Ken's £18m plan for Parliament Square is scrapped

Hooray hooray. Another one of Livingstone's spiteful anti-motorist
plans is flushed down the toilet like the **** it is. No wonder
Spindrift and the other trolls hate Boris so much. He's probably had
many death threats by now. He'll probably have to evacuate City Hall
soon if Spindrift gets his way.

Increasing green space is all very well, but there's no reason why it
has to be done at the expense of motorists.

Ken's £18m plan for Parliament Square is scrapped

Katharine Barney, Evening Standard
06.08.08

Plans to pedestrianise Parliament Square have been scrapped by the
Mayor.

Boris Johnson had previously said he would put his predecessor's
proposals on hold to study the impact on motorists. But today he
announced he will cancel the £18 million plans, claiming the move
would cost too much, destroy green space and cause congestion.

Transport for London advised the Mayor that the required
pedestrianisation would have a significant negative impact on traffic
flow, not only in Westminster but also in central London.

Mr Johnson said: "There is absolutely no sense in Londoners paying £18
million from their already stretched transport budget in order to
reduce capacity on London's roads.

"The last mayor was famed for his love of blocking the traffic but
this scheme was a step too far. We are committed to ambitious urban
realm projects, but not this one." However, the decision sparked anger
from environmentalists who branded it an "idiotic" decision. Green
Party London Assembly Member Jenny Jones said: "The pedestrianisation
of Parliament Square was a key decision and an important move to make
London more beautiful and tourist friendly. This is a disastrous and
idiotic decision."

Ms Jones also said she feared for similar projects on Victoria
Embankment and Tottenham Hale which had been agreed under Ken
Livingstone.

They were all part of the former mayor's 100 public spaces programme
pushed aside by Mr Johnson, The Mayor says he is committed to
improving open spaces but will do so by following his own strategy and
not that of his predecessor. He has already absorbed the programme's
sponsor design organisation Design for London-into the London
Development Agency.

Now Mr Livingstone has added his comments to the row and lambasted Mr
Johnson for cost cutting and hypocrisy.

Speaking to Building Design magazine, he said: "This is an
administration that is basically cost-cutting. Boris doesn't want to
end up in upsetting the motorists and the AA. It should be an amazing
world square, not a squalid traffic roundabout."

But a spokesman for Mr Johnson said he was determined to improve
public areas but would do so in a realistic and achievable time frame.

He said: "The Mayor is committed to delivering important public realm
improvements but the 100 public spaces programme was highly
aspirational with only five schemes completed after eight years and 13
more proposed. In due course the Mayor will announce his own strategy
for public space improvements."

On Aug 6, 4:08*pm, Nuxx Bar wrote:
Hooray hooray. *Another one of Livingstone's spiteful anti-motorist
plans is flushed down the toilet like the **** it is. *No wonder
Spindrift and the other trolls hate Boris so much. *He's probably had
many death threats by now. *He'll probably have to evacuate City Hall
soon if Spindrift gets his way.

Increasing green space is all very well, but there's no reason why it
has to be done at the expense of motorists.

Ken's £18m plan for Parliament Square is scrapped

Katharine Barney, Evening Standard
06.08.08

Plans to pedestrianise Parliament Square have been scrapped by the
Mayor.

Boris Johnson had previously said he would put his predecessor's
proposals on hold to study the impact on motorists. But today he
announced he will cancel the £18 million plans, claiming the move
would cost too much, destroy green space and cause congestion.

Transport for London advised the Mayor that the required
pedestrianisation would have a significant negative impact on traffic
flow, not only in Westminster but also in central London.

Mr Johnson said: "There is absolutely no sense in Londoners paying £18
million from their already stretched transport budget in order to
reduce capacity on London's roads.

"The last mayor was famed for his love of blocking the traffic but
this scheme was a step too far. We are committed to ambitious urban
realm projects, but not this one." However, the decision sparked anger
from environmentalists who branded it an "idiotic" decision. Green
Party London Assembly Member Jenny Jones said: "The pedestrianisation
of Parliament Square was a key decision and an important move to make
London more beautiful and tourist friendly. This is a disastrous and
idiotic decision."

Ms Jones also said she feared for similar projects on Victoria
Embankment and Tottenham Hale which had been agreed under Ken
Livingstone.

They were all part of the former mayor's 100 public spaces programme
pushed aside by Mr Johnson, The Mayor says he is committed to
improving open spaces but will do so by following his own strategy and
not that of his predecessor. He has already absorbed the programme's
sponsor design organisation Design for London-into the London
Development Agency.

Now Mr Livingstone has added his comments to the row and lambasted Mr
Johnson for cost cutting and hypocrisy.

Speaking to Building Design magazine, he said: "This is an
administration that is basically cost-cutting. Boris doesn't want to
end up in upsetting the motorists and the AA. It should be an amazing
world square, not a squalid traffic roundabout."

But a spokesman for Mr Johnson said he was determined to improve
public areas but would do so in a realistic and achievable time frame.

