• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

He did say that a loss of pedestrian time would be unacceptable.

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

I'm glad you gave such a categorical denial of any of the accusations by the Tories because I think their campaign does nothing to help the success of congestion charging for London. However, Derek Turner gave a very robust explanation, much in the same vein as yours, to the Transport Committee yesterday. On the ring road itself - and I have been here with you before in a similar forum so to speak - where you're saving time on the radial routes, the plan is to give the benefit of that extra time to the boundary road to facilitate the...

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

I think we're losing focus here a bit, because let's remember that there are seven million pedestrians here in London that these measures are designed to help. And those seven million people actually do vote as well, which I'm sure the Mayor is well aware of. I'm very concerned that you get the message that this is for pedestrians and that this is actually helping the business of London. It will also help the tourist trade. Now, something you mentioned briefly was the whole idea about the lane rental. How are you going to roll that out across London, because...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

I have to say that the way you have responded to this is basically about as transparent as your new City Hall building.

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

I would be absolutely delighted to do so, but on this occasion I am concerned about the interests of the motorists and would you just at least say to me at businesses who have to get around, that you are feeling relatively concerned about the effect you're going to be having on the ability of people to get around London in their normal day, doing their normal business.

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

You talk about being a bit player. I don't consider the fact that you have control over the key traffic lights at Piccadilly Circus, or along Regent Street, High Holborn, Shaftesbury Avenue and all of those changes, it says here, "The effect on the network is going to be severe". I don't call that being a bit player. I call that being central to the gridlock in Central London.

• Question by: Lord Duvall of Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich OBE
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

There's a wider problem here, Mr Mayor. I think I believe the answer you've given. Obfuscation only exists when this story has been around for some months. Now, a question was raised by Toby Harris to you, we get Derek Turner coming to yesterday's meeting, you spend two weeks of your time doing this work, the real issue is about how TfL operates. It operates actually in secrecy and I'll give you an example. The wider issues are how they work. The A2 - not the whole A2, the A2 bridge - is a contract that's due to finish this...

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

But don't you recognise that a large part of the problem here is a lack of information? People turn up at Trafalgar Square, they suddenly find everything's changed and there's no real explanation until three weeks later there's an expose in the Evening Standard. And no one seems to be in charge of it. And it does point to you because not only are you the Mayor, you're the Chair of Transport for London. What are you going to do about that?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

Well, I think I've been fairly generous to you so far this morning, but all good things come to an end. I think there is a problem here. There's a real credibility problem. Your answer was lengthy and technically probably very correct, but as far as Londoners are concerned, there are a lot of things happening on our road network, traffic lights, junctions, road works, and no one seems to be properly in control. I put it this way, that there seem to be a bunch of mad scientists, if you like, within Transport for London who've got lots of...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 19 June 2002

But you're not answering my question. I asked you whether you could provide me with the details of the extra time added to a journey from Kings Cross to Parliament. Could TfL do that for me? And I'm not talking about the traffic light changes that are going to be changed again. I'm actually talking about the ones that you yourself describe as permanent. And while we're on the subject of those permanent changes, I notice that several of them, in very, very key areas of Central London, are actually described by your own document as causing severe saturation, a...