Southwark London Cycle Network fails

Snow arrived in Southwark over a week ago. None of the official London Cycle Network was gritted but fortunately warmer rain on Saturday resolved most of the snow and ice. No thanks to Southwark Council this time round.

But some key parts of that network still have snow and ice as they are over bridges – which stay colder as they have cold air above and beneath them. This is a picture of LCN23 on Greendale. This is the main spine cycle route south to north in Southwark. At this point you have to get of and walk.

How many car drivers does Sotuhwark expect on their main roads to be out of their cars and push?

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The problem with such bridges was raised last year and agreed they needed more priority.

I’ll be seeking a full review of the Winter Service Plan.

What do you think has gone wrong?

Why aren’t our pavements gritted?

Southwark Council has a Winter Service Plan. It appears to be unravelling.

Apart from the obvious main roads being gritted as per Southwarks gritting plan. And even this appears to be failing around the Forest Hill Road area according to local residents. Making it impossible for the no.63 bus to go further south than Peckham for fear of not being able to turn around.

What really bothers me is that the Winter Service Plan was enhanced when last year the Lib Dem executive councillor ensured 80 x Turbocaster 300 hand propelled grit spreaders were purchased but no one has seen any used this year.

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Where are they hiding?

80 such gritting machines is enough to grit every pavement in Southwark in less than a day. We know from the weather forecasts that the snow and ice will stay for potentially another week. So gritting every pavement is critical to minimise the impacts of this bad weather on residents and to help keep everything running.

Have you seen one of these gritters – please let me know.

St.Francis park

St.Francis park is located just north of East Dulwich railway station. It’s the main pedestrian through route to get to and from the Sainsbury’s Dulwich store on Dog Kennel Hill.

When the planning applications was agreed to build on Metropolitan Open Land it was also agreed that Saisnbury’s had to provide and maintain a public open park.

Well they have but the maintenance is rock bottom and I suspect Sainsbury’s HQ don’t know how rough and ready this maintenance is.

So I’ve asked them. I’ve also asked when can they work towards achieving a Green Flag award for this park.

I await their initial response before deciding how to take this campaign forward. 

Lordship Lane gas works – part 2

Council officers confirmed yesterday that the contractor will employ someone to assist with people crossing at this junction while Southern Gas Networks works continue. These works are confirmed as finishing on Tuesday 7 September and then the remainder of the week will be reinstating the road.

The Police Safer Neighbourhood Team have said they’ll be vigilant against poor driving through these works. The contractor will next week, starting on Monday, employ a lolly pop person to assist with the school runs and keeping our kids safer.

I feel relieved that this junction will now be safer during school term. I was frantic to avoid a trafic repeat of the young school girl who died during similar works at the junction of East Dulwich Road with Peckham Rye.

Separately I’m arranging a council officer briefing about the whole process that can lead to this situation. Something has to change.

Lordship Lane Gas works

The gas works and the ‘temporary’ removal of the pedestrian phase at the junction of Lordship Lane with Barry Road junction (where Dulwich Library is) and vehicles, due to temporary lights, driving on the opposite side of the road causes me very real fear.

This is exactly the scenario we had over at Peckham Rye/East Dulwich Road junction where a young school girl tragically died crushed by a lorry while trying to navigate the temporary situation on her way to school.

Is everything being done to speed these works through?
Can a temporary lolly pop person be assigned to help kids cross as this is a route to school for many when local schools return tomorrow?

I’ve asked these questions of the lead council manager. Southwark schools go back today and these works are near a school.

I’m really fearful that we are going to have a tragic repeat.

20mph average speed cameras

I understand Transport for London is looking for four more areas in London to trial 20mph average speed cameras. Initial trials have been very successful in having collisions and injuries that involved illegal speeding. In Southwark the only trial we’ve been involved with is on Salter Road. Very successful it feels to. I’ve yet to see a definitive report on it.

Ideally Walworth road, which is meant to be 20mph, would have average speed cameras. We’d then see a further step decrease of injuries and collisions and crashes after its complete rebuild and redesign. It would complete the Walworth road project.

Equally, Southwark Bridge Road. It would ensure Cycle Superhighway no.7 which runs along it would be more successful and that a Cycle superhighway in Southwark means something tangibly better for people cycling. This is certainly what I ensured was put in the Memorandum of Understanding when I was the Cycle Champion councillor for Southwark.

Some people argue cameras should not be used but that a road should be self enforcing. Such self enforcing normally involves speed humps which can cause huge discomfort for people with back problems, etc. I’ve had one Southwark Council Officer say that the cameras and poles are ugly and that is the reason they fought against them.