He said: "The Mayor is committed to delivering important public realm
improvements but the 100 public spaces programme was highly
aspirational with only five schemes completed after eight years and 13
more proposed. In due course the Mayor will announce his own strategy
for public space improvements."

http://tinyurl.com/livingstonehatesmotorists

On Aug 6, 4:09*pm, Nuxx Bar wrote:
On Aug 6, 4:08*pm, Nuxx Bar wrote:





Hooray hooray. *Another one of Livingstone's spiteful anti-motorist
plans is flushed down the toilet like the **** it is. *No wonder
Spindrift and the other trolls hate Boris so much. *He's probably had
many death threats by now. *He'll probably have to evacuate City Hall
soon if Spindrift gets his way.

Increasing green space is all very well, but there's no reason why it
has to be done at the expense of motorists.

Ken's £18m plan for Parliament Square is scrapped

Katharine Barney, Evening Standard
06.08.08

Plans to pedestrianise Parliament Square have been scrapped by the
Mayor.

Boris Johnson had previously said he would put his predecessor's
proposals on hold to study the impact on motorists. But today he
announced he will cancel the £18 million plans, claiming the move
would cost too much, destroy green space and cause congestion.

Transport for London advised the Mayor that the required
pedestrianisation would have a significant negative impact on traffic
flow, not only in Westminster but also in central London.

Mr Johnson said: "There is absolutely no sense in Londoners paying £18
million from their already stretched transport budget in order to
reduce capacity on London's roads.

"The last mayor was famed for his love of blocking the traffic but
this scheme was a step too far. We are committed to ambitious urban
realm projects, but not this one." However, the decision sparked anger
from environmentalists who branded it an "idiotic" decision. Green
Party London Assembly Member Jenny Jones said: "The pedestrianisation
of Parliament Square was a key decision and an important move to make
London more beautiful and tourist friendly. This is a disastrous and
idiotic decision."

Ms Jones also said she feared for similar projects on Victoria
Embankment and Tottenham Hale which had been agreed under Ken
Livingstone.

They were all part of the former mayor's 100 public spaces programme
pushed aside by Mr Johnson, The Mayor says he is committed to
improving open spaces but will do so by following his own strategy and
not that of his predecessor. He has already absorbed the programme's
sponsor design organisation Design for London-into the London
Development Agency.

Now Mr Livingstone has added his comments to the row and lambasted Mr
Johnson for cost cutting and hypocrisy.

Speaking to Building Design magazine, he said: "This is an
administration that is basically cost-cutting. Boris doesn't want to
end up in upsetting the motorists and the AA. It should be an amazing
world square, not a squalid traffic roundabout."

But a spokesman for Mr Johnson said he was determined to improve
public areas but would do so in a realistic and achievable time frame.

He said: "The Mayor is committed to delivering important public realm
improvements but the 100 public spaces programme was highly
aspirational with only five schemes completed after eight years and 13
more proposed. In due course the Mayor will announce his own strategy
for public space improvements."

http://tinyurl.com/livingstonehatesmotorists- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

This is a shockingly misguided decision.

Parliament Square is a World Heritage Site.

The current situation is an utter embarrassment, a bit like Trafalgar
Sq was before the North Road was reconfigured for the enjoyment of the
pedestrian.

Most people who have commented on here have obviously have not read
the Parliament Sq proposal which was, like Trafalgar Sq, to make only
one side a pedestrian friendly place thus the hysteria over traffic is
well just hysterical.

In a dense urban area (saving the countryside from sprawl) we must
give people more space it is imperative for the psychological
wellbeing of humans as well as the obvious physical benefits.

We go on about the horror of violence and anti-social behaviour as
well people no longer socialising, well instead of turning London into
a police state, if the Mayor had bothered to read any Urban literature
then he would see that how we use space at a more human level is key.

If he cant do this at a World Heritage site then there is absolutely
no hope for the rest of London.

This obsession over cost-cutting in such a vital entity as London is
leading us to literally scrape away at the muscle and bone.

spindrift writes:

Most people who have commented on here have obviously have not read
the Parliament Sq proposal which was, like Trafalgar Sq, to make only
one side a pedestrian friendly place thus the hysteria over traffic is
well just hysterical.

Do you have a link or anything to the proposal? If there's some
decent route from Whitehall and off the bridge to Victoria (and vice
versa), there's not really a lot of traffic in other directions.

Given how edgy the police are around there, though (c.f. Mark Thomas
"My Life in Serious Organised Crime") I wouldn't have made it my
first choice for a place for the public to gather.


-dan

Nuxx Bar wrote:

Hooray hooray. Another one of Livingstone's spiteful anti-motorist
plans is flushed down the toilet like the **** it is. No wonder
Spindrift and the other trolls hate Boris so much. He's probably had
many death threats by now. He'll probably have to evacuate City Hall
soon if Spindrift gets his way.

Increasing green space is all very well, but there's no reason why it
has to be done at the expense of motorists.

Ken's £18m plan for Parliament Square is scrapped

Katharine Barney, Evening Standard
06.08.08

Plans to pedestrianise Parliament Square have been scrapped by the
Mayor.

[ ... ]

Now Mr Livingstone has added his comments to the row and lambasted Mr
Johnson for cost cutting and hypocrisy.

Speaking to Building Design magazine, he said: "This is an
administration that is basically cost-cutting. Boris doesn't want to
end up in upsetting the motorists and the AA. It should be an amazing
world square, not a squalid traffic roundabout."

But a spokesman for Mr Johnson said...

"... who cares what the loser thinks? ..."?

"And does he ever stop to consider *why* he lost?".