The Mayor of London's battle to rid the capital's streets of disruptive and unsafe roadworks has made progress over the last 12 months according to the latest figures from Transport for London.

There were nearly 4,000 fewer roadworks on Transport for London's roads between last April and the end of 2011 when compared to the same period in 2010, a fall of 13 per cent. That helped cut the hours of serious disruption caused by planned roadworks by 182 hours, or 39 per cent, when compared with the previous year.

The latest figures show how the Mayor’s roadworks permit scheme is having a greater impact in boroughs where it is used compared to those where it is not. Boroughs using the permit scheme have seen a 17 per cent reduction in utility works compared to a seven per cent reduction in boroughs that do not issue permits.

Transport for London has also detailed how around 2,200 reports have already been made using the new Report IT system that was launched near the end of September for members of the public to report disruptive or badly managed roadworks. Around a quarter of the reports were for roadworks on TfL roads and three quarters for borough roads.

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The system has already led to Transport for London issuing two fixed penalty notices against utility companies and to the identification of an over-running works site that led to £1,160 in fines. In total, around 500 Fixed Penalty Notices have been given to works promoters since April 2011, including more than 100 for working without a permit. A further 162 charges have also been imposed by TfL for over-running works by utility companies across London.

Last month the Mayor and Transport for London met with Chief Executives from six key utility companies at City Hall. In a positive and productive meeting the utility companies agreed to work with the Mayor and TfL to develop a revised version of the Mayor’s Code of Conduct that will include more specific targets.

At the meeting the utility companies and TfL agreed in principle to double the amount of joint works they carry out, which could potentially save more than 1000 days of disruption for road users. They also agreed to set a specific target to shorten average works durations.

The Mayor also urged utility chiefs to adopt innovative new technologies such as road-plating and "key-hole cutting" on a more widespread basis to further reduce the duration and disruption of roadworks and help joint working.

Mr Johnson, said: "Roadworks are a colossal nuisance for Londoners and a great cost to our economy. I am pleased to report some progress in our drive to reduce the disruption they cause, however there is still plenty more to do and we will continue to push everyone involved in roadworks on the capital’s roads to do their utmost to help keep London moving."

(CD/GK)