Speeding vehicles really disect communities and make streets so unpleasant that only the poor and disadvantaged get left behind. So collisions disproportionately involve the poor. Unsurprisngingly the most vocal complaints against speed cameras come from those more well of who don;’t suffer any of the dreadful impacts.

But on balance I truly believe having speed cameras, despite the discomfort of better of people being caught for illegally speeding and the slashing of injuries and collisions is better than putting speed humps down everywhere and the real pain and suffering caused to generally poorer people lawfully going about their lives.

Where will the next trial in Southwark take place – we wait and see. I’ll be making a formal request on behalf of my group.

Side Guards

About three or four years ago I made a request that all Southwark street cleaning and rubbish vehicles have side guards. Side guards stop pedestrians and cyclists being dragged under the rear wheels during collisions and being killed or very seriously injured.

This didn’t prove possible for the rubbish trucks as they were about to become the responsibility of Veolia under a PFI deal. Apparently the Government dept at the time could’nt cope with such clauses in a waste PFI contract.

However I was promised that the next purchases for Southwark Councils small fleet of lorries that collect rubbish from street bins would consider having such side guards. On Saturday I spotted the first one with side guards. A Mercedes Sprinter 310 registration WN10 AHL. One very happy ex.Cycle Champion.

I’m making enquiries and making a big thank you to council officers for making this happen.

Next step will be to seek Veolia to voluntarily specify side guards on all new vehicles they purchase making Southwark even safer.

Speed cameras

Oh bloody hell.

The tory side of the national coalition has won out on speed cameras. We all know that they work. People slow down. Point speed cameras have an impact but average speed cameras are fantastic. Average speed cameras result in 99%+ speed limit adherence over the area they cover.

Well documented that speed limit adherence saves lives. Its not just well documented but peer reviewed research papers have proven it. Many are peevish about how safe they are and speed limits should’nt apply to people that drive as they do. Well everyone feels safe until that crash.

The revenue from speeding fines goes direct to the treasury and does’nt touch the sides of the enforcing authority the treasury then allocates funds to run cameras as per politician decisions. This was a silly change made by labour that urgently needs to be reversed.

Tory minsters have stated they’re ‘ending the war on motorists’. With this they mean they’re reducing the funds allocated to run speed cameras. So when we see more children killed, more multiple pile ups you know exactly which person is responsible – tory Secretary of State for Transport Phil Hammond. Of course speeding in our country is considered by most as ok until they’ve had the impact on family or circle of friends of a crash. Hopefully this selfish attitude will change as our country becomes more mature over speed as it did over drink driving all those years ago.

In a sane world local authorities would keep speed cameras fines and have to fund the cameras themselves. If residents think their council is overly zealous in enforcing the LAW about speed they vote them out. It’s called democracy.

In the mean time many local authorities are closing shop on speed cameras – Swindon, Oxford are some of the first.

Motorbikes in Transport for London bus lanes

TfL have just started the second trial of allowing motorbikes in its bus lanes across London. The first trial was a failure in that motorbikes were found to break the speed limit more and have more collisions and more serious collisions. By any measure the trial has shown this idea should end. Repeating a failed trial is abject failure in political leadership by Boris. By repeating the trial he will presumably keep the motorbike lobby happy but at what cost to London.

The first trial suggests no increase in cyclist casualties. I suspect many cyclists have voted with their bikes. I now avoid such Tfl bus lanes and cycle slightly less. It was bad enough to be buzzed by a motorbike before but with such bikers buzzing at greater speeds I am even less inclined to cycle along TfL bus lanes. I’m very fortunate that in Southwark my route to and from work only has Southwark bus lanes.

Do you think motorbikes should be allowed in bus lanes?

Walkscore – walk this way

Walk Score helps people live a carfree lifestyle by measuring how walkable a place is – not just how pretty the area is for walking. The Walk Score uses data and mapping from Google Maps to provide coverage of the walkability of any address in the world.

Although it only gives an approximation of walkability, Walk Score believes it is useful tool to motivate people to get out and walk. Walk Score shows amenities within walking distance – such as restaurants, shops, parks, schools or libraries – and awards points depending on the closeness of the amenity, with the most points awarded for those within 400m. Locations are scored within a range of 0 and 100: from the “Walkers’ Paradise” where most errands can be  accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car, to the “Car-Dependent” where there is virtually no neighbourhood destinations within walking range – the only place you can walk is from your house to your car. 

Tintagel Crescent scored 93/100 – walker’s paradise.

Heber Road – 65/100 – somewhat walkable.

Henslowe Road – 85/100 – very walkable

Have a look at your street www.walkscore.com  Name your street and state London and away you go.