
In the report, 'Light at the end of the tunnel', the Committee recognises the value of the £16bn rail link project, which will bring an extra 10% capacity on London’s overcrowded rail and Tube network, thousands of new jobs and a massive boost to the national economy.
However, it questions the fairness of Londoners contributing the majority of the funding, when 8 of the 37 stations are outside Greater London, and the project is expected to generate £22bn for central government over the next ten years. It also points out Crossrail's poor handling of displaced businesses and residents whose premises are compulsory purchased to make way for construction work, especially in Soho.
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