GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY London Assembly 24 July 2002 Report No: 5 Subject: Questions to the Mayor Report of: Executive Director Of Secretariat 296 / 2002 - Vauxhall Cross Elizabeth Howlett Has the phasing of traffic lights at junctions in Central London been altered from 10 seconds to 6 seconds and if so what was the reason for the change of timing? . 297 / 2002 - Vauxhall Cross Elizabeth Howlett Is the Mayor aware that residents of Wandsworth have to suffer from continual traffic congestion on Battersea Park Road and Nine Elms Lane leading to Vauxhall Cross. Even on a Sunday the traffic jams are as though it’s a Friday evening rush hour. Can the Mayor explain why this should be and what steps are being taken to resolve this? . 298 / 2002 - Vauxhall Cross Elizabeth Howlett It is evident to the residents of Wandsworth that the increased delays on Battersea Park Road, Nine Elms Lane and Wandsworth Road is leading to angry and frustrated drivers who ry to gain some advantage. Can the Mayor tell us what proposals he has to resolve this dangerous and unacceptable situation? . 299 / 2002 - Vauxhall Cross Elizabeth Howlett Is it the case that the traffic signal system at Vauxhall Cross has been set to give the impression that the scheme on Vauxhall Cross can cope with traffic when in fact the traffic is being forced to queue on the roads leading to it? . 300 / 2002 - Vauxhall Cross Elizabeth Howlett Can the Mayor guarantee that the traffic signal timings are set to the optimum to assist the flow of traffic, whilst taking into account the safe passage of pedestrians? . -1- 301 / 2002 - Vauxhall Cross Elizabeth Howlett Can the mayor confirm that the Traffic signal systems on the roads leading to the approaches to Vauxhall, form part of the Dynamic Boundary management system, and have been adjusted as a precursor to the congestion charging scheme. 386 / 2002 - Sustained Economic Policy for South London Andrew Pelling According to figures published recently by the South London Partnership, Croydon has shed more than 2,200 jobs in five years ending June 2001. In the same period, Sutton has also lost 320 jobs in total, whilst Bromley has gained almost 700 jobs and Merton has added more than 500. The figures for all boroughs from Richmond across to Bromley show that Croydon has by far the worst performance in the seven-borough South London group. Croydon has recently emerged in the top most 50 deprived local authority areas. Is it time for a sustained economic policy for South London? . 387 / 2002 - City Hall Etiquette Victor Anderson Who decided to adopt the City Hall Etiquette document, what is its status, and will staff be disciplined for not adhering to it? . 388 / 2002 - New Cross - Comprehensive School Darren Johnson Will you give your support to local parents in New Cross campaigning for a new fully comprehensive school in the area, following Labour's decision to close down Telegraph Hill School? . 389 / 2002 - Pigeons Darren Johnson Have you any plans for culling pigeons in Trafalgar Square? . 392 / 2002 - Heathrow Congestion Charge Andrew Pelling It is impractical to reach Heathrow Airport by public transport in time to allow for check-in procedures for flights taking off around 7am from points in Outer London. Would any congestion charge for Heathrow take account of the need to use non-public transport before this time? At what time in the morning would you consider it appropriate to start the charge operating at Heathrow? . -2- 393 / 2002 - Maintenance of TfL Roads Andrew Pelling I understand that the contracts for maintaining the TfL road network is due to be taken away from the individual borough's that the roads run through and handed over to a number of private contractors on an area basis. Please could you detail the contractor responsible for each London Borough and when their contract begins? Could you also explain why individual Assembly Members were not informed of the changes for their constituencies? . 394 / 2002 - Heathrow - Air Traffic Darren Johnson Given that many of the environmental problems around Heathrow are caused by aviation is there a case for looking into a charging regime for air traffic as well as one for road traffic? 