Tooting Labour at 6's & 7's on safer streets

To get one thing straight from the off, this isn't me 'just' having a go at the local Labour team. There are good people who support them, and campaign on their behalf, but as you'll see the lack of consistency on safer streets is glaring.

I was delighted to see that the Labour Bedford ward councillor has finally put up a post relating to the Balham High Road consultation that closes this Sunday. It's unfortunate that with only a few days to go the chance of them actually encouraging and boosting responses is limited. Still, better late than never I guess.

Yet, these views seem to contradict those of our local MP, also Labour's mayoral candidate:

Do @ZacGoldsmith @SadiqKhan want to kill London's early investments in cycle transport? https://t.co/73VUzme52K pic.twitter.com/2yjC70aJKL

— cyclistsinthecity (@citycyclists) November 10, 2015

With his office on that stretch of road, it's hard to think that he can't be aware of the danger.

So, which is it? 'Roads for cars' or 'streets for people'?

Little wonder that the Labour team, whilst having been successful in Tooting elections, have failed to deliver improvements on road safety on local streets for years in Tooting. The Conservatives can't be seen as being much better, they run the council and yet these proposals are the ones that have come to the fore.

Supported by the local Lib Dems, I've been able to run a series of campaigns and petitions. The delay in them being acted upon is illustrated by the two opposing points of view taken by the Labour team that represent the people of Tooting.

10 days to tell TfL to do better on Balham High Road

We have just 10 more days to respond to this consultation on Balham High Road. I've posted about it previously here, the key points for me to raise with TfL are:

• Where are the protected, continental style, cycle lanes? 
• Where are the bus stop cycle lane bypasses? 

I've got a bunch of flyers printed to encourage people to respond. They won't get out there by themselves. I've got just over 2500 more to get out there. 

Interested in helping?

Here's what you can do:

1. RESPOND to the consultation! (easy to forget to do!)
2. Share details with your friends (email - Facebook - Twitter)
3. Distribute some flyers (drop me a line if you'd like some - jon.irwin[at]gmail.com) I work in Balham and have them at my desk. 

The only reason that we can't have the sort of streets that are being built in central London at the moment, is if we don't ask. We don't have to wait 20 more years to get serious improvements to Balham High Road. 

@jdavie @citycyclists @london_cycling @RantyHighwayman @AsEasyAsRiding WaterloBr-B'friars not officially open but... pic.twitter.com/BsoX2f6PAn

— Dickie's Ticker (@DickiesTicker) November 4, 2015

NB - Also with a Crossrail 2 station going to be either in Balham or Tooting, there is even more reason to ensure that people are given safe space to cycle without needing to share local streets with construction vehicles. Over to you folks.