Moves by London Mayor Boris Johnson to rip out the traffic lights at three locations in Islington have been condemned by the Liberal Democrats.
As part of the Mayor’s plans to speed up traffic flows around the city, he has announced the removal of 145 sets of traffic lights across London with more set to follow. The plans are currently out for consultation. The locations in Islington are:
Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group and Deputy Chair of the London Assembly's Transport Committee, commenting on the publication today of July’s inflation rate which is used as the basis for setting fares on London's transport network for the next year, said:
“Although the slight easing in the UK inflation rate for July is welcome I am seriously concerned that the Mayor of London could use this figure to hike up fares on London transport next year.
In an article for the Liberal Democrat Voice website, Caroline Pidgeon warmly welcomes the new London bike hire scheme as a "tremendous idea", while pointing out that Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone are eager to take more credit for it then they deserve:
Despite its launch being associated with quite a number of problems – including a highly complex registration process, and a number of cyclists being overcharged – no one can deny that the scheme is proving incredibly popular. And let’s be realistic, no major scheme ever starts without at least some minor teething problems. Of course I will be chasing hard until these glitches are resolved, and they certainly must be, but the bottom line is that the bike hire scheme is a tremendous idea. Especially if the scheme is expanded it has the potential to help reduce congestion and pollution as well as making it easier for Londoners, visitors and tourists to get around the capital at very little cost. Most significantly it could play a vital role in transforming the status of cycling...
In this video, Caroline reports from Mile End, Islington and Peckham on her findings as part of the London Assembly Transport Committee's investigation into making walking in London safer and more attractive.
Caroline and a team from City Hall went on an afternoon walk in Islington on Tuesday 3rd August with Sustrans officers Carl and Matt. The fact finding walk is part of Caroline’s investigation into making walking easier and safer in London. The report will look at what the Mayor is doing to make walking safer in London and suggest things he can do in the short, medium and longer term to encourage more Londoners to walk around our great capital city.
The walk started at Highbury and Islington station and finished at Finsbury Park station and followed an entire Connect2 project. Connect2 is a UK-wide programme to develop 79 cycling and walking routes by 2013. Funded the Big Lottery Fund, with matching grants from other sources. The walk showed a number of different walking environments which have been redesigned to increase their attractiveness including a “pocket park” and a “DIY Street” on Monsell Road.
Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat Assembly Group and transport spokesperson, commenting on Transport for London’s sudden decision to cancel most weekend closures on the Northern Line during the month of August after their review of required weekend closures, said:
Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Leader and transport spokesperson, commenting on the Mayor’s plans to introduce a one-off £10 fee for Zip Card concessionary travel for children, teenagers and students, said:
”I understand that TfL have to look at cost savings but any change needs to be fair. Given that two fifths of children across London live in poverty TfL should exempt this charge to children and young people who are entitled to free school meals."
The MayorWatch website covers the story here.
The Mayor has declared his intention to make 2011 the ‘year of walking’ and allocated millions of pounds to the cause, but will his proposals see more Londoners making their journeys on foot?
Caroline Pidgeon AM will lead an investigation on behalf of the Assembly’s Transport Committee to assess the effectiveness of current plans to get people walking and look at what more could be done.
Almost a quarter of all journeys in the capital are made on foot – nearly 6 million trips every day – making up nearly a third of the total time Londoners spend travelling. The Mayor’s Transport Strategy states that he wants to see the share of all journeys made on foot increase to 25 per cent by 2031 – an extra million journeys a day.
To help meet this target, the Mayor and Transport for London have allocated over £200 million over the next three years to ‘Better Streets’ - which includes schemes ranging from de-cluttering streets to pedestrianisation - and ‘Better Green and Water Spaces’ to improve access to London’s parks, rivers and canals.
Caroline Pidgeon AM said:
“The Mayor wants 2011 to be the ‘year of walking’ but to encourage more Londoners to make their journeys on foot he will have to carefully tailor his proposals and investment.
Caroline Pidgeon, commenting to the Evening Standard, has sharply criticised the Mayor's plans to drastically reduce ticket office services at Tube stations, costing up to 450 jobs and leaving many stations with ticket office staffing for most of the day.
Caroline said:
The Mayor was elected on a clear commitment to keep ticket offices open. His plans to have many closed for most of the day flies in the face of his election commitment. This is an absolute sham of a consultation. If the Mayor really thinks he is consulting Londoners he obviously needs to look up what the word actually means in the dictionary.
You can read the full story at the Evening Standard here.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the London Assembly Lib Dems, joined senior Lib Dems including Lynne Featherstone MP, Sarah Ludford MEP, and party president Ros Scott, at the Pride London 2010 event on Saturday 3rd July - the UK's largest annual LGBT event.