Agenda item

·  Florence Eshalomi, London Assembly Member

·  Ian Wingfield, cabinet member for environment and the public realm

Florence Eshalomi, London Assembly Member, said that she was keen to go out and about and experience the transport and traffic issues residents complained about for herself, and would like to come back to a future meeting of the community council. She went on to outline the important issues the new Mayor of London was addressing and which would be a boost to the people of Southwark:

• Introduction of the hopper fare – to decrease the cost of bus journeys
• Introduction of night tube services on the Jubilee and Northern Lines 
• The Rotherhithe - Canary Wharf crossing
• Measures to improve air quality and pollution levels (including buses)
• Making cycling a more attractive option for people
• Increased focus on pedestrians.

Ian Wingfield, cabinet member for environment and the public realm, said the council’s approach to traffic and transport was guided by the twin aims of accessibility and safety. In the north of the borough, there were many transport developments that impacted on people’s lives, but the council was not the sole master of this domain. TfL was responsible for major roads, while Network Rail for example was responsible for the works around London Bridge. With the changes to Elephant and Castle and the Tower Bridge closure the council had lobbied on behalf of residents, but also had its own plans for encouraging cycling and decreasing air pollution. He encouraged the community council and other groups to also feed into the Mayor’s strategy consultation. He had visited Harper Road with some of the ward councillors and was aware of the problem. Traffic was likely to increase in the future and the council was reviewing the number of heavy goods vehicles using local roads. The recommendations by residents were helpful in that regard. He said he had some sympathy for the calls to declassify Harper Road, which could only happen, however, after the effects on surrounding streets had been assessed. The GLA members were working on helping TfL and the council to liaise more effectively.

Responding to questions from the floor, Florence Eshalomi said that the Silvertown river crossing, which was already agreed, would help lower congestion and pollution in Southwark, especially in Jamaica Road. The river crossings were going to be greener and have cyclist facilities. She went on to say that she was keen to walk with residents and check the traffic lights at Elephant and Castle, and get TfL to act on the complaints, especially where pedestrians did not feel safe. One of TfL’s objectives was to get people out of their cars, however the number of delivery vehicles had gone up substantially. This may be tackled in form of a road charge, and more polluting vehicles should pay more. Keeping pollution in check was another major area for TfL.

Councillor Ian Wingfield said that the new Rotherhithe crossing was a mixed blessing as it might attract more commuters, which is why further crossings downstream were important in order to ease congestion in Southwark. The council was trying to work in a more joined up way with TfL and cited a recent example from Dulwich where changes to the proposed Quietway had been made following input from residents. 

The chair also flagged up that she had had complaints about residents trying to access dial-a-ride services and asked Florence Eshalomi to look into this.