but they found the money for New Year fireworks that no-one could attend
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I’ve never, ever had a problem or faced any challenges when driving on that stretch of road either coming down London road towards Dartmouth or Stanstead roads or approaching it from either side as well. Fine, I appreciate that you could be distracted by young passengers but as a seasoned motorist I’ve put most minor collisions, etc. I’ve witnessed in London down to poor awareness and possibly not having a driver’s license in the first place.
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Yes indeed our town centre is designed for drivers, actually we should rename the station ‘A205’
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Good to see Forest Hill Councillor @LeoGibbons still making a little bit of noise about this crossing over on Twitter too:
For some more context, Leo previously posted TfL’s response to local MP Ellie Reeves up the thread where TfL stated:
I can confirm that this scheme is being considered to restart, should we receive sufficient funding from the Government in the next funding agreement. I know this will not be the response that you were hoping for, but I hope it provides some explanation for why this scheme cannot proceed any further at this stage.
It’s a tough call whether fun annual traditions and entertainment should be paused in order to free funds for lasting improvement projects, and I’m not sure what this year’s display actually cost.
It would have been a bit miserable if there hadn’t been any New Year’s celebration though.
I can’t tell if Leo is sincerely asking the question about the crossing, or mocking “pale and stale” people who criticise Sadiq Khan?
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the latter
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Yes I thought so. Publicly making a racial slur against his own constituents, mocking their call for transport improvements.
Imagine the righteous outrage if he’d criticised another ethnic group? I don’t see how this is any more defensible.
Not a great tweet from Leo.
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Just a quick question. I used the crossing most week days for 16 years. Apart from suicidal pedestrians what exactly is the problem with it?
There is not enough room in the centre for the number of people crossing the road. This leads to pedestrians being unable to get into the tight pen between fast moving traffic - this in turn leads to pedestrians spreading outside the cage in the centre of the road.
The other problem is the timing. The cars stop coming from London Road and there are a couple of seconds before the cars come out of Dartmouth Road. One person can happily skip across the road, but if others step out they put themselves in danger and can’t get back on the over-crowded island.
This crossing is particularly problematic when large numbers of people are rushing for a train.
Why did TfL need to upgrade the junction with Brockley Rise, Honor Oak Road, Sydenham Hill, Waldram Park, Sydenham Rise, and crossing outside Sainsburys all before this major junction?
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It’s especially difficult, if not downright dangerous for the frail or disabled or those pushing prams or wrangling small children.
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I can’t speak for the others, but I think the Brockley Rise / South Circular one was long campaigned for by parents at Dalmain and elsewhere as it was a crossing used by young children daily to get to school and was viewed by many as quite dangerous and difficult to navigate with multiple children / during school rush and / or for kids walking to school by themselves due to it’s close proximity to Dalmain.
It was possibly easier to resolve also, I’m not sure.
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It is horrible and dangerous, especially in pre Covid rush hours. It is a classic of road design that prioritises traffic over the well being of pedestrians and the livability of the local area.
That said, the amount of confusion and poor lane discipline I see from drivers at that junction leads me to think it isn’t that well designed for anyone.
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It’s easy to be complacent, in a safe seat with no viable opposition. Lord Mandelson once said: “The people of south Wales will always vote Labour because they have nowhere else to go”. That also used to be said of Scotland and a lot of places in England.
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It is all about your perspective.
There are many who don’t see Leo as being fair and equal towards all sections of society who probably think he deserves a place on that Wall and probably many others who feel he is right to highlight the pale and stale people but we all need to try to get along and make Forest Hill a better place.
Sorting this difficult junction would help for all the reasons given plus I think it stops trade for some shops. I walk to Sainsburys regularly, coming from Dartmouth Road and always avoid that crossing, crossing further up and consequently rarely use Superdrug or the other shops/cafes on that section of London Road.
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Agreed. The design of the road does that, the pollution and inability to socially distance. Many streets of London have at least widened the pavements either permanently, or with temporary barriers for the pandemic. I often have the sense that none of the people who are supposed to be representing our interests are fighting our corner.
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That is what I thought was being described but was at a loss to understand how anyone would ever think that was what you needed to do!! Shows how naive I am!
I’m always hearing about “lack of funding”, and yet
“Damien Egan, Lewisham’s mayor, revealed the programme at the iconic Rivoli Ballroom, after the borough won its bid for more than £1m of funding to stage a series of events at venues across the borough next year.”
I know which I think is most important - between an improved pedestrian crossing or a temporary indoor beach.
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Soo… A London Borough wins £1m funding from the GLA, specifically for the delivery of a programme of cultural activities for the benefit of its community… you can’t then take that grant and spend it on completely unrelated matters that were not in the scope of our bid.
Devonish, if you’d like I can arrange for you to have a chat with our Cabinet Member for Finance and our Chair of the Audit Panel and they can outline just how little money there is left beyond that available for the provision of our statutory services. Occasