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The cyclist, broken streetlights and 25 emails
David Williams, Motoring Editor7 Feb 2008
When cyclist Jeff Sinclair almost hit a pedestrian on Waterloo Bridge he blamed it on a string of out-of-order streetlights.
This had left a 100-metre section of the road in darkness, so he tried to have the faulty lights fixed to ensure they didn't cause an accident.
But after three months, nine more nearmisses and an exasperating exchange of more than 25 emails with officials in three different organisations, the lights are still broken.
Mr Sinclair, 32, from Herne Hill, first alerted Lambeth council to the problem in an email on 30 October.
An official replied the lights were the responsibility of Transport for London and so forwarded the message to them.
Then a TfL contractor emailed Mr Sinclair, denying the organisation was responsible, and passed the problem onto Westminster council.
Days later, Westminster emailed him to say it too had investigated and concluded the lights were not its either. In fact, they belonged to Lambeth after all.
Mr Sinclair, a corporate finance worker who cycles to his office near Regent's Park, said: "Since October I have been emailing, phoning, filling in forms and speaking to engineers almost every day and still it is pitch dark in the middle of Waterloo Bridge. What am I meant to do next? This bridge is a danger."
Today, Lambeth insisted the lights were TfL's responsibility but TfL denied this.
Finally, Westminster admitted it was to blame. Transportation director Martin Low said: "To complete this essential maintenance work a traffic management order is required to close off part of the road, which involves getting permission from TfL and the police. We are awaiting confirmation from them to enable our engineers to carry out this work next Tuesday. We sincerely apologise for the length of time this has taken."
THREE-MONTH BATTLE
30 October - Mr Sinclair emails Lambeth council about faulty lights. His complaint is sent on to officials including Richard Godfrey and Raj Bami. Mr Bami emails complaint to Malcolm Honor at Transport for London. Mr Honor tells John Carmen (of TfL contractor Ringway Jacobs) to forward email to Westminster council, saying it is not TfL's responsibility.
1 November - Mr Carmen emails Mr Sinclair to say he has emailed Westminster and it will deal with the issue within three hours. Mr Godfrey emails him, saying responsibility rests with TfL. He refers original email to TfL. Mr Sinclair acknowledges this message, mentioning Westminster's involvement. Mr Godfrey replies that he is happy the matter is resolved.
2 November - TfL emails Mr Sinclair saying it will officially respond to his email within 15 days.
6 November - Mr Sinclair emails Mr Carmen, Mr Godfrey and Alan Trigg at TfL saying the lights are still broken. Laura Cressey of Ringway Jacobs replies that Westminster has said it will investigate and sort the issue "today". Mr Godfrey replies that he has reminded Westminster but it now says the lights are Lambeth's responsibility. Gemma Jacobs of TfL emails to apologise for the confusion and says responsibility lies with Westminster. This email is copied to Westminster.
7 November - Automated email from TfL says it will respond to original email within 15 days.
8 November - Martin Sachs, Lambeth's head of transport and highways, insists TfL is responsible.
27 November - Mr Sinclair replies, saying the lights are still broken. Mr Honor says the lights are Westminster's but three broken lights at the IMAX roundabout at the end of the bridge are TfL's and he has asked for them to be fixed. Another automated email arrives from TfL.
4 December - Mr Sinclair logs on to Westminster website to submit broken street light report. Highways technician Steve Denny replies the lights will be fixed that weekend. They aren't.
15 December - Mr Sinclair submits another broken street light report online. No reply is received. He complains directly to Westminster.
24 January - Lights still not fixed. Mr Sinclair submits a third report. Technician James Robertson replies the lights will be fixed by the month end.
4 February - Mr Sinclair calls Westminster to check progress but is told to re-submit request.
5 February - Lights still out of action.
Reader views (5)
Should this bloke even be riding a bike though if he cannot see a pedestrian in front of him. I don't believe that it is ever that dark especially in London. If you go somewhere without many or no street lights you can normally see quite a distance as it is never actually pitch black anywhere. Anyone who says different is either a liar or has never been out at night or they wear dark glasses and a balaclava.
- Peter Sparkling, London, UK, 07/02/2008 16:46
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Typical cyclist dressed in all black.
Cycling at speed on the footpath all in black.
- John Smith, London, 07/02/2008 15:35
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I walk across the bridge every night and I also reported this problem to Westminster Council in December and again in January. Their Road Management Highways Technician advised me that Westminster City Council are responsible for the section from the junction with Lancaster Place (Strand)to the last expansion joint on the Lambeth side of the bridge. In my estimation this places the majority of faulty lights in Westminster's jurisdiction.
- Andy W, London, 07/02/2008 14:45
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TFL is responsible for all major roads and all traffic light systems within Greater London. They should be the point of call for all such enquiries and if not ultimately tasked with sorting the problem should ensure it does get sorted. In this case they seemed to have passed the buck.
- Marc, Harrow, UK, 07/02/2008 14:30
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Only 3 months, I live in Surrey and we have only two street lights in our road and they have been out of action for over a year. Surrey council blame it on EDF, I have even got the support of my local councillor, but it seems these utility companies answer only to themselves. It is about time someone took them to task before someone does get hurt.
- David Corcoran, Hersham, Surrey, 07/02/2008 13:06
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