• Question by: Brian Coleman
• Meeting date: 27 July 2000

I think the Mayor has hit the nail on the head. This Car Free Day nonsense is the ultimate in gesture politics and some of us are not into gesture politics and actually want long term solutions to London's problems. And does the Mayor, I'm sure he won't agree with me, feel there is a certain hypocrisy in promoting anti-Car Free Day and then shedding crocodile tears over lost jobs in the car industry at Dagenham?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 27 July 2000

Car Free Day is not just about closing roads it's about encouraging people, if they have to travel at all, to choose other more environmentally friendly means of travel, it's not particularly about closing roads. There are a number of measures which even in the short time available the Mayor could take or could encourage to be taken to provide alternative means of travel. For instance, he may be aware that Connex South Central published a timetable in May, twenty per cent of trains in that timetable have not actually run since January of this year. It would be very...

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 27 July 2000

Chair, I agree with the priority to be given to next year, but if the Mayor is successful in supporting and publicising Car Free Day this year and large numbers of people who do have to go into London to work on that Friday do take him at his word and leave their car at home, would he agree with me that it will be a disaster because they will never again wish to use public transport if it remains as it usually is on a Friday morning and Friday evening?

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 27 July 2000

There are concerns about the link with the Science Park and that's merely going to generate more journeys to work by car to the Science Park.

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 27 July 2000

Do you still agree with the notion that you spelt out quite a lot during the election campaign that more road building merely generates more traffic? That's certainly been the concern of Croydon Friends of the Earth with regard to this particular project. And do you not think that any delay in funding might actually give a welcome opportunity for a re-think on the viability of the whole project?

• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 27 July 2000

Further on that, I guess one of the reasons why the expenditure on the relief road is so front-loaded is that it's ready to go. Indeed, it's been ready to go for twenty years and that's why there is a tremendous sense of frustration I think in the locality that a change of governance is giving us a situation where the road is under question again. And I hope that you understand that in many ways that will make people in Coulsdon feel that having a Greater London Authority is not a net benefit to them. I very much hope...

• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 27 July 2000

I'm very grateful for your interest in this subject, but in some ways the answer you've just given me now seems a little less clear than some of the comments you've made earlier in the meeting in that you said you hoped it wouldn't slip by more than one year. Is there still, then, a question mark over whether this project can be delivered?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 27 July 2000

I know that you've made it clear that as a result of this settlement that some of your plans for transport in London have had to be put on hold for the time being. Now given that you've said today, in fact, and you've certainly said to me when we had a question session on 24 May, that it would be inconceivable to press ahead with a congestion charge until such time as transport improvements have taken place. Isn't it time to say you are going to defer the congestion charge at least until you can catch up with expenditure...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 27 July 2000

I think you have made it fairly clear that you have basically been stuffed by Gordon Brown, particularly with the Jubilee Line bill that's come your way. Should Londoners feel disappointed that your continuing feud with the Chancellor seems to be one of the things getting in the way of, perhaps, a better settlement?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 27 July 2000

I understand that point, but I'm sure we'd sympathise and support any attempts to make sure that if there is shoddy workmanship or anything of that kind that proper legal redress is sought. Coming back to your underlying point, Ken, does it really come down to this: that to a greater or lesser degree London's transport funding plans have been thrown into disarray as a result of Government cock up? That's the reality of it.