Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Economic and Social Development presented the Council’s proposed response to the Mayor of London’s inaugural draft Transport Strategy (MTS), which set out the policies and proposals to reshape transport in London over the next 25 years.

A key feature of the MTS was that, by 2041, 80% of all Londoner’s trips would be made on foot, by cycle or by public transport.  To achieve that, the Mayor was seeking to transform London’s streets, improve public transport and create new opportunities for homes and jobs, under the themes of ‘Good Growth’ and ‘Healthy Streets’.  The Cabinet Member advised that many of the principles of the MTS supported the vision and themes of the Borough Manifesto and he referred to the 10 transport priorities for the Borough, which included tunnelling and junction improvements along the A13, new and improved rail / tram links and station improvements.  A series of short, medium and long-term improvements had also been identified as crucial to the success of the Council’s ambitious growth plans, such as the introduction of river passenger services from Barking Riverside to London’s key employment hubs, new infrastructure to support cycling and walking, road traffic reduction measures and the potential for a future HS1/HS2 interchange at Barking Station.

Arising from the discussions, it was suggested that:

·  The Mayor should be challenged to provide more detail on his proposals and give greater focus to deprived areas, although the Cabinet Member for Economic and Social Development commented that the expectation was for the respective London Boroughs to provide much of the detail to support the Mayor’s strategic aims;

·  There should be stronger links between the ‘Healthier Streets’ principles, the MTS and the London Plan;

·  Local bus services needed to be more responsive to new developments and school expansion projects in the Borough to reduce traffic congestion and prevent harming children’s education, although the Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement acknowledged that Council and TfL’s bus network representatives had worked well together and the pace of change in the Borough was sometimes an issue; and

·  Significant improvements were needed to the C2C service through Barking and the Council should consider using the “Save Dagenham Police Station” campaign as a model for lobbying for the necessary improvements.

In response to those points, officers undertook to strengthen the draft response letter to the Mayor.   

The Cabinet resolved to agree the draft response to the Mayor of London’s Transport Strategy consultation, as set out at Appendix 1 to the report, subject to the enhancement of a number of aspects of the Council’s response as discussed at the meeting, including the importance of bus service and route expansions keeping pace with the Borough’s school expansion plans.