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London-wide + Lewisham stories

Is this the most dangerous junction in London?

29 January 2012 - 5:35pm — Administrator

Caroline Pidgeon joined local Liberal Democrats including Lewisham and Greenwich Candidate John Russell and Leader Cllr Chris Maines out and about in Lewisham on Friday 27th January. The team were collecting signatures at the dangerous Courthill Road and Lewisham Way junction. Pedestrians literally take their lives into their own hands as they attempt to cross the roads at this junction with traffic in all directions.

“It is absolutely unacceptable that TfL seem to be putting traffic flow over pedestrian safety. I witnessed someone on crutches balancing in the middle of a road with no island trying to get across whilst cars sped past, and parents with buggies struggling to cross this junction. The Mayor and TfL must take action now” commented Caroline.

Tiger's Head junction work to start this year

28 January 2012 - 10:16pm — Administrator

The Catford Central blog reports that TfL will start work this year on improvements to the Tiger's Head junction - and highlights Caroline's questions to the Mayor that prompted TfL to finally take action.

Read the full article here.

Blackheath Bonfire Night passengers should check for overcharging

4 January 2012 - 9:31pm — Administrator

The South London Press reports on the overcharging suffered by many passengers who travelled from Blackheath station after the fireworks display on 5th November - when station staff taped over the card readers at the station.

Caroline commented:
"Many would be unaware they had been overcharged and, for those who were, the onus was on them to collect the overcharged amount.

"It beggars belief Southeastern merely taped over the Oyster readers leading to so many people being overcharged on their Oyster cards."

You can read the South London Press article here.

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.

Catford residents win battle for safety at the Tiger's Head junction

17 October 2011 - 8:36pm — Administrator

Campaigners are celebrating after Transport for London (TfL) finally agreed to make improvements to a dangerous road junction in Catford.

For years the local Residents' Association, Lib Dem councillors and Lib Dem London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon have been calling for better pedestrian crossing facilities at the junction of Bromley Road and Whitefoot Lane, the former site of the Tiger's Head. There have been numerous accidents and 'near misses' at the junction.

Caroline Pidgeon the chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee said, "After six years of false promises from both Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson, it is wonderful that much-needed pedestrian improvements will finally be made to this dangerous junction.”

Surrey Canal Road Station - the campaign goes on!

4 August 2011 - 8:20pm — Administrator

With the final East London Line (ELL extension) coming under budget, Caroline Pidgeon has called for the cancelled station at Surrey Canal to be reinstated.

A recent Transport for London report has revealed that "phase two" work on the line is expected to come in more than £4 million under budget.

The new section of the line from Surrey Quays will run through Peckham to Clapham Junction from late 2012. It will connect to the main section of the line which already runs from north London, through Southwark, Lewisham and onto Croydon.

How can Thames Water create so much havoc for so many people?

2 August 2011 - 9:28pm — Administrator

Thames Water bosses have been severely criticised by Caroline Pidgeon following a water burst that paralysed rail travel across a large swathe of the South-East on 1st August.

An estimated 80,000 pasengers faced hours of chaos and delays after a Thames Water pipe triggered a landslide that blocked a key commuter route in and out of Victoria.

Caroline has now written to Thames Water asking them to introduce some form of compensation for the thousands of passengers that faced what many people have described as nightmare journeys.

Assembly demands answers over passengers' Southeastern ordeal

1 July 2011 - 4:57pm — Administrator

The London Assembly’s Transport Committee, led by Caroline Pidgeon has written to Southeastern trains seeking an explanation for the severe delays yesterday evening, and how passengers – some of whom left the train and walked along the tracks to escape the sweltering conditions – will be compensated.

A broken down train in Dartford caused significant delays to Southeastern services during the evening rush hour, and left passengers on one train stuck just outside Bexleyheath for almost two hours on the hottest day of the year.

Greenwich Council lets down pedestrians and cyclists with yet more delays

10 June 2011 - 8:44pm — Administrator

The full reopening of Greenwich foot tunnel has been delayed once again, with users facing night time closures and no lifts throughout the Summer until September. At the same time work on the Woolwich foot tunnel, which has been completely closed since last year, is not set to be finished until August.

Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, discovered this information buried away on Greenwich Council’s website. The explanation for the six-month delay to the Greenwich foot tunnel is put down on the website to “additional works and problems with materials used in the repairs.” At present, no information at all has been provided by Greenwich Council about why the works at Woolwich foot tunnel are so far behind schedule.

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.