Appendix D GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY London Assembly 19 November 2003 Report No: 5 Subject: Written Answers to Mayor’s Question Time Report of: Director Of Secretariat 1972 / 2003 - Duppas Hill crossing Jenny Jones Does the Mayor acknowledge the potential community severance, social deprivation and discrimination issues affecting Waddon estate residents as a result of TfL's ongoing decision not to provide surface-level pedestrian crossings on Duppas Hill Road, Croydon? Is he concerned that many pedestrians avoid subways whenever possible, regard them as no-go areas after dark, and that in particular women and older people can find them very intimidating? In view of this, can the Mayor ask TfL to re-examine how a surface-level pedestrian crossing could be provided in the vicinity of the existing subway, and to consult local residents for their views on the existing subway and the possible alternatives? You will know that removal of community severance and social exclusion are high on my agenda. Indeed my Transport Strategy has initiated a London wide programme to replace subways and footbridges with surface road crossings where it is practical to do so. The alternatives though also have to be safe and the circumstances at Duppas Hill Road, whatever the shortcomings of the existing subway, where heavy traffic flows on merging slip roads, and a bend, present significant hazards in their own right. However, bearing in mind the nearby infants, junior and senior schools and probable pedestrian demand to cross the A232 at this point, I have asked TfL to examine the feasibility of a surface crossing in the vicinity. In doing so it will liaise with Croydon Council on pertinent local issues. Peter Hendy at Surface Transport will relay the outcome direct to you shortly. 1973 / 2003 - Statement made in the October edition of The Londoner Andrew Pelling Amazingly, the October edition of The Londoner states few people are crazy enough to drive into central London during 1 Appendix D business hours on a weekday just to go shopping. Please justify this statement. It seems that a very negative attitude is being taken towards our retailers in central London when your Londoner newspaper takes such a negative attitude towards them. One aim of The Londoner is to encourage participation in current debates and consultation. The statement highlighted in your question was made by the journalist Christian Wolmar who was expressing his opinion. I am working very closely with the retail sector to ensure that central London’s position as a pleasant and economically viable place to locate and do business is maintained and promoted. 1974 / 2003 - New Year's Eve 2003 Eric Ollerenshaw How much GLA money has been designated for the New Year's Eve celebrations? £200,000 1975 / 2003 - Congestion Charge Angie Bray Will the Mayor guarantee that, if he is re-elected and he expands the congestion charge zone westwards, every single resident will get a 90 per cent discount on the congestion charge? Yes. 1976 / 2003 - Congestion Charge Zone Angie Bray Can the Mayor categorically say that not one Police Officer was used in the recent consultation with motorists in and around Kensington and Chelsea regarding the possible expansion of the congestion charge zone? If he cannot, can he please tell me how many officers were used, at what cost and the reason for their use. I believe you are referring to TfL’s surveys of traffic patterns undertaken as part of their ongoing technical feasibility work into a possible western extension of the charging zone. These surveys were carried out at 18 sites during the Spring and Autumn of this year. They involved a roadside survey for which TfL followed best practice procedures set out by the DfT with due regard to health and safety. It is a legal requirement for all such roadside surveys to be controlled by the police. Only police officers willing to volunteer for overtime duty were used. Two police officers were involved at any one time, with two shifts 2 Appendix D daily, one in the morning and a second in the afternoon. The daily cost per site was £1,000 and the total cost was £18,000. This is paid for by TfL. 1977 / 2003 - Renewable Energy Equipment Darren Johnson Oral answer What are you doing to kick start the manufacture of renewable energy equipment in London? 