Came across this term and was mystified until I read on….. www.carfreewalks.org
Idea is that many ramblers drive to the start of a walk and then walk. In fact many cyclists drive to a great start for cycle. Terrible for the environment and for me would ruin the whole point of going for a walk or cycle.
Take a look at the website. Try a walk via public transport.
Work has started changing the E&C southern roundabout to a signalised junction.
The plans look to more civilise the this area and should make it much better for pedestrians who will be able to cross at street level rather than via forbidding underpasses. Also, should be an improvement for cyclists.
So good for getting from A to B and also good for reducing fear of crime.
I still think it could be even more ambitious but its taken years to get Transport for London to even agree these changes.
Under London Mayor Boris Johnson, Transport for London is looking to remove pedestrian crossings and traffic lights. Where he can’t remove them he’s having them reviewed to reduce the amount of pedestrian green time. At other sites he’s having a count down to rush pedestrians along. You never see countdowns for cars do you.
One set of traffic light removals that have a pedestrian phase will sever a designated cycle path – junction of Southwark Bridge Road with Union Street.
Three sets of pelican crossings along Tooley Street will be removed. Apparently he hates having to stop at these when he’s cycling to or from the Mayoral penthouse – people talk to him – so they’re going.
Why is this happening? Transport for London has stated they want to facilitate traffic movement. Perhaps they’ve forgotten anyone driving a vehicle has to get out and walk at some point.
Instead Transport for London should be putting the traffic signals data on the web. Bags of community spirited residents would then think how to squeeze more out of the existing lights for everyone. For example the junction of Denmark Hill with Coldbarbour Lane and Daneville. The Daneville arm is one -way east bound. It should be green for pedestrians whenever red for traffic. But no, only green once in a blue moon.
I suspect the root cause of all this comes from Boris being a headbanging cyclist. The short that charge around. I’ve seen him ignore red lights and cycling along one way streets the wrong way. Such cyclists are a tiny minority but boy do they give the majority a bad name and crucially they don’t respect people walking or see the need for special softer facilities for cyclists.
Hopefully Boris wont last beyond the next election and TfL can then work on what’s best for ALL Londoners.
Accroding to a report produced by Dr Brian Miller for IOM 136 Southwark residents die prematurely every year. Six of those every year in East Dulwich ward. This means on average we’re ALL dieing 3 weeks earlier than necessary but equally importantly suffer problems and complications due to poorer health from air pollution.
http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Health_Study_%20Report.pdf
To combat this the London Mayor is closing down the Western extension of the Congestion Charging Zone, and has delayed other planned measures.
We all have a part to play – walking and cycling more and reducing cars less. Insulating our homes more so we use gas boilers less. Less packaging so fewer and lighter lorries.
But London and each borough also need to do their part. In East Dulwich we’ve created a carbon fund to help with simple measures to reduce CO2 which happily sees fewer other conmbustion products that cause air pollution.
Are you doing your bit?
The Dulwich Society Traffic & Transport Group have initiated the idea of a new walking & cycling network. This concept has been endorsed by the Dulwich Safe Route to School group – local schools coming together to discuss common problems that get in the way of pupils, teachers and parents walking and cycling to local schools.
To help formulate where to concentrate on starting this network they’ve created a travel survey.
If you take kids to school locally please do fill it in:
http://dulwichsaferoutes.wordpress.com
or email Dulwichsaferoutesinfo@gmail.com
I think its a great idea which the Dulwich Estates have so far indicated they’d like to support.
Important concept that many don’t walk or cycle as its not pleasant. But making it pleasant will increase numbers walking and cycling reducing car use, making it more etc etc.
Southwark Council has a rolling programme to review all one-way streets to ensure they are truly required. On one-way streets people drive much father making it at best unpleasant for cycling and walking and at worst much more dangerous. It also creates very long detours making it attractive for some to cycle on pavements or the wrong way.
I used to live on Tabard Street which had a crazy one-way gyratory. It took several years to persuaded Transport For London to remove it but boy what a step improvement for the area. Still marked on maps as major road even though very little goes down it.
Closer to home in East Dulwich this review should cover Crawthew, Etherow and Henslowe as well as finalising the cycle contraflow on Spurling Road.
The contraflow cycle path on Rye Lane is taking an eternity but what a great change that will see.
If you have any views on one-way streets please let me know.
Southwark Council is negotiating with which preferred Car CLub supplie rshould have 85 dedicated car clubs parking spaces around Southwark.
Car clubs are a great concept and have shown that each car club car replaces 8-15 private cars. Most private cars sit parked up 95%+ of their lives. Also, car club members tend to increase their thinking about travel and use publci transport more.
To accelerate this the East Dulwich councillors allocated £10,000 for extra Car Club spaces in East Dulwich. These spaces have been proposed no casework feedback about parking issues AND to ensure that generally an East Dulwich resident will have car club space within 200m of their home.
The next step is to finalise the Car Club and then the road markings process will happen across Southwark.
This act enables residents to indetify and suggest ways to improve local areas. Only 1/3rd of local councils took part. 293 ideas were proposed of which 8 came from Southwark.
These have been short listed to be discussed by government ministers and 7 of Southwark’s 8 have made it to this final list:
1. Southwark camera partnership – Transfer of funding to a Southwark camera partnership, which would redistribute revenue towards services such as road calming measures and have the power to move existing cameras.
2. Relax the requirement for 20mph zones – It should be at the discretion of the council whether there are self enforcing calming measures and what form they take
3. National plastic bag free day – No exchange of plastic bags between retailer and customer on a given day.
4. A duty on Network Rail and any other rail operators – A duty to be imposed on Network Rail and any other rail operators to work in partnership with local authorities and local communities to safeguard and improve the environment directly relating to railway land and infrastructure
5. Smooth leaseholder repair bills – Change in the rules to allow councils to take deposits and prudently invest leaseholder funds, on a voluntary basis, to help smooth leaseholder repairs bills.
6. Unlawful use of properties – Penalties for unlawful use of a property, with the council having the ability to impose civil penalties on the freeholder to cover the costs of planning enforcement.
7. Permaculture design principles – A permissive regime that enables Council to prioritise permaculture design principle in local planning policy.
All great ideas (the first was my idea) that would make a real difference to Southwark.
Fingers crossed they don’t get lost in the general election period but that most proceed.
The East Dulwich councillors have been campaigning for our streets to be safer. Many residents have contacted us about speeding vehicles. We’ve provided the local Police with a state of art speed gun and display. But on some streets the speed limit is excessive.
Just before the summer holidays traffic and speed counters were installed for a fortnight on 22 of the 65 streets in East Dulwich. On some streets several were installed.
The governments rules to make a street 20mph is that the mean average speed must be lower than 24mph. The results of the counters are below. The next step is for officers to meet the police and other emeregency services and agreed that their happy for these streets to be made 20mph in principle. Local residents are then formally consulted. Then we have to by law advertise this in the local papers (now you know why lots of council tax money on publicity goes), then the signs go up and we should see an average speed reduction due to the signs of 1-3mph. Then local Police can enforce such reasonable speeds on wholly residential roads in East Dulwich. Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.
Lots of debate about traffic calming measures – speed cushions are often ignored by larger vehicles and 4WD cars, humps are painful and dangerous for cyclists and painful for vehicle occupants even when taken at less than 20mph. Until the Labour Government finally approves average speed cameras or changes insurance laws physical measures have to be installed to calm peoples behaviour behind the wheel.However, one type of hump doesn’t seem to have this problem – sinusoidal humps. They’re curved like a wave. Not quite as effective at traffic calming as regular ’round topped’ humps but boy are they more comfortable for vehicle occupants and safer for cyclists.
With the executive councillor Paul Kyriacou agreement it is now Southwark Council policy that all new humps will be sinusoidal. I also expect when old humps get replaced during maintenance that they’ll be replaced with sinusoidal humps.