In response to my linking to various sites and blogs with concerns about the regeneration scheme - in particular a detailed report at London SE1 - a spokesperson for Mayor Johnson said:
"The Mayor is one hundred per cent in favour of the plans to regenerate Elephant & Castle. And the claims he would try to deny local people the benefits of this scheme by withholding funding are complete nonsense. In fact the Mayor and his team are working tirelessly to improve those plans with the aim of making sure they benefit absolutely everyone using the area whether they travel by foot, bike, bus or car.
"In the Mayor's election manifesto he vowed to get London moving again. So when told that the result of removing the southern roundabout would be to snarl up traffic on Walworth Road, Kennington Lane and Kennington Park Road; he immediately asked Transport for London to take a little extra time to see if there might be a better way of carrying out this work.
"Transport for London is now speaking to Southwark Council about an alternative scheme that would redesign the southern roundabout and include traffic signals to allow pedestrians to cross at surface level. This would enable a far smoother flow of traffic for the benefit of every road user and the many people that live and work in and around Elephant & Castle."
Discuss.
