Dear , I hope you are doing well. In this week’s Friday Post we have: Local Group Forum notesIt was lovely to see so many of you yesterday. We heard from Will Norman and had a chance to put some questions to him. We also heard from Suami and Katy. You can read the notes here.
Sadiq, climate and transport in 2021 webinarPlease all register, share, invite councillors and officers… The link is here. Friday 2 July 11.30-1230 As part of London Climate Action Week 2021, LCC will be running a webinar on what action the Mayor needs to take this year and over the next three to put us on a firm footing to achieve his aim to make London zero carbon by 2030. What should be Sadiq’s policy priorities? Who does he need onboard? What targets should he set or revisit? Following LCC’s groundbreaking #ClimateSafeStreets report, a panel of experts dive deep into Sadiq’s roadmap for London. With keynote by Becca Massey-Smith (IPPR) and a panel of transport and environment experts. Bishopsgate rulingAs many of you will have heard at the Local Group Forum this week with Will Norman, or via the news and social media, the court ruling on the case brought by the taxi industry (LTDA & UTAG) against TfL over its Bishopsgate scheme and indeed Streetspace guidance in general has been overturned. The original case had argued that TfL had not considered taxis as a form of public transport or considered the needs of disabled people who need taxis sufficiently.
We’re yet to fully assess what the new ruling fully means, but it should give councils that were getting worried over their own Streeetspace schemes, and indeed TfL, some more impetus to move forward on schemes again. Our view is that more engagement and co-design with disabled people and all vulnerable road users is indeed vital, but the scheme and guidance itself represented a progressive and sensible approach and that there is a real urgency in improving road conditions and designs for disabled people that allowing taxis through bus gates does not help largely with.
For a scheme only 150m long, with relatively minor diversions for taxis to access Liverpool Street Station etc., allowing taxis in to the scheme would have given benefits to the small number of disabled people who both need and use taxis but risks negatively impacting the far greater number of disabled people who take the bus, walk, wheel etc. One future option to look at for these issues is a modified Blue Badge scheme that enables anyone carrying one, in any vehicle they’re in, to pass through ANPR camera filters. -- Hope you enjoy the (rainy) weekend Naira |