395 / 2002 - Poverty Nicky Gavron Why are there no plans to directly help in reducing poverty in London under your corporate cross cutting priority of leading the equalities agenda in London? .396 / 2002 - Overground Stations Valerie Shawcross Valerie Shawcross Overground Stations I recently visited Nunhead Station, which suffers from many of the problems typical of our over-ground stations in south London. Myself and the Councillors in the area, Alun Hayes and Dominic Thorncroft are asking for: ·Extra security: the station is vulnerable to vandalism and people are subject to attack, partly because of understaffing. We are asking for an extra member of staff during the day and security cover at night. · Train information outside the station so people can find out if there is a train without the hassle of climbing the stairs only to find out there is not a train due. · A good clean up and better facilities in the station. What work are you doing with Railtrack and the train operators to try and secure station improvements, and will you join with me in asking for these specific improvements at Nunhead? .397 / 2002 - Fares John Biggs Will you act to save the Network Railcard in London? .398 / 2002 - Equalities Jennette Arnold What steps are you taking to reduce social exclusion and promote equality of opportunity for elderly people -3- . 399 / 2002 - Crossrail John Biggs How firmly wedded are you to the Central London alignment of Crossrail between Liverpool Street and Paddington? If other options can be shown to reduce the need for subsidy and to achieve comparable transport objectives would you consider them? . 400 / 2002 - TfL Finances Len Duvall Why has TfL decided not to field Jay Walder to appear before the Budget Committee? . 401 / 2002 - Planning John Biggs Should 19 Princelet Street be saved for Londoners? . 402 / 2002 - Case for London John Biggs Will you join the ALG in campaigning for London’s funding? . 403 / 2002 - Taxis John Biggs Where the effect of barring taxis from bus lanes can be shown to impede the flow of traffic, should this be reviewed? . 404 / 2002 - Access to Information Toby Harris Why were members of the Assembly unable to obtain copies of the briefing notes to support the launch of the London Plan on the day prior to it’s launch, when the media were already reporting elements of the plan based on these briefing notes, and the GLA press office was issuing press releases on some aspects of the plan ? . -4- 405 / 2002 - Barnet FC Toby Harris 1. Does the Mayor believe that London football clubs should be supported in staying in their traditional home areas ? 2. What is the Mayor’s view on the decision of the Conservative controlled Barnet Council to refuse to support the redevelopment of Barnet FC on a council owned site within that Borough? . 406 / 2002 - East London Line Valerie Shawcross What deadline have you and TfL’s partners set to put your firm proposals to Government for the East London Line? . 407 / 2002 - Plinth in Trafalgar Square Sally Hamwee What is the Mayor doing to ensure that Londoners and visitors can again enjoy first-class art on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square? . 408 / 2002 - Vauxhall X Valerie Shawcross I recently met with Richard Rogers to discuss his projects in my constituency. What improvements are you and he making to the Vauxhall Cross scheme in response to the comments of cyclists and other stakeholders? . 409 / 2002 - Canada Water planning application (site E) Valerie Shawcross Can the Mayor confirm whether or not representations made by the Canada Water Campaign were taken into account before he issued his informal advice? .410 / 2002 - Transport for London’s consultation procedures Lynne Featherstone Can you outline the precise steps you are taking to ensure Transport for London start to improve their methods of consultation with both the Boroughs and the general public? . 411 / 2002 - Motorcycle Bays Graham Tope What actions can the Mayor take to encourage the provision of additional motorcycle parking bays in central London? . -5- 412 / 2002 - Fire Authority meeting Valerie Shawcross Would the Mayor agree that the Fire Brigade Union’s actions at the full Fire Authority meeting on 20th June were unacceptable and counterproductive to their cause? . 413 / 2002 - L.B of Richmond upon Thames and national “Car Free Day”. Sally Hamwee Does the Mayor know why Richmond upon Thames Council has refused TfL’s offer of funding for the national ‘Car Free Day’ in September? Is he aware of any other Boroughs who have refused this offer of funding? . 414 / 2002 - Orbital traffic increases – congestion charging Valerie Shawcross The Mayor I hope will be aware of the deep and rising concerns of residents in Kennington, Camberwell and Peckham about increased car travel in their local areas. What steps has the Mayor taken to enter into dialogue, and to introduce measures that will reduce the impact of the charge on those just outside the charge boundary? . 415 / 2002 - TfL Communications Graham Tope How does Transport for London communicate with the one million deaf Londoners, particularly when warning of roadworks or other traffic hold ups? . 416 / 2002 - Cross River Tram (the London Tram) Valerie Shawcross What steps have Transport for London taken to work with the Government to locate early parliamentary time to facilitate a quick go-ahead for the cross river tram? . 417 / 2002 - Minicab firms Lynne Featherstone How many minicab firms have now been licensed and can you provide a breakdown by London Borough? .