John Biggs - on building bridges

By John Biggs on October 8, 2008 1:00 AM |

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John Biggs is the Labour London Assembly member for City and East

For those of you held up on your journey to work because the DLR weekend closure had overrun, it can have been little compensation to know that soon a better and quicker service will arrive.

And I confidently predict that the arrival, in two years’ time, of air-conditioning on parts of the Underground will lead to demands that it be added to the other lines, and the DLR, too.

Surveys suggest that big improvements in services have been taken for granted, while we remain grumpy about the cost and the bits that remain unfinished.

Why is this? We expect our politicians to solve problems – which they should – but also to possess magic wands and cause no inconvenience. We need to recognise that sometimes a silver lining may have a cloud nearby.

One of Ken Livingstone’s strengths, albeit one which cost him support, was that he recognised that sometimes you cannot please everybody. Which takes me to our new Mayor. He is so far still on political honeymoon but tough decisions are approaching.

For example, the moment of truth approaches for the Thames Gateway Bridge. In the next few weeks, or days, we will hear whether this long awaited river crossing, viewed by many as vital for east London, including the Wharf, will go ahead, or whether the one borough, Bexley, that opposed it strongly but voted strongly for Boris, will delay its construction for another decade or more.

I have told Boris that I will praise him to the rafters if he is brave, and goes ahead. The time to build is now.