London Government Act 1963

14 Other road traffic functions in Greater London

(1) The functions of the Minister of Transport under the following enactments shall, as respects Greater London, become functions of the Greater London Council, that is to say—

(a) sections 137 and 138 of the Highways Act 1959 (which relate to half-yearly schemes of repair and improvement works);

(b) except as respects trunk roads, section 21 of the Road Traffic Act 1960 (which relates to directions with respect to speed limits on restricted roads);

(c) sections 49 and 50 of the Road Traffic Act 1960 (which relate to the use of roads as playgrounds);

(d) section 18 of the Road Traffic and Roads Improvement Act 1960 (which relates to road improvements),

and so much of the said section 18 as restricts the duration thereof shall cease to have effect.

(2) The Greater London Council shall have as respects Greater London the like powers as are conferred on the Minister of Transport by section 19 of the Road Traffic and Roads Improvement Act 1960 (which relates to road improvements) and so much of that section as restricts the duration thereof shall cease to have effect; and, without prejudice to the extent of the powers of the Greater London Council by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this subsection, that Minister shall exercise his powers under the said section 19 only if he considers it necessary in connection with any order made or proposed to be made by him under section 34 of the Road Traffic Act 1960 or section 28 of the Road Traffic Act 1962 for a purpose specified in section 10(2)(b) or (c) or, as the case may be, 11(2) of this Act.

(3) In exercising their functions by virtue of subsection (1)(a) of this section, the Greater London Council, before drawing up a scheme under section 137 (3) of the said Act of 1959, shall instead of referring the statements mentioned in the said section 137 (3) to the body so mentioned consult with the appropriate commissioner of police and the London Transport Board; and no such scheme confirmed by that Council shall be binding on the Minister of Transport.

(4) The consent of the Greater London Council for the purposes of section 138(2) of the said Act of 1959 shall not be unreasonably withheld, and any question whether the withholding of such consent is unreasonable shall be determined in like manner as any question arising under section 136(4) of that Act; and section 136(6) and (7) of the said Act of 1959 shall apply to a contravention of section 138(2) thereof as they apply to a contravention of section 136(1) thereof.

(5) In the application to Greater London of section 44 of the Road Traffic Act 1960 (which relates to schemes for the establishment of pedestrian crossings on roads other than trunk roads) the expression “local authority ” in that section shall mean—

(a) as respects a metropolitan road, the Greater London Council;

(b) as respects any other road in a London borough, the council of the borough ;

(c) as respects any other road in the City, the Common Council;

but before the Greater London Council submit any scheme under that section with respect to a metropolitan road they shall consult with any other of the councils aforesaid within whose area that road is situated.

(6) In the Road Traffic Act 1960—

(a) section 17 (which relates to the control of the use of footpaths and bridleways for motor-vehicle trials) shall apply to the council of a London borough as it applies to the council of a county borough;

(b) section 49 (which empowers local authorities to prohibit traffic on roads to be used as playgrounds) shall apply to the Common Council as it applies to the council of a borough;

(c) section 65(3) (which relates to the appointment of authorised examiners of vehicles) shall apply to the Greater London Council as it applies to the council of a county and to the Common Council as it applies to the council of a borough ;

(d) sections 135(8) and 141(2) to (6) (which relate respectively to road service licences and to the approval of routes in the London special area) shall apply to the Greater London Council as they apply to the commissioners of police therein mentioned ;

(e) section 202(2)(a) (which relates to the bodies excepted from the requirement of third-party insurance or security) and section 221(3) (which relates to the institution of proceedings for an offence under that section in respect of protective helmets for motor cyclists) shall apply to the Greater London Council as they apply to the council of a county.