Transport articles

Is this the most dangerous junction in London?

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.

29 January 2012 - 5:35pm

Helping traders on London Road

Caroline joined Sutton's Deputy Leader Cllr Ruth Dombey with local campaigner Roger Roberts to meet traders on London Road to discuss issues with short stay parking on the red route.

The bays by the shops are split between loading ones and 20 minutes parking. Many customers receive parking fines for parking in the wrong part by mistake and in fact local traders and residents would like to see all of the bays as joint loading and short term parking so that it is simple and clear for everyone.

Caroline has taken up these matters with Transport for London with a series of questions:

29 January 2012 - 5:28pm

Carshalton Ponds success

At long last, after work with local Lib Dem Councillors in Carshalton and Tom Brake MP, Transport for London has started work to replace the railings around Carshalton Ponds. Caroline saw the problems first hand when she visited Carshalton and looked at a number of transport issues last summer.

Initially Transport for London were refusing to put any temporary bus stops in place whilst the works were taking place, but have since agreed and installed temporary stops to help local people continue to use buses whilst these major works take place.

29 January 2012 - 5:20pm

Time for honesty over Jubilee line fiasco

As news emerges that TfL has had to pay £25m to the company that owns Canary Wharf in compensation for the major delays to the Jubilee line upgrade, Caroline Pidgeon commented:

"Users of the Jubilee line have faced years of misery as the upgrade programme over-ran. To learn now that millions of pounds has been shelled out to Canary Wharf Group, while passengers have not been compensated, adds insult to injury.

"It is time the Mayor and TfL were honest with Londoners over the real cost of this long-standing fiasco. We are entitled to know the details of every penny that has been spent."

You can read full coverage in the Evening Standard, the Docklands & East London Advertiser and the Wharf website.

28 January 2012 - 10:25pm

TfL must not drag their feet over Bermondsey danger junction

Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group Leader, working alongside local MP Simon Hughes, is urging the Mayor to ensure that vital improvements are completed to the junction of Abbey Street and Tower Bridge Road within just a few months

After receiving a reply to a recent question (see below) Caroline Pidgeon has now written to the Mayor urging immediate action is taken and seeking assurances from Boris Johnson that the improvements will not be delayed by Transport for London (TfL) until after the Olympic Games.

Caroline Pidgeon said:
“TfL has a long record of dragging its feet when it comes to improving junctions for pedestrians and cyclists.

"It is vital that this does not take place with this junction. Some very basic safety improvements must be completed to this junction within just a few months – at the very latest. There can be no excuses for TfL delaying much needed safety improvements due to the Olympics.”

25 January 2012 - 3:43pm

Exchanging Places to raise cycling safety awareness

Caroline visited an "Exchanging Places" event outside Tate Modern, organised by the Metropolitan Police's Cycle Task Force to raise awareness of cycle safety. These events allow people to sit in the driver's seat of a HGV or bus to get a better understanding of what the driver can and can't see, especially in regards to cyclists on the nearside and directly in front of the vehicle.

You can read more information from the Met here.

20 January 2012 - 9:45pm

Three simple policies for fairer fares

This article originally appeared at Liberal Democrat Voice.

Last week Brian Paddick and I launched a fairer fares package ahead of this year’s London Mayoral and Assembly elections.

Boris Johnson has been Mayor of London since 2008. In just four years he has increased the cheapest bus fare from 90p to £1.35 – and he had planned to raise fares even further until the Coalition Government stepped in and helped limit the rise. As well as bus fares, the cost of travelling on the Tube, the Docklands Light Railway, the Croydon Tramlink and the London Overground have all soared under Mr Johnson’s mayoralty.

Of course there is the argument that investment in public transport has to be paid for by someone, and surely passengers have to pay their fair share? There is of course an element of truth in that. Yet accepting that there is still a need for investment to continue in the tube network, does that let Mayor Johnson off the hook? Of course not. There are realistic alternatives to his fare policies.

20 January 2012 - 9:34pm

Cyclists facing feast or famine in search of hire bikes

Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group has exposed key failings in the way the London bike hire scheme is performing.

The failings, which could be holding back the success of the scheme, include:

  • A widespread failure in the allocation of the bikes across the docking stations, making it difficult for people to either hire a bike, or return a bike at the end of a ride. Figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats show that in November 2011 there was on average 27 docking stations in London that had no bikes available for hire for between 6 to 8 hours each day. At the same time there were 31 docking stations that had no spare spaces for people to dock their bikes for between 3 to 6 hours each day.
  • Internal Transport for London reports also obtained by the Liberal Democrats on the London Assembly have highlighted other problems with the scheme, which include:
20 January 2012 - 9:31pm

TfL agree to review London Road safety

A much needed review of the contraflow bus lane on London Road near Elephant and Castle will soon be taking place following action taken by local MP Simon Hughes, local councillors and Caroline Pidgeon, the leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group.

Following numerous complaints by local residents about safety issues a meeting was held at City Hall where local councillors, Caroline Pidgeon and Simon Hughes set out a number of specific concerns to Transport for London engineers about how the contraflow bus lane operates.

15 January 2012 - 7:45pm

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