Ideas 4 Mayor

#ideas4Mayor is an attempt at inclusive policy making. Dave Mentiply takes a look.

In the run up to the first London Policy Conference on 12-13 December, a competition was held to find the best idea for ‘making working, home or commuting life in London better.’

Here is a sample of some of the #ideas4Mayor submissions:

• Increase pedestrian crossing times.
• Fat Tax! A 50% VAT on fast food across the capital.
• US style traffic flow cops on busy junctions at peak times.
• Medium-large businesses to publicly disclose their energy consumption.
• Attach helmets to Boris bikes.
• Make use of buildings with flat roofs by allowing people to use them for garden plots.
• Integrate Thames Clippers river buses with other public transport – make the river a new Tube line.

The winning submission was made by @londonbookswap. Chris Gilson tweeted that there should be a book swap scheme at Tube and train stations across London. This would involve installing shelves at different stations for passengers to leave unwanted books. All four mayoral candidates have welcomed the proposal and will have the chance to find out more at Monday’s conference at the Southbank centre.