Commenting on the news that the DLR will allow bikes on board off-peak trains for a six-month trial starting in July, Liberal Democrat London Assembly leader Caroline Pidgeon said:
"There has never been a convincing case for a blanket bike ban throughout the day on the DLR. This trial is both welcome as well as long overdue.”
Read the full story here at the Evening Standard.
The Mayor of London has confirmed that no funding at all has been set aside to develop the proposal of extending the Bakerloo Line through Southwark and Lewisham and towards Hayes in Bromley. This is despite the Mayor’s previous suggested claims that its development was a confirmed “deal”.
Commenting on the Mayor’s reply to a recent written question Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group said:
Caroline recently visited Downham fire station to give her support to the local campaign by local residents and Liberal Democrats to save the fire station.
The fire station is situated in the south of Lewisham and serves people living in Bromley as well as Lewisham.
The campaign to save the fire station has already generated a petition signed by more than 4500 people.
After years of rejecting the idea, bicycles may finally be allowed on the DLR in a trial scheme.
The off-peak trial was mentioned in papers outlining the Mayor’s vision for cycling. Such a trial is a significant development as for a number of years Boris Johnson has rejected the idea put forward by Caroline Pidgeon and other London Assembly Members.
Caroline Pidgeon recently visited Lewisham's successful credit union in Sydenham to find out more about the valuable work they do in helping people with their personal finances.
The London Assembly today urged Mayor Boris Johnson to halt his plans to dilute police Safer Neighbourhood Teams and recklessly close police front counters across London.
The Assembly's motion calls on the Mayor to retain the existing neighbourhood policing model of a dedicated sergeant, supported by two Constables and three Police Community Support Officers, allocated to each ward in London.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, who seconded the motion, said:
“Londoners value their local police stations and the local, recognisable police teams dedicated to serving their ward. Shutting up cop shops to public access and destroying the local policing model risks setting policing back more than a decade and separating the police from their communities.”
The Mayor's plans to close 12 fire stations, which is more than one in ten of London's fire stations, have been strongly opposed by Liberal Democrats across London.
A petition to the Mayor against the closure of Downham fire station in south Lewisham has already gathered more than 4,300 signatures.
The petition, which has been organised by Lewisham Liberal Democrat councillors, was presented to Assembly Members Caroline Pidgeon and Stephen Knight by Councillors Chris Maines, Julia Fletcher and local campaigner Janet Hurst. The Lib Dem team have now presented this to the Mayor through the Fire Authority.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the Mayor’s response today to her questions about the future of Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) across London, where he failed to recognise that there would be a reduction in dedicated police officers for each safer neighbourhood team, said:
“The Mayor should come clean with Londoners and admit that he is decimating the current and successful model for safer neighbourhood teams.
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.
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Caroline joined London campaigners Robin Meltzer, Chris Smith and Lewisham Leader Cllr Chris Maines campaigning with Janet Hurst, the Lib Dems' fantastic candidate for the Whitefoot by-election on Thursday 11th October.