Red light Ken

[Martin Cassini]

Ken Livingstone says (ES, 7.4.11), "We now know that at least 4,000 people die prematurely every year because of poor air quality." Bizarre that it has taken him so long to wise up to this well-known fact. Under his watch as Mayor, over 1000 sets of traffic lights were added to London streets, each costing hundreds of thousands to install, more to maintain and run, making congestion worse, and blighting streetscapes. Despite his duty to reduce emissions, he stood by for seven years while Midland Rd was closed (during construction of the tunnel link), and failed to order traffic signal switch-off, or at least re-timing, at that chronically-congested junction with Euston Rd near St Pancras. In fact, his officers are at least as much to blame, as was Camden’s environment chief, under whose nose the scandal unfolded.