Monday, May 26, 2008

Sensible Ideas for London Improvements

Living in an age of Popidol shows or Downing Street e-Petitions, surely it is not beyond our means to set up a website to collect and rank ideas for London improvements? The conventional way is of course to write to one's MP or London Assembly representative, but I envisage a site where one can take ideas, put them up for public view and discussion, and let the more enlightened politicians take these forward.

Here are a couple of mine that occur to me as I write now:
* Change traffic flow on Oxford Street, massive priority to main road, less to feeder roads, would speed up buses. Mostly taxis on the feeders, they can wait!
* Enlarge bus stop cutouts in pavement around Bond Street to lessen buses blocking Oxford St during this narrow section.
* Ban cabs from Oxford St in rush hour – in London they are an alternative to public transport, not to driving (other cars aren't allowed down Oxford St anyway).
* Ban hand-outs of freesheets etc. They should be available if people want them, but don’t have people standing in the middle of rush hour traffic handing them out.
* Driver-less tube trains a la DLR.
* Oystercard on all public trains – including all overland trains
* Standardise recycling policy across capital
* Hourly tubes through the night wherever possible - maintenance is done by shutting down whole lines anyway, so conversely we should get night service!
* Make all public transport free in London (as proven by a study to be cost effective in long term based on saved costs in ticket infrastructure, reduced pollution etc). Start by making buses free.
* New drive to make Oystercards a cashless payment system across the capital (the previous study ended without conclusion, I seem to recall).

I'm sure everyone in London could add to a list, and over time government would have an enormous database of how to fix our glorious city!

Right, the rain seems to have abated, briefly I'm sure. I'm heading out to visit Africa Day in Trafalger Square, the Roman Bath in the Strand, plus perhaps a closer look at the only road in the UK where one legally must drive on the right - Savoy Court!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sam for mayor!