Caroline's news

Dave Hill at the Guardian writes about the Mayor's exaggeration of the benefits of the cycle hire sponsorship contract with Barclays, pointing out Caroline Pidgeon's questioning that highlighted the true figures:

"Barclays," proclaimed the Mayor, has "saved Londoners about £50 million" through its sponsorship of cycle hire and superhighways. The key word in that assertion is "about."

As in the past the Mayor appeared at best unclear about how much money Barclays has and eventually will transfer to London's savings account in return for his inviting it to carpet brand its streets.

Caroline Pidgeon is supporting a campaign to protect pedestrian safety along the south circular as it passes through Dulwich.

Last month Transport for London (TfL), posted notices that they planned to remove pedestrian safety railings outside the entrance to Belair Park, West Dulwich train station, and the traffic junctions outside Dulwich College.

Many local residents believe that the removal of these railings at the entrance to a public park well used by local families and a key route for children to walk to Dulwich College and nursery schools would have put at risk pedestrian safety.

This week Cllr Lewis Robinson presented to Caroline a petition signed by 100 local residents who support keeping the railings. Caroilne will now be presenting the petition to the Mayor and the Chair of Transport for London.

The Dulwich Safer Routes to School campaign have also written in support of the campaign to keep the railings.

Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group and deputy chair of the Police and Crime Committee, commenting on the sudden departure of both the Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive of the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, said:

“It is shocking that two public servants with such vast experience should be departing so quickly from the Met when the Deputy Mayor for Policing is so clearly not up to speed with the key policing issues facing the capital.

After questioning from Caroline Pidgeon - on a topic she has raised before - the Mayor has agreed that passengers will be able to use the Greenwich to Docklands cable car at no extra charge if other means of transport are disrupted.

Caroline said:
"It is only right that the long established principle of tickets being used on alternative forms of transport should be upheld this summer if there is major disruption.

With 16 deaths on the capital’s roads last year and injuries also on the rise, where is London going wrong on cyclist safety? What more needs to be done to make Londoners safer on their bikes? And what could the capital learn from cities with good cycling records?

The London Assembly Transport Committee has recently launched an investigation aimed at drawing together issues around cycling in the capital, assessing how effectively improvements are being delivered, and identifying further solutions.