People's Question Time Online

Most Londoners don't own a car, and yet a disproportionate amount of our public space is given over to private motor vehicles.   What steps is the Mayor taking to reallocate space away from the private motor car and towards pedestrians, public transport users and cyclists?

Why is it possible for local councils to put in place Experimental Traffic Orders without monitoring pollution on all affected roads (that is, both baseline and continuing measurements), and without robust, transparent and fit-for-purpose Equality Impact Assessments that fulfil the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 by genuinely finding out from those with protected characteristics (including age, disability, pregnancy and maternity) how they are affected by road closures and by the resulting congestion? 

Whilst I appreciate the motivation for ULEV, is it not more environmentally damaging to scrap an existing car in which resources are already locked up, than buy a new(er) car, which has to consume new resources in its manufacture? 

I have a much admired 'classic' 28 year old Saab 900 combi-coupe, which the DVLA website says will not meet the ULEV standard, even though it has one of the earliest catalytic exhausts. There seems to be no way to test it to prove whether it will meet the target whatever modifications that it might be possible to make to the car. 

Then there is the cost issue. A newer car that meets the ULEV target will undoubtedly cost far more that the value of the old car, which of course will be zero £ in London. Once many Londoners in the same position wake up to the fact that they might be deprived of a car because they cannot afford a replacement, does the Mayor not worry about a backlash?

Then there is the issue of charging. I live just in a flat, so how would I charge an electric car? It will be hard to make enough charging points because parking bays required. Isn't hydrogen a better choice than electric anyway? Is this going to be another short sighted policy like encouraging people to drive diesel cars? 

Once air quality improves with newer cars predominating, would it be so harmful to exempt the few remaining cars like mine and be overall environmentally better by saving resources ? 

I live just inside the proposed boundary of the South Circular and am seriously thinking I will have to move in order to continue with a car I have had for years and which drives with the handling and elegance of a Spitfire - if not the speed ! Affording a newer one is unlikely. 

Why is the Mayor supporting Low Traffic Neighbourhoods including road closures when they are causing gridlock in areas such as Lewisham, Islington, The Oval, Hackney, Waltham Forest, Croydon, etc? There are numerous petitions against them which local councils are ignoring while TfL continues to fund them. These schemes are destroying an already inefficient road network, creating massive extra journey times, more air pollution as traffic congestion builds up,  problems for emergency service vehicles and major problems for social services, local services, the elderly and disabled who rely on vehicles, and many other problems.

What is your strategy for getting passengers back on public transport and out of their cars? What more can be done to make the tubes Covid-safe? Can anything be done to improve ventilation in especially on deep tube carriages? Even before Covid it was unpleasant, unhygienic, claustrophobic, stuffy and anxiety-making to ride on a crush-loaded tube. No-one wants to go back to that. 

Has the mayor or assembly thought that the increase of the congestion charge pricing, the extra days and extended hours are a breach of human rights of people visiting relatives or friends who live in the congestion charging zone? Why do these people have to be penalised for driving to see sick, elderly or infirm relatives or friends? Also, why extend the charge to Sunday's? Sunday is a time that Christians come together in prayer. All Churches in the congestion zone are experiencing a decline in parishoners due to them not being able to drive to their favourite places of worship without having to pay the congestion charge for the privilege of it. The extended congestion charges have had no impact on traffic wahtsoever, so put the charges and extended hours back to the previous and let people from outside the congestion zone see their loved ones. 

Many new temporary dedicated bicycle lanes have been put in place to manage the transportation challenge during the pandemic.  As an avid cyclist who uses my bicycle for transportation, I am very appreciative. My question is, will these changes be made permanent?  Will someone from Cycling UK,  British Cycling and/or any other grass roots London cycling organization be involved to work with the city to assess safety of the current temporary bike lanes and any possible modifications that can be made as these lanes become permanent infrastructure. 

When will residents on either side of Hammersmith Bdirge be able to access their local shops, banks, doctor's sugeries, schools and hospitals via Hammersmith Bridge once again?  Why has it proved to be so difficult to find a solution to this problem. People who would prefer to walk and use public transport are being forced to drive long distances, adding even more to the already high pollution in Putney and Chiswick.  This difficult sitiuation has been going on such a long time and is getting worse by the week.  Can someone please get active and resolve it.

As a current Knowledge of London student, I have been hampered in my studies by the reckless implementation of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods. Many efficient & direct routes I have learned through the city have now been restricted. As a prospective Taxi Driver, I would like to know if there are plans to allow Black Taxis through these so called "traffic filters", as Black Taxis provide an essential service for thousands of Londoners; who have now seen fares increased due to the efficient & direct routes, or as the councillors like to call them, "rat-runs", being taken away. 

