Space for trams - I hope

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle2872752.ece

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From The Times
November 15, 2007
Cars out as London mayor clears way for Paris-style plage and cycle
boulevards
Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent
Visitors to London may not find the streets paved with gold but they
could certainly find that a lot more streets have been paved, under
proposals for the tourist heart of the capital.
Cars will be banned from some of London's busiest streets as part of a
bold plan to create continental-style boulevards devoted to
pedestrians and cyclists.
Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, plans to replicate Paris Plage,
the beach created on a highway alongside the Seine each August, on the
four-lane Victoria Embankment beside the Thames.
He is also considering a ban on through traffic on a series of roads
connecting London's parks and main shopping areas, including Portland
Place, which runs between Regent's Park and Oxford Street.
Speaking at Mayor's Question Time at the London Assembly yesterday, Mr
Livingstone said that he wanted to create attractive, tree-lined
walkways in the style of Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Traffic would be
diverted on to alternative routes, but shops and restaurants would
still be able to receive deliveries outside peak hours.
The first scheme will be the £18 million part-pedestrianisation of
Parliament Square, which will involve removing traffic from the south
side closest to Westminster Abbey from 2009. Mr Livingstone believes
that the success of the Trafalgar Square scheme, where the road beside
the National Gallery has been pedestrianised, will help to overcome
objections by motoring groups and retailers.
The RAC Foundation said that Mr Livingstone's plan would force traffic
on to less suitable routes and add to congestion, which is already
almost back to the level before congestion charging began in 2003.
Edmund King, the foundation's director, said: "Mr Livingstone appears
to be choosing streets which are absolutely essential for through
traffic. Closing Victoria Embankment, even if only in August, would
cause complete chaos as traffic diverts on to less appropriate,
narrower streets.
"The mayor does not seem to realise that Paris virtually shuts down
each August but London is a global city that is very busy throughout
the year. Banning traffic from some streets might sound
environmentally friendly but it could push up emissions by sending
vehicles on longer, slower routes."
Mr Livingstone has been impressed by several ideas for tackling
traffic introduced by Bertrand Delanoë, the Socialist Mayor of Paris.
He is planning to copy the city's bicycle hire scheme and also
believes that the Paris Plage concept would be an even greater success
in London.
Each August since 2001, the Right Bank highway in Paris has been
closed to traffic for the two miles between the Pont Neuf and Pont de
Sully and covered by 2,000 tonnes of sand. The "beach" is dotted with
palm trees and cafés and lined by a boardwalk. It attracts more than
four million visitors a year, and some have been so eager to strip off
that a EURO 38 (£27) penalty was introduced last year for anyone going
nude, topless or in a thong.
Mr Livingstone's plan is partly in response to demands by the Green
Party, whose support he needs to win the London Assembly's approval
for his budget. Jenny Jones, a Green assembly member, said: "Making it
more enjoyable for people to go by foot will help to cut congestion
and relieve pressure on some of London's busiest bus and Tube
routes."
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