The news that all forthcoming tram projects in London have been abandoned in the latest TfL 10 year business plan has been met with general anger in those areas affacted with Mayor of London Boris Johnson accused of “abandoning outer regions of London”.
Val Shawcross, Labour spokeswoman for transport in the London Assembly, said: “The Mayor has said a lot about the need to invest in major projects for the sake of London's economy. Yet here he is making a bonfire of much-needed transport schemes vital the economic regeneration of the city. The Mayor's utter lack of commitment to public transport, to encouraging people out of their cars and to investing in London's future have been vividly exposed today. It seems that poorer areas of London and the outer boroughs in most need of public transport links just do not feature in the Mayor's vision."
The decision to axe the Cross River Tram plan – which had even managed to garner support from the local press – was met with disappointment in the areas it would have helped. Phil Bale, from the Evolution Quarter Residents Association, said: “This is devastating news for some of the most deprived parts of the capital, and will hit the people who can afford it least. We feel so let down. The whole point was to transform the area and we won’t do that by squeezing more buses on to the streets. People moved into Peckham because of the tram, developers of new homes even marketed it to potential buyers. And it raised the hopes of people who already live there. Now people will just move away from the area.”
Cllr Paul Noblet, in charge of regeneration in Southwark, added: “I understand Boris’s position that no money was ever available to build the tram, even during Ken Livingstone’s time in office. And I can appreciate that he has inherited a TfL budget with a massive black hole in it. But people in Southwark will be rightly disappointed that in seeking to balance the books, Boris has decided to cut the CRT. They will also fail to see why TfL have decided that enhancing the Northern line rather than completing work on the route will be of any help to residents in Peckham or Walworth.”
Source: Croydon Guardian & icSouthLondon