Boris Watch

An attempt to enhance the accountability of the new London mayoralty

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More On Parliament Square

August 8th, 2008 by Tom

I’ve lately been reading the skyscrapercity.com site, not because I’m a particular fan of skyscrapers but because they have interesting Boris coverage from an angle not normally found elsewhere - the point of view of the city rather than the politics.  They’ve got a big thread going on Parliament Square and, on the whole, aren’t fans.  Some sample quotes:

  • Bad decision Boris.
  • Serious fool
  • I agree this is a bad decision.
  • he is so desperate to save money he is cutting into the muscle and bone
  • Boris is not a city mayor, he’s a suburb mayor.
  • The guy is an absolute muppet
  • It’s crying out for something to be done!
  • He just doesnt get it does he. I think any new prospective Mayor of a City should pass a 1 year course in Urban studies to avoid such utter f*ck ups in future.
Well, that’s fairly much a thumbs down.  There’s an interesting mention of a Euston Road scheme that’s worth looking into.
On a related note, a couple of weeks after the election TfL announced that a major road gyratory in Aldgate was being converted into a more pedestrian friendly area with streets closed off to cars etc., in this case entirely privately financed as part of a development.  Obviously it’s probably too late for Boris to can this, and it doesn’t save anyone any money and there are probably contractural difficulties, but it does go to show that traffic removal and pedestrian (and cyclist) friendliness are two sides of the same coin - you can’t have one without the other.

Dana Skelley, TfL’s Interim Director of Road Network Management, said: ‘The changes we are making to the Aldgate gyratory system have been welcomed by all of the road users we’ve spoken to, particularly cyclists.

‘The scheme will not only improve the accessibility and safety of the road network in the area, but with the creation of the new public space we will be contributing to the overall regeneration of Aldgate.’

Koy Thomson, Chief Executive of the London Cycling Campaign (LCC), said: ‘The Aldgate one-way road system has always been a barrier to safe pedestrian and cycle movement in and out of the City of London.

‘Removing this urban blight will restore this historic area for business and personal use.

In short: you can either be pro-car or pro-cyclist, not both.  Boris will, eventually, have to choose - the current situation of making friendly noises to everyone is a Boris trait that will eventually get him into trouble.

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  • 1 Guano Aug 8, 2008 at 11:56 am

    Page 11 of the Parliament Square Framework for Action document:

    - gyratory increases bus travel times
    - square is intimidating and not conducive to cycling

    And page 10

    - some of London’s highest pedestrian movements by day observed in the study area
    - current bias towards space for vehicles at expense of easy pedestrian movement.

    So that’s three large groups of people inconvenienced by Boris’ decision.

  • 2 Diamond Geezer Visits The Aldgate Gyratory Aug 9, 2008 at 9:36 am

    [...] mentioned TfL’s plans (strongly supported by the London Cycling Campaign) for replacing Aldgate [...]