• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

Does that mean that you are going to try to put more money into safe routes to schools?

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

My second question is on safe routes to schools because at the present rate with the present investment, it's going to take about 20 years to get a safe route to every school. In many north London boroughs it's actually the biggest cause of congestion at peak hours. It amounts to something like well over 50% of congestion. Now it seems to me that by making it a quite strategic project, you can actually solve your congestion problem at the same time that you're bringing in the charge.

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

I'm hoping that your traffic policing initiative is actually going to help with that as well because the drivers themselves actually said that the two biggest problems for them were congestion and assault. To get to my questions, Darren, Victor and I were absolutely delighted when you reinstated the money cycle network and I do want to thank you for that. However, it still means that the budget is only standing still and I'm very concerned that in future years it will be increased. If you multiplied it by four, you'd still only be paying the amount that you're putting...

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

It has been held up, particularly by the LDA, as a panacea for regeneration in east London. However, there's no real evidence to suggest that it will necessarily deliver the regeneration, as well as having an enormous amount of negative environmental impact. Would it not be better to commission an independent study to actually look at the alternatives to the road river crossings in terms of other issues around accessibility and in terms of other regeneration measures that could be taken as an alternative, so you could then really make an informed decision?

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

You mentioned the old, thorny issue of the road river crossings again. Is spending £5 million the best use of money on this?

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

There should be some good things happening because of the investments. What I'm saying to you is there are still clearly many problems with the issues of convoys and what I'm looking to you for is not for you to always quote back to me the good bits that you are doing but to deal with the problematic challenges that remain.

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

I'm asking to go one stage further than that. If there is all this detail the Assembly might be able to translate it to the people that we're all in touch with because what you do in kilometres travelled or bus rider-ship and all of those things means absolutely nothing in terms of the man in the street. Maybe it's a translation thing and you need to think about how the public are going to understand that you're being so wonderful in the money you're asking for. I don't think at this moment in time London is going to understand...

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

Okay, but the thing is the first stop seems to be the people of London. It may be an issue of programming. There is an assumption that you have to go ahead and do all of this at this speed. All I'm saying to you is can you provide me with a schedule so that I can examine your judgement on it? You may be right, you may be wrong.

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

Can I move on to the performance indicator area where I think TfL is exceptionally weak? It's another area where I think it's very difficult to go to London when they have nothing really to measure it by. Bus rider-ship is fantastic. In a way, ironically, it's probably lucky we didn't get the tube because buses would never have had this manner of investment if you'd had other toys in your box. However, I do think that when you look at performance indicators we need to know that these are performance indicators that London would want. I listen to what...

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 16 January 2002

But you are content for the Assembly to have a transparent examination of what it is that you have vetoed?