Boris’s Flying Circus

With the end of London Mayor Boris Johnston’s reign looming after the Mayoral Election on the 3rd May 2012 minds are being concentrated. Londoner’s are taking stock of that great classicist’s achievements as Mayor. For one thing he has got rid of 275 of the proven, high capacity, disabled friendly Bendy Buses at a third of what they cost and replaced them with 5 Boris DeluxeMasters at only £1.6M a copy! This wasn’t Boris’s only achievement, oh no! He has also hiked bus fares 55%, delivered 52 affordable homes in London last year and started his silly cable car from nowhere to nearly nowhere!

Greenwich Peninsula

On the last item you can now go along to an exciting new exhibit at London Transport Museum on Boris’s only other transport initiative the UK’s first urban cable car. The exhibition opened on Tuesday 29 November 2011, and gives visitors their first taste of the new transport link in all its glory. I’m afraid all the other Boris achievements, London Overground, East London Line, DLR extension were actually all started by somebody called KEN! Boris also has an anti-achievement to his name, cancelling the Western Congestion Charging Zone, losing the income from it whilst writing off the £55 million expenditure to set it up. All this while London is endangering its citizens by breaching EU air pollution standards.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/11/londons-transport-museum.html

The interactive exhibit at the Museum will be the first chance for the public to see up close up details of the cable car and gondolas which is being branded as “Emirates Air Line” after its sponsor. Highlights of the exhibit include a fully branded cabin, similar to the cabins that will take to the skies next year and fly users across the Thames every five minutes. Visitors will be able to board the cabin and see an animated film that gives an idea of the spectacular aerial views on offer once the link between the Greenwich Peninsula and Royal Victoria Dock is complete.

The stations on the new Tube Map containing the sponsor's name - the first time branding has been allowed on this iconic design classic

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/11/mapping-world.html

Royal Victoria Dock station

Koblenz, Germany where a similar system across the Rhine was recently built for $20 M using similar technology. Notice the simpler "temporary" stations compared to London's showpiece stations. Built at a cost of Euros 12 million the cable car travels across the Rhine from Deutsches Eck up to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, a distance of 850 metres, giving visitors breathtaking aerial views of the Rhine and Moselle.

There are 18 gondolas on the Koblenz cable way, each with a 35-passenger capacity. And if you’re not fearful of heights, one of the cabins has a glass floor so you can look down into the Rhine as the cable car takes you across. It is expected that 3,500 passengers can be transported per hour in each direction.

The cable car will provide a new river crossing for London, travelling between two new terminals, Greenwich Peninsula south of the Thames and Royal Docks on the Northside. Expected to take its first “flight” in summer 2012 it will have a capacity to carry 2,500 passengers per hour in each direction, the equivalent to 30 buses an hour, but of course only if they turn up. The new transport initiative will also directly link the O2 – Europe’s biggest entertainment venue – and the ExCeL – Europe’s biggest conferencing venue and provide a new step-free interchange between the Jubilee line and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) whilst complementing the existing public transport network.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2011/08/londons-dome.html

The question that probably everyone asked was how did an estimate of £25 million end up at a final project cost of £65 million. That’s quite an overspend! When finally completed, the most striking aspect of Boris’s latest folly/innovative public transport service (delete depending on political preference) will be the three tall pylons that carry the cables over the Thames.

Interior of a Gondola

Rachel at Londonlist has commented;

“Yesterday’s news that the Thames Cable Car costs have risen to £60m didn’t surprise us that much – Caroline Pidgeon got an admission out of Boris in June that it was pushing the £57m mark, but what’s made us eye-poppingly enraged is TfL telling the BBC that they’re paying for it out of the rail budget.

If TfL were swimming in cash this would be fine, but this is the same TfL that’s just announced PAYG fare increase of 10p per bus journey and an 8% rise for travel cards. A TfL that’s committed to huge upgrades on the tube network (surely a nobler cause for raiding other parts of their budget?). A TfL that’s expanding the Overground network and involved in Crossrail.”

An expert on cable car projects Steven Dale who runs the International Benchmarking site “The Gondola Project” is harsh about what London is paying for this project;

http://gondolaproject.com/2011/09/26/exploring-the-thames-cable-car-costs/

“Over the weekend it was announced that the estimated project cost for London’s Thames Cable Car (Gondola) has ballooned to an estimated £60m. For those interested, that means the system will cost roughly $100m USD per kilometre. With the possible exception of the Caracas Metrocable, the London Thames Cable Car will easily be the most expensive gondola/cable car ever built.

The London Thames Cable Car appears to be nothing more than the latest example of largely English-speaking transit agencies’ unwillingness and/or inability to rein in costs related to transit projects. There is absolutely, positively, completely no reason whatsoever this project should cost London taxpayers ~$100m USD. Not a single good reason:”

North Pylon under construction

The completed 270 Tonne pylon

The site London Reconnections points out;

http://www.londonreconnections.com/2011/where-lame-ducks-dare-benchmarking-the-london-cable-car/

“Mott MacDonald act as project advisers to TfL on this project. They are a respected engineering consultancy responsible for similar projects such as the, much longer Ngong Ping Cable Car in Hong Kong. They are also owners of Franklin and Andrews, a household name in households where banter about project construction costs is the norm across the breakfast table. Franklin and Andrews are collators and disseminators of benchmark construction cost standards through a series of “Black Books”. Mott’s could well be able to contribute international comparator information on this matter.

Further questions also seem pertinent – at what point in the project risk register were the cost omissions and deviations recognised and what mitigation processes were put in place? To what extent do the London specific tailored features, the pylons and the stations, impact on the increases in cost? To what extent, if any, did the imperative to get something done before the Olympics influence the life cycle project procurement and management process?”

The stakes are high in the London Mayoral elections next year and despite the desperate spinning going on by Boris’s acolytes there is no confidence that dilettante Boris can win even if his Flying Circus across the Thames opens in time. How important this election is to Tory prospects is demonstrated by David Cameron who has described Boris Johnson's re-election for a second term as London Mayor as his "number one priority" for 2012. In a speech last night to Conservative backbenchers, the Prime Minister described victory in the capital city as "essential" to the party's strategy. But he warned that next year would be "tougher than the first couple of years under Margaret Thatcher" because of the state of the economy. Mr Cameron was given thunderous applause at the mention of the London election battle on May 3.

Be that as may be Daithai C believes time is running out for Bluffy Boris. The fact is in the last election people in the outer donut of London didn’t vote for Boris, they voted against Ken. In four years much will have changed. Ken learnt from his defeat and has discarded General Jasper and the hangers on who did the perception of his cause much harm. The ludicrous Americans under “Agent” Bob Kiley have largely disappeared from TfL with their platinum contracts which Londoner’s of all political hues resented. Boris with his £250,000 a year for his Rag Mag columns in the Telegraph and his many “distractions” has looked increasingly amateurish while Ken is the serious candidate dedicated to making London better for all.

We are all in this Circus together?

David Cameron has rightly identified that a push to abolish government by Old Etonians in London in 2012 will gather momentum as a campaign to abolish government by Old Etonians nationwide. When it comes to the voters of London deciding whether its Ken or Boris next May Boris will not be greatly in credit with them having expensively abolished cost efficient Bendy Buses for his 5 £1.6 million a copy DeLuxemasters – A project in the fine tradition of British Worldbeaters which won’t beat anything. His Flying Circus across the Thames has “stolen” £65 million from the rail budget and the reality of its viability will be seen in the cold winter of 2012 in the post Olympic hangover when we see if it gets anything like the 2,500 passengers an hour. Whilst much has been made of the “£36 M” Emirates sponsorship this is over 10 years and is dependent on minimum traffic levels being achieved – it is not cash up front.

"Death to the Bendy's" thundered Boris!

Then think of what Boris has not done? But he was wrong to cancel the pedestrianisation of Parliament Square, and his cycling "superhighways" are feeble - London needs proper cycle lanes. He cancelled the Cross-River Tram and the Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf Bridge - we need projects like this. Yet he abolished Bendy Buses and is building his cable car – two transport initiatives with nothing approaching a business case. I suspect at the Opening Ceremonies the London Mayor representing us will have a name beginning with K and London voters will have delivered their verdict on Bluffy Boris’s vanity projects. In the cold Winter of 2012 after the Olympic glow is well gone we'll see if this gimcrack link is really viable or if it was just another Circus Act?

What was TfL saying a mere year ago?

“TfL said it aimed to fund construction of the (£25 M) scheme with private finance, adding that discussions were being held with a number of private sector organisations. A privately funded cable car system offers a relatively quick and cost effective way of improving connections across the river for pedestrians and cyclists." Guardian – 5th July 2010

Looks like the private sector have since made up their own mind not to throw money into this?

London’s Dome

A recent trip to North Greenwich was a chance to see how the famous Millennium Dome was progressing in its new guise as the O2 entertainment complex under the management of American entertainment operators AEG who now run the Dome. It was also a chance to see how the former toxic wasteland of gasworks and “dirty” industry which formerly occupied the peninsula bounded by the River Thames was progressing in its reincarnation as the new neighbourhood opposite Canary Wharf, Greenwich Peninsula.









Greenwich Peninsula Master plan



The Dome is one of the iconic landmarks of London providing a reference point by air and river and last, but not least, the opening credits of the soap opera “Eastenders.” It even featured in the James Bond movie “The World is Not Enough.”

















The O2 inside The Dome



Originally championed by the Conservative politician Michael Heseltine to kick-start the development of the Thames Gateway it was designed to revive a disadvantaged area of London with poor transport links for the 2000 Millennium. Commissioned to mark the beginning of the new Millennium, the Millennium Dome was intended as a celebratory, iconic, non-hierarchical structure offering a vast, flexible space.













Dome Interiors



Although a high-profile project in its own right, the building also formed a key element of the master plan by its architect Richard Rodgers for the future development of the entire Greenwich Peninsula. When Tony Blair and the Labour Government were elected in the historic 1997 General Election they enthusiastically made the project their own seeing in it the echoes of the 1951 Festival of Britain with its “Dome of Discovery” which was also championed by a Labour Government. Back in 1951, the festival was devised by Labour deputy leader Herbert Morrison as "a tonic for the nation". A newsreel of the time described it as giving an "inexplicable lift to the heart", recreating the feel of a trip to the seaside.











One of the great stains on the competence of Tony Blair’s first government issues related to the Dome damaged Peter Mandelson's and John Prescott's political careers. The scheme was seen as an early example of what some saw as Tony Blair's often excessive optimism, who stated at the Dome's opening: "In the Dome we have a creation that, I believe, will truly be a beacon to the world". The fact that Mandelson's grandfather was Herbert Morrison who as a minister had been involved with the Festival of Britain often was drawn on for negative comparisons.



Among the problems which were identified in the post-mortem were;



Failure to attract 12m visitors

Confused priorities

Lack of contents plan

Weak financial control

Wrong management structure

£30m closure cost not anticipated



The cost of the building and contents was within half of one per cent of the original £750m budget. But the project had to be bailed out with an extra £230m in National Lottery grants because its income fell well short of budget, mainly because of a shortfall in visitors. The company had also failed to anticipate it would cost more than £30m to close the project down, he said.













The 2000 Millennium Exhibition



The Dome itself was built on time for a relatively modest £48m but the problem was filling the vast space. The building structure was engineered by Buro Happold, and the entire roof structure weighs less than the air contained within the building. Although referred to as a dome it is not strictly one as it is not self-supporting, but is a mast-supported, dome-shaped cable network. The building was the winner of the 2000 RIBA Gold Medal for outstanding architecture. The exhibition and Millennium show devised were seen as preachy, patronising and plain trite, one of the areas was sponsored by McDonald’s and it failed to attract the 12m projected paying visitors, the final tally was a tad over 6m visitors.





1 January 2000: The Queen and Prince Philip join hands with the Blairs and Princess Anne to sing the traditional New Year's Eve 'Auld Lang Syne' at midnight during the opening celebrations at the Millennium Dome in Greenwich



Even the opening ceremony with the Queen and an invited renta-crowd who had to queue for 3 hours for transport to the dome looked execrable. The Nation could tell her Britannic Majesty was not amused and the Nation sympathised with her. The fact that after the exhibition ended that the Dome lay virtually unused for almost 8 years whilst a hugely inept search for alternative uses ensued added to the air of incompetence surrounding the Dome and all its works.



http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2011/06/60th-anniversary-of-festival-of-britain.html



The dome is the largest of its type in the world. Externally, it appears as a large white marquee with twelve 100 m-high yellow support towers, one for each month of the year, or each hour of the clock face, representing the role played by Greenwich Mean Time. In plan view it is circular, 365 m in diameter — one metre for each day of the year — with scalloped edges. It has become one of the United Kingdom's most recognisable landmarks. It can easily be seen on aerial photographs of London. Its exterior is reminiscent of the Dome of Discovery built for the Festival of Britain in 1951.

















Dome Entrance Area



Apart from the dome itself, the project included the reclamation of the entire Greenwich Peninsula. The land was previously derelict and contaminated by toxic sludge from East Greenwich Gas Works that operated from 1889 to 1985. The clean-up operation was seen by the then Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine as an investment that would add a large area of useful land to the crowded capital. This was billed as part of a larger plan to regenerate a large, sparsely populated area to the east of London and south of the River Thames; an area initially called the East Thames Corridor but latterly marketed as the "Thames Gateway".











From the closure of the original "Millennium Experience" exhibition occupying the site, several possible ways of reusing the Millennium Dome's shell were proposed and then rejected. The official renaming of the Dome on 31 May 2008 as “The O2” indicated its long awaited transition into an entertainment district. The Dome's shell itself remained in situ but its interior and the area around North Greenwich Station, the QE2 pier and the main entrance area was completely redeveloped.









"Entertainment Avenue"



The area is served by North Greenwich tube station, which was opened just before the millennium exhibition, on the Jubilee Line, and by bus routes. Thames Clippers operate a river boat service for London River Services; the present tenants, AEG, purchased Thames Clippers in order to provide river links between central London and The O2. As well as a commuter service, Thames Clippers also operates The O2 Express service. The Dome reopened in 2007 and has since hosted concerts by acts including Led Zeppelin, Prince and Kylie Minogue. It will also be an official venue for the 2012 Olympics, hosting basketball and gymnastics.







The O2 is a music, sports and entertainment venue that’s already setting new international benchmarks. At the centre is a 23,000 capacity arena for the hottest music acts and world-class sports events. And there’s also indigO2, a 2,300 seat venue for more intimate performances and an 11 screen cinema. There is also the O2 Bubble - a spectacular exhibition space currently showing The Titanic Artefact exhibition and Entertainment Avenue - packed with restaurants, bars and clubs.

Redevelopment has also taken place of the approaches to the Dome.





Titanic Exhibition



Just outside The O2, there’s Peninsula Square, London’s newest and most spectacular outdoor space. It’s a great place to meet with friends and relax before a show or at lunchtime. The focal point of the square, Peninsula Spire - at 45 metres, is the UK’s tallest stainless steel structure, and a permanent art installation. There’s a growing green wall - draped with vegetation - and a performance wall with a plasma screen and a purpose-built free concert stage for special events, festivals and performances.





The distinctive cladding of Pierhead Walk





The outdoor screen



Patterns engraved in the granite paving tell the story of the Greenwich Meridian, and geysers set in the paving animate the square with soaring columns of water. At night, vibrant lighting accentuates the square’s exciting architecture.





The "Living Wall"



As for the Greenwich Peninsula it is a highly constrained development site bordered on 3 sides by the River Thames still bearing the scars of a diverse industrial history. Covering 74 hectares with 2.5 km of river frontage, its comprehensive regeneration marks one of the largest planning applications ever submitted in London and presented significant challenges to the design team. London's new community will embrace the riverside and provide homes for 25,000 people and jobs for 24,000. New offices, shops, restaurants and bars have opened. There are parks, a school and a world-class entertainment complex, The O2 – everything a new community needs.





















North Greenwich Station



All this is served by North Greenwich station on London Underground's Jubilee Line, opened on 14 May 1999. The station is located within a 358 metre-long box sunk into waterlogged (and partly contaminated) soil. It is adjacent to the Millennium Dome at the northern end the Greenwich peninsula. It is between Canary Wharf and Canning Town, and is on the boundary between Travelcard Zone 2 and Zone 3.The striking blue-tiled and glazed interior, with raking concrete columns rearing up inside the huge underground space, was designed by the architectural practice Alsop,Lyall and Störmer.





Platform 2 with platform edge doors





Station forecourt with glass canopy leading visitors to the O2



The station has an unusual layout as it was originally to serve a branch to London City Airport at Albert Dock across the river but after it was designed the proposal to serve the airport using the Docklands Light Railway was adopted so the extension was cancelled. A further disadvantage with the station layout was it was designed for the continuous traffic to the Dome exhibition but has difficulty coping with the heavy traffic after concerts end at the O2 meaning 23,000 people enter the station in a 45 minute period. This has not been helped by delays in the Jubilee Line upgrade project which was meant to be completed in 2009 but is still “getting there.”





Canary Wharf seen from the Dome



Only 20 minutes from London's West End, Greenwich Peninsula is well served with modern transport connections and yet only a couple of miles from elegant historic Greenwich. It's new and distinct, as well as being connected to an established peninsula community.



http://www.greenwichpeninsula.co.uk/



So today despite the naysayers over the years the Dome and the Greenwich Peninsula are looking good. AEG have been hugely professional and successful in building a buzz at the O2, so much so that many of the attendees are from abroad booked on concert or event packages. This is a trend which can only accelerate with the 2012 Olympics in London. The Greenwich Peninsula developments are building up critical mass and they have only to look across the river at the gleaming towers of Canary Wharf to see a hugely successful new neighbourhood which has seen of a recession and soothsayers of doom to succeed. So slightly later than expected this is going to be one of London’s more interesting and happening neighbourhoods and the Dome is becoming one of those “temporary” structures that cities cannot imagine themselves doing without like the Eiffel Tower, London Eye and, take a bow, London’s Dome!





The Millennium Dome seen from Greenwich riverside