Traffic Khanage: The Bank Junction Exclusion
The latest improper decision is the exclusion of Taxis from the Bank Junction to prioritize Buses because the directors of TFL have significant shareholdings in the bus companies; there is no other valid reason The City of London claim that it is to improve pedestrian and cycle safety, yet the Buses (along with HGVs)are responsible for more Killed or Seriously Injured than all other transport. They also cause more pollution than any other transport. Banning Taxis from Bank will cause massive congestion in surrounding areas and therefore cause more air pollution. The decision is improper and does not comply with Public Law on many points. The City of London has a conflict of interest by only allowing TFL Buses access to Bank Junction. TFL have provided £250k funding for the consultation and the City of London have requested an additional £900k from TFL for further consultation TFL will also be expected to fund some of the £18 million project cost. The Directors of TFL have significant shareholdings in the Bus companies who will benefit by having exclusive access to Bank Junction. It is therefore a conflict of interest for the City of London to give exclusive access to Bank Junction which benefits TFL Directors while at the same time receiving more than £1 million in funding for consultation and many millions more in project costs from TFL.
This is a breach of Public Law. In addition the Chair of the City of London Committee, Chris Hayward (a prominent Free Mason), owns a £1m property at Bank Junction , the value of which will increase by banning traffic from his front door. How is that Chris Hayward, who states he is not paid for the role as Chair of the Planning and Transport Committee but does it as an ‘honorary position’ is in the position when he is also a paid Director for a Planning Consultancy who works with TFL? At the same time that Hayward approved the changes to Bank Junction excluding Taxis he gave permission for multi Billion pound projects including 3 of the largest Sky scrapers in London (which had previously been rejected)within a few hundred metres of Bank Junction. This will create tens of thousands of construction vehicle journeys in the near future at the very location he is claiming to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians. There was a massive increase in Killed Or Seriously Injured figures caused by HGVs during the Shard Construction.
I have a further article about this. Surely there is something not quite right here when the decisions are this unreasonable? The need for a Public Inquiry into TFL has never been more urgent. It will only happen if there are daily protests.