1978 / 2003 - Know what you're getting into campaign Darren Johnson Will the Mayor listen to the concerns of the Fawcett Society and adapt the "Know what you're getting into" publicity campaign to make the safety implications around mini-cabs clearer to women, given that your current campaign does not clearly elucidate that the licensing of both drivers and vehicles will not be completed for some considerable time? Can you give estimated time frames for the completion of phase 2 (drivers) and phase 3 (vehicles)? The ‘Know What You’re Getting Into’ campaign was specifically designed to highlight the dangers of illegal taxi-touts. It is these touts that are responsible for a significant proportion of assaults by strangers on women. The first phase of licensing the legitimate private hire trade – licensing operators - was completed in summer 2002 and has been very successful with licensed operators now controlling the work of some 40,000 cars and drivers. Licensed operators are required to keep records of every driver, and every job they undertake. While it is important to also complete the licensing of drivers and vehicles, members of the public should feel safe if they have pre-booked their journey with a licensed mini-cab firm. Driver licensing started in June this year and will take three years to complete. Vehicle licensing will start early in the New Year and will take one year to complete. 1979 / 2003 - TfL Safer Routes to School and 20 Miles Per Hour Zones projects Andrew Pelling How much money has been spent on introducing bus lanes and how much money has been spent on the Safer Routes to School and 20 Miles Per Hour Zones projects by TfL since the creation of that organisation in 2000? Figures on the cost of introducing new and improved bus lanes in London, on the Transport for London Road Network and borough roads 3 Appendix D (via TfL funded London Bus Priority Network and London Bus Initiative programmes) are as follows: 2000/01 - £5.2M 2001/02 - £5.8M 2002/03 - £10.1M (rise in expenditure due to Congestion Charging complimentary measures) 2003/04 - £6.8M (forecast) These figures include the cost of complimentary transport measures implemented as part of bus lane schemes, such as parking and loading facilities and improvements for pedestrians and cyclists. Figures on the cost of Safer Routes to School and 20mph zones are available from financial year 2001/02, and are as follows: Safer Routes to School 2001/02 - £3.5M 2002/03 - £6.7M 2003/04 - £6.5M 20mph zones 2001/02 - £1.8M 2002/03 - £3.8M 2003/04 - £3.4M 1980 / 2003 - Outside consultants Eric Ollerenshaw Will the Mayor please state how much money has been spent by a) core GLA; b;) LDA; c) TfL; d) LFEPA on outside consultants since 2000. The accounting arrangements in the different bodies do not provide for all expenditure on consultants to be specifically identified as such and therefore the information requested is not immediately available. I will write to you with details as soon as information is available. 1981 / 2003 - Legal fees Eric Ollerenshaw Will the Mayor please state how much money has been spent by a) core GLA; b) LDA; c) TfL; d) LFEPA on legal fees since 2000. The information requested is being sought and I will write to you with details as soon as information is available. 1982 / 2003 - 434 bus route passenger loadings Andrew Pelling Please could you detail passenger loadings on the new 434 bus 4 Appendix D route, together with any information that is available on passenger loadings from Purley to Caterham and from Purley to Woodcote. Route 434 has been operating since the end of August, so there is very little data yet available. Data from the ticket machines indicated initial usage of about 200 trips a day. This has now increased to around 500 trips a day and London Buses expect usage to continue to increase. Travel patterns on a new route normally take between 6 to 12 months to stabilise. As is usual practice, London Buses will review route 434 once at least 12 months worth of operational data is available. 1983 / 2003 - Private sector input into public transport Andrew Pelling Would you prefer there to be no private sector input into public transport? I am keen to see the most cost effective solution for London’s public transport services. Sometimes this will be the public sector and at others the private sector will be most appropriate. What is key is that these services are run to maximise the benefit for London. 1984 / 2003 - Sustainable transport infrastructure Andrew Pelling What support can TfL give to promoting a sustainable transport infrastructure in line with the South Wandle Regeneration Strategy? TfL’s general transport improvements, particularly to the buses, will assist Soutrh Wandle. SWELTRAC (a partnership of boroughs in south and west London) has in 2003/4 received £300,000 funding from TfL through the BSP process to implement access improvements to industrial estates in the South Wandle area. Estates that will benefit from funding include Ullswater (in Croydon), Merton (in Merton), Kimpton (in Sutton) and Wimbledon Stadium (in Wandsworth). 1985 / 2003 - The Londoner Newspaper Andrew Pelling What is the total annualised cost of issuing the Londoner including all staff overheads? How many requests have there been in response to the offer to translate the Londoner into languages other than English? What has been the cost of these translations? The direct cost of producing and distributing eleven editions of The Londoner in the current year is estimated to be £3.475m.