I have paid TfL application fees, examination fees and eventually a licence fee. I have spent almost 3 years studying London whilst working full time. I have devoted a large part of my life to acheive the Green Badge, making many sacrifices. For me to then not be abe to utilise the streets of London that I spent many years studying would be unjust. 

What does the Mayor propose to do about this situation that I, and every other Knowledge student and Taxi Driver currently face?

Also, I would like to put forward a proposal that all Knowledge students should be able to have the same priorities as Black Taxis with regards to using Taxi only restrictions. For example the Fulham Low Traffic Neighbourhood currently allows Taxi access. As a Knowledge student I need to be able to learn these roads, but currently I am unable to do so due to being restricted with my current mode of transport. Would there be a way for all knowledge students to register a single vehicle which could be allowed such access for the duration of their studies. I am almost finished on the Knowledge now, but having something like this in place would have been a massive help, and possibly could have sped up my study time. If the Mayor wants to actively decrease the amount of time spent studying the Knowledge, then this would be a good place to start. 

Are you concerned about the significant increase in traffic caused by the new excessive road closures and changes to the use of bus lanes cycling routes? The road closures are forcing drivers down smaller roads, usually safe from high levels of traffic and endangering children and cyclists. There is also a signifcant amount of traffic meaning that cars just sit pumping pollution into the air. The road closures are also seperating familes and friends and cutting off communites e.g. I can no longer shop in my local sainbury's to do the onbe big food shop as road closures have made that journey 20 minutes longer. Now I drive further, ommiting more pollution. I can also no longer collect my elderly relative to do food shops as she lives in the middle of the road closure across the road from my house! It's dividing famillies and damaging the economy.

I don't feel this stratergy has been well thought through.  

Are the Mayor and London Assembly aware of the increasing difficulties faced by disabled people in London? Schemes to promote cycling are often installed to the detriment of disabled people who face difficulties in safely using roads (with many cyclists riding on pavements and ignoring traffic signals), and reduced access to taxis which are more expensive due to longer journey times and increased congestion. Proposals to legalise electric scooters which are already being widely used illegally in the capital will only make matters worse. In addition, many toilets have been closed and benches and seats removed, meaning few places for disabled people to rest while out and about. The Mayor needs to represent ALL Londoners, not just the young and fit.

Are the Mayor and London Assembly aware that the much touted electric vehicles are by no means pollution-free? According to research by Professor Frank Kelly and his team at University College, London, although such vehicles have no exhaust pipes, their necessarily heavy weight, caused by the number and weight of the batteries they use, result in a volume of dangerous PM2.5 particles, arising from the contact of their tyres with the road surface, being spread into the following air space.

                                                                                                             Anthony Paish

What, exactly are you going to do to encourage and promote walking as a viable means of transport? 
We have plenty of investment to improve cycling but pedestrians and wheel chair users are left with broken and uneven paving, with added hazards of raised ironworks and tree roots, unequal kerb heights, sloped crossing points that can be parked across and generally poorly maintained surfaces throughout London!
Although the recent provision of free water dispensers is welcome many more are needed and public toilets even more so! Perhaps, due to current circumstances the self cleaning capsule model could be reinstated.
In addition there are few benches and no shelters to be able to rest and/or take cover from the elements. 
Finally some control over electric scooters to protect pedestrians, especially those with impaired vision, they are a real menace..
It would be wonderful to have London as a real walking city!

When will you restore full day and evening services on the tube and overground? E.g from Stratford between 07.36 and 07.54 there is not now a a single westbound overground train to Clapham/Richmond - creating huge crowding on the 07.54...

When will you abandon the block on over 60 Oyster card before 09.30 - we are perfectly capable of knowing how to protect ourselves!

How many consultants on road planning are women?    The onus for ferrying children, shopping, collecting and delivering objects and people to various locations etc, almost inevitably falls to women - often retired women who are not fit enough to walk and cycle - and yet it would appear that only fit men (including the Mayor) whose one journey is to and from work every day are the people making decisions about transport in cities.       The obsession with removing cars from our roads by closing lanes, even entire streets, and "rat-runs" merely adds to the pollution by creating horrendous traffic jams.    The days when schools, hospitals and shops were within walking distance of homes are long gone and the cost and unreliability of public transport adds to the problem.    Ask the women, Mayor.   And listen!

It's been over 3 years since the completion and revision of the consultation on the removal of the Kings Cross gyratory.  No word has been heard from any of those involved since then.  What is the state of play on this long awaited scheme and when will work star on its execution?

What steps are the Mayor and GLA taking to alleviate the problems created by the closure of Hammersmith Bridge?