Transport for London has agreed to carry out a major survey of transport needs on the Rotherhithe peninsula after a long-running campaign by local residents, supported by local Liberal Democrat campaigners.
Passengers have complained for years about long waits, overcrowding and journeys being terminated before their final destination to ‘improve frequency’. Their concerns have been backed by local Liberal Democrats on the council and at City Hall.
Caroline Pidgeon, transport spokesperson for the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the concentration of flight paths from London City Airport that are starting today, said:
“The changes that are starting today will mean residents who were hardly overflown at all by planes from London City Airport a few years ago now face living under a concentrated flight path.
As the Congestion Charge approaches its thirteenth anniversary, Caroline Pidgeon has published a report setting out a number of proposals to improve its effectiveness in both tackling congestion and also the serious problem of air pollution affecting the capital.
Due partly to London’s growing population, congestion on London’s roads has crept up in recent years, following a significant fall in the early years after the introduction of the Congestion Charge.
Dave Hill writes in the Guardian on present and past proposals to pedestrianise Oxford Street - pointing out Caroline Pidgeon's advocacy of it, and the support from Lib Dem mayoral candidates back to Simon Hughes in 2004.
Writing for the Left Foot Forward website, Caroline Pidgeon sets out her policy on London transport fares:
It is for this reason that I think some honesty is needed about fares, especially as within a few years TfL will be facing the permanent loss of £700m per year in state subsidy.
Freezing all fares over many years might sound incredibly attractive, but it is ultimately an uncosted policy. No one knows what it will really cost, as no one knows what inflation will be in three or four years time.
The Mayor’s obsession with the New Routemaster is forcing Transport for London to purchase more of the expensive buses for the sole reason of keeping the production line running at Wrightbus, it has been revealed.
Transport for London’s Finance and Policy Committee is set to agree to purchase 30 more New Routemaster buses so as to “enable Wrightbus to maintain the operation of one of the two current production lines”, confirming that there is no market for the New Routemaster buses outside of London.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on Transport for London’s withdrawal of controversial plans to close Caledonian Road tube station for eight months to replace the two lifts, said:
As a National Audit Office report highlights the uncertainty over the value for the public money being poured into the Garden Bridge, and George Osborne's bypassing of normal procedure, Caroline Pidgeon commented:
“It is incredible that, while the real benefits of the garden bridge are hard to quantify, George Osborne didn’t hesitate to instruct both the Department for Transport and the Mayor of London to pour taxpayers’ money into the scheme.”
Caroline Pidgeon AM joined local Lib Dem Councillors Gail Engbert, Martin Newton and Vic Ross, Assembly Candidate Dawn Barnes and other Lib Dem campaigners in Muswell Hill on Saturday 9th January. The team were talking to local residents about issues with the council and promoting the London Lib Dems' campaign for half price fares before half seven.
Wednesday 9th December saw Caroline Pidgeon AM go to Tolworth in Kingston to meet with Transport for London officers and local councillor Thay Thayalan, along with former councillors Vicki Harris and Rolson Davies, to discuss serious concerns about the state of the A3 in the area.
The team walked along Hook Rise North and Hook Rise South and looked at the state of the road surface, serious problems with vibration from traffic and plans to resurface the road with improved materials to reduce noise and vibrations.