Despite rumours coming out of City Hall to the contrary, Mayor of London Boris Johnson has said that his mind is not yet made up on the future of Cross River Tram. These comments come from Liberal Democrat politicians who met with Mr Johnson last week to push for the tram plan to go-ahead.
Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat Assembly member and a Southwark Councillor, said: “It was a really productive meeting and the Mayor made a lot of positive noises about the Cross River Tram proposals. The Mayor needs to know there'd be a huge cost to London if the plan were to be dropped both in terms of vital regeneration and the lost opportunity of greatly enhancing the capital's transport infrastructure. I'm also pleased he's not averse to the possibility of levering in private sector finance."
The final decision on not just the Cross River Tram project but other transport projects in London is expected to be heard soon when the Transport for London business plan is revealed. It has previously been reported that most transport projects in the capital – with the exception of Crossrail – may have to be axed because of funding issues after the tenure of Ken Livingstone saw huge budget shortfalls and the forthcoming Olympic Games.
Source: London SE1