One of Sadiq Khan' floating bus stops with a pedestrian crossing crossing the cycle lane on Whitechapel High Street in central London. Photo: GEOFF PUGH FOR THE TELEGRAPH
Susan Hall has vowed to scrap 'dangerous' floating bus stops if she is elected as London's next mayor.
As part of a five-point plan to end the 'war on motorists' The Conservative candidate also promised to fight 20 mph zones and low-traffic areas (LTN), eliminate per-mile charging, and cancel the Ulez extension.
Ms Hall has vowed to get rid of Amsterdam-style bus stops where passengers are forced to get in and out of cycle lanes — as they pose a «threat» to pedestrians and drivers, calling them a «virtue-signaling waste of money» -for this poor mayor.»
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has come under fire for overseeing the proliferation of floating stops, where cycle lanes are wedged between the pavement and a bus stop island, with a zebra crossing between them.
His Cycling Tsar admitted the schemes «feel dangerous» and campaigners for disabled people and older people have condemned «bus stop bypasses» as «death traps».However, a spokesman for the mayor said: «TfL's approach is consistent government guidance, and both bus stop avoidance and bus stop boundaries are a nationally recognized approach to avoid the dangers of cyclists passing buses and veering into oncoming traffic.»
Proposing her five-point plan to The Telegraph, Ms Hall said Londoners were «fed up with Sadiq Khan's tough anti-car mayoralty» and pledged to support drivers from «day one» if she wins the election in May.
< p>The pledge to abolish floating bus stops is part of a wider campaign to support black taxis, which she said «can't stop to drop people off» because there are crossings in the way. The policy will only apply to roads managed by Transport for London (TfL), where the mayor has jurisdiction.
Ms Hall will also allow black taxis to «go where the buses go», arguing that Mr Khan left them «By the way» and said she would get rid of 20mph zones on main roads while maintaining «reasonable» restrictions around schools.
It means red routes, which account for 30 per cent of the capital's traffic despite making up just five per cent of the road network, will no longer be subject to restrictions.
Ms Hall warned that before they are easy to reach. when navigating pick-and-mix zones, they are caught off guard because “nobody knows where they are,” which can be especially frustrating for drivers who make a living from their licenses.
“All of us, in everything, yes, we need clarity,” she said. “There is no clarity on driving on London roads.”
She suggested that a 20mph speed limit could increase the likelihood of accidents and said: «I pay much more attention when I'm driving at 30mph than when I'm driving at 20mph.»
Susan Hall, the Conservative mayoral candidate, suggested a 20mph speed limit could increase the likelihood of accidents. Photo: David Rose for The Telegraph
Ms Hall has vowed to block City Hall funding for any future LTNs, while doing «everything possible» to help people remove them.
LTNs, guarded by cameras or blocking streets with planters or bollards, are designed to cut local emissions and promoting alternative modes of transport such as walking and cycling, while helping to reduce accidents and noise pollution.
But they have faced opposition from residents, with critics arguing they are simply spreading congestion rather than clearing it, and Ms Hall saying it would be «D-Day» for the «pointless» schemes if she wins the mayoral election.< /p>< p>Another key part of her plan is the reversal of Ulez Khan's controversial expansion to all London boroughs, which came into force in all 32 boroughs in August. Drivers of vehicles that fail to meet certain emissions standards must pay £12.50 per day or face a fine of up to £180.
Ms Hall said it was «nothing more than taxing the least well off people». -off» and promised to reject the expansion, returning Ulez to its former boundaries on the North and South Ring Roads.
The Conservative candidate said she would also consider going one step further and returning the zone to its original parameters in central London, but stressed that this would «definitely need to be consulted».