A child is in hospital after being struck by a bus. The boy, who has not yet been identified, suffered minor injuries and was taken to St George's Hospital after the accident on Sheen Road, Richmond, on Friday, December 21.
Businesses in Kingston want to know why they are being asked to pay the same as those in Canary Wharf towards the Crossrail project - even though it doesn't run through the borough. London Mayor Ken Livingstone wants to impose a two per cent levy to help pay for the line through a supplementary business rate (SBR).
Two thirds of Kingston businesses already pay a one per cent levy for the Business Improvement District and town centre manager Graham McNally said he would meet with the mayor to see if the BID levy could be offset against the two per cent SBR.
A bus driver has denied causing a gran's death by driving dangerously. Ismail Ahmed, 42, faces the charge following an incident at Mortlake bus stand, North Worple Way, when Elizabeth Panton died. He also denies inflicting GBH on Mrs Panton's daughter, Sarah Hope, and a two-year-old child.
The Government is committed to delivering a transport system which enables sustained economic prosperity and addresses the needs of the travelling public. Focussed around this commitment, the Department for Transport’s strategic objectives for the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) period, which covers financial years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11, have been set as follows:
In meeting these objectives, the Department’s challenge is to develop a transport system that delivers high-quality public services in the context of a transport network that is facing increasing demand. Key priorities in the current spending period are, for example, to improve capacity on the rail network, and to improve the reliability of journeys on the strategic road network.
Councillors have demanded a clampdown on cyclists who "blatantly disregard" signs and ride illegally in pedestrianised areas of Kingston.
The problem of cyclists using Clarence Street was raised at a Kingston town centre management meeting on December 7 and it was said that despite a two week police operation between November 12 and 25, where 160 people were stopped and warned about cycling in the area, no-one was fined.
Residents say plans to put a bus stop outside their homes is "fraught with danger" and will deprive them of privacy. Plans to trial two proposed bus stops outside 219-223 Richmond Road and near Orleans School, Twickenham, have been met with anger from homeowners in the street.
Female drivers called Emma from Sutton are among the most accident prone in Britain, according to a survey. Women called Eva from Kingston are also prone to prangs, says insurance firm esure. Emmas from Sutton were fourth in a list of the worst women drivers, with a crash risk rating of 69 per cent, while Evas from Kingston have a 60 per cent chance of a smash.
The Department’s consultation paper – Strengthening Local Delivery – sought views on how bus passenger representation could be improved. The consultation paper asked for views on whether a new Board of traffic commissioners could provide a more high profile, recognised point to which passengers could address their concerns about punctuality and reliability of their local bus services. Whilst the Board proposal itself is not being taken forward there was a strong consensus from the consultation responses that passenger representation needed to be strengthened.
A number of respondents suggested that the creation of a statutory body to represent the interests of bus passengers at a national level would be the best approach. However there was no clear consensus amongst consultees and a range of different views on how we might best deliver this passenger representation. We decided therefore that we should invite further views before taking final decisions.
The consultation paper outlines four options for delivering a bus passenger champion, and we welcome your views on them.
Transport Secretary, Ruth Kelly, today called for more stations to join the Department's Secure Stations Scheme in 2008. Today, Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, will join Ruth Kelly to present awards for achievements in tackling crime at train stations across the UK. The awards event recognises those working to create a safer travelling environment and highlights the improvements the scheme can bring to the millions of passengers who use the railways each day.
Kingston has been successful in securing £4.8m of funding to spend on local traffic, transportation, highway and footway improvements from Transport for London (TfL) for the period between April 2008 and March 2009.
This is a 7% increase on the current year’s allocation and the biggest year-on-year rise of any London Borough.
Every year, all London Boroughs compete for funding by submitting application documents to Transport for London detailing a range of projects and measures that will make using the highway network for residents and visitors safer, greener and more accessible whether they are travelling by public transport, by car, on foot or by bike. In total £161m was made available across London for this purpose.
In Kingston, the money will be spent on a wide variety of schemes and programmes benefiting the entire borough, including:
Rail users are bracing for above-inflation fare rises expected to be introduced in January. Fares are expected to rise an average 4.8 per cent across the UK, but some areas in southeast England could see increases of more than 14 per cent, rail union officals say. They have warned commuters are in for a shock when they buy their tickets in the new year.
A van crashed into a house after hitting a double decker bus in an accident in Hook. The 465 bus was hit by a white van near the Lucky Rover pub on the A243 Hook Road this afternoon. The van then left the road and hit a house in Green End, demolishing part of the garage.
Borough pensioners and disabled residents are to get an extension to their free travel benefits, it was revealed this week, to the delight of London's mayor.
From this week disabled Freedom Pass holders will be able to use the new London Overground Network, which includes services from Richmond on what was formerly known as the North London Line, free of charge at anytime, while older people will be entitled to free travel from 9am on weekdays instead of 9.30am.
Ken Livingstone, mayor of London, said he was absolutely delighted by the news, a statement welcomed by London Councils, the umbrella group representing the 33 London boroughs.
The battle for Waterloo continues now that four extra platforms at the station have been vacated by the Eurostar's move to King's Cross.
MPs Susan Kramer and Edward Davey announced a victory this July in the battle to allow South West Trains to use the extra platforms, which they believe will lead to a quicker, more efficient service for local commuters.
But wide press reports last week claimed that the future of the platforms was unsure and Conservative MP Ian Taylor announced he had tabled an early day motion asking the Government to convert the empty platforms for use on the South West Trains network.
(follow link above to read the full story)
The campaign to rezone Surbiton and Kingston stations took a further step this week with MP Edward Davey writing to the London mayoral candidates to ask for their support.
Writing to the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and Conservative mayoral candidate Boris Johnson, Mr Davey said: "As a result of being allocated to zone six despite being a zone five distance, Kingston and Surbiton stations saw single and day return ticket prices rise by over 35 per cent.
This is set to get much worse from January 2010, when seasonal tickets from Kingston and Surbiton will move to zonal pricing - so we could see increases of between £400 and £500 in annual rail tickets."
(follow link above to get the rest of the story)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, starring Daniel Radcliffe as boy wizard Harry, will be on location overnight from Friday to Sunday.
Café Chaud on platforms one and two at the station is reportedly being used in the movie.
Filming for the sixth book in the Harry Potter series, which has made author JK Rowling a multi-millionaire, has only recently begun.
Seargeant Christopher MacKellaich, of the British Transport Police, said: "We will have officers down at the station on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night to assist with any public order issues associated with the filming.
"They are going to be filming overnight from late evening to the early morning and we will have six or seven officers down there each night."
Kingston Council and Transport for London (TfL) are set to roll out a new CCTV camera system for bus lanes on November 1.
It is illegal for motorists to drive in a bus lane during its operational hours.
Road signing will clearly outline the times that bus lanes are operational and which vehicles are permitted to use it within these times.
Any motorists travelling illegally down bus lanes are likely to be recorded on CCTV and risk a penalty of £100. The fine is posted to the owner of the vehicle who, under the legislation, is responsible for the payment of the charge.
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