This is total madness. Can't he see that London is already grinding to a complete halt, again, despite his £8 poll tax on wheels? Congestion is so bad that it is putting people off enjoying what London has to offer, turning away visitors and business, and ruining what semblance of quality-of-life that still exists in this puffed-up Balkan capital.

London is a not just a city for people to 'enjoy', it is a business capital, and employment centre, a place where people have to undertake mundane, everyday activities. We need real help, not more obstacles against us leading our lives. Boris, please!!!!!

Stefan, London,

Ken - London is not barcelona or paris is it ? We struggle to get to mid twenties in this country in the english summer. I'm sure the 2000 tonnes of sand delivered to paris in august must be delivered on bike ? Of course it wouldn't be delivered by diesel powered trucks, would it ? ;-)

These, like many politicians, seem like the ideas of someone without anything original left !

Daniel, westgate on sea, Kent

"london isn't a tourist attraction", that's a good one.
we live in cities with public transportation systems that are the envy of the rest of the world and there are still loads of people who whine about the thought of having to leave the car at home and take a subway/bus/train/bike/etc. i work with a girl who commutes 4 hours a day - 2 hours each way - and i've never heard her whine.
apparently the u.s. isn't the only country filled with people who refuse to entertain the possibility of not driving.
i had no idea...

cochon.name, new york, us

It's funny how the majority of those in favour of this communist's latest idea don't actually live anywhere near London.

James, Ewell, Surrey

Wow this is a visionary idea. Understand as you reduce capacity you will reduce cogestion as people will want to find other means to go about their business. And making the city better for pedestrians should be a goal for all cities.

daver, Milwaukee, WI

This is very good news; will the British will re-discover what their legs are for ?

Hilly, Wurzburg, Germany

Las Ramblas is certainly "tree-lined" but also carries traffic... check your similies. Why can't pedestrians in London simply use the pavements which were, at considerable cost, designed and installed specifically for their exclusive use?

DJS, Stourbridge, Worcestershire

London is a working city, not some continental tourist attraction. This is another spiteful action from an intolerant politician. Sadly, spiteful actions from intolerant politicians just about sums up the state of the whole country now.

Simon, Chatham, Kent

Excellent news; perhaps one day the air in London will be fit for breathing.

BrummyDoug, Birmingham, England

What is this shift towards the continental style?
We are not continentals. We are not French, Italian, Belgian or Spanish. We are British! The idea of 24 hour drinking was to encourage the continental style cafe culture. It failed.
Now Ken livingstone want's to abolish cars in London? so that we can get drunk and pass out in the gutter without being run over by the evil car.
There is a deffinite push towards getiing the British to act more like the continentals. This is unacceptable.

E Mann, Warwick, U.K.

The Trafalgar Square scheme might be considered a success at the moment, but once all the traffic (including buses) from the Embankment is diverted up Whitehall and along the Strand and Fleet Street it will be absolute chaos.

Nick, London,

This is yet more evidence of Ken Livingston's delusional agenda. It is not Ken's London. It belongs to the people. Why doesn't he do our bidding instead of going off on some whimsical tangent? He needs to get London moving, not shut it down. We need more tube infrastructure so that we can run trains 24 hours. We need to enlarge the circular system so that cars could travel the circumference of London without stopping. Cut emissions by connecting roads, not cutting them off. Build pedestrian under and overpasses. London is the slowest city in Europe with the most expensive public transport. Why not introduce a %50 discount for London council tax payers to take public transport? That would get people off of the roads. I am a teacher and I find it very hard to afford Ken's grand schemes, including the olympics, which we will all have to pay for the next 20 years--long after he is deposed. No skin off your back, is it Ken?

Rick, London,

Why is there not a cycle path down the Embankment? Ken stop wasting money on other projects and sort this out.

Simon, London,

We should install a tram system - it works very well in Geneva.

Janet, Essex, UK

Ken hatred of the motor car contines unabated. Doubtless the traffic lights allowing access to Parliament square will be downgraded to match those causing queues of fuming traffic on all all the access roads to Trafalgar Square. This measure can only increase C02 and particulate emissions, whilst making it more difficult to get around London.

Rajiv Sachdeva, London,

Hmmm mixing cyclists and pedestrians is such a good idea.....

Watch the casualties rise there as the two-wheeled holders of the moral high ground race through ignoring, as they do, any aspects of he highway code that impede their progress.

Jon Dawkins, Bristol, UK

Public transport, taxis and bicycles are more than sufficient to get around in London, we need more cycle only routes. I pity those poor northern car slaves though, must feel like living in a third world country up there without decent public transport.

Rory, London,

Where are you Boris?

Duncan Tribute, Truro, GREAT Britain (at least, it was!)

That's just the stupidest thing I've ever heard. The Embankment is one of the few main arteries left at all in London and Ken wants to shut it down? London isn't Paris and we don't all get to go to the beach for the whole of August like the French and presumably Ken if he thinks this is a good idea.
Roll on Boris.

Thalia, London,

This is, for once, an excellent move by Ken Livingston. I've thought for many years that Oxford Street shoudl be closed off to traffic - perhaps put a free-to-ride tramway down there instead ... more environmentally friendly and a way to restore the lure of Oxrford Street retail.

Richard, New York/London, UK/USA

Hear hear to that. While you're at it Ken, can we have some weather protecting glass canopies over the walk ways and pedestrianized areas, some solar heaters and sunlight deficiency lamps and an civic order that all hotels must instal air conditioning (fueled from underground steam power generation of course). Oh and some quiet electric miners' style trolley trains to take the elderly and fat from shop to shop. Let's build the new Jerusalem.
PS the tube trains are the smallest in the world. Can we increase the tunnel and train size too?

Robin Cox Johnson, Hong Kong,

Apart from the notorious boulevard periphique ringroad Paris itself was always extremely easy to drive around with a fraction of the congestion problems suffered by Londoners. That was until the ludicrous Delanoe started meddling. . The installation of bus and cyclist routes has cut in half the available space for motorists who are now obliged to sit in blocked or slow moving queues watching the occasional bus and taxis using the empty half of the road now denied them.
And he hasn't finished yet .. the little space currently set aside for motorists is now going to be handed over to a new tramway system which will exacerbate the situation even more.
Bravo Delanoe ...

andy james, Lardieres, France

PLEASE close more streets in London to cars. We need more pedestrian-only areas. Related, the entire congestion charge area should only allow taxis and buses too.

Brian Groth, London, United Kingdom

Sounds wonderful. I'm sure the immigrant population which now occupies the capital will really appreciate it. I wonder if they'll invite poor northern natives to come and see it when its completed.

Eugene, Chester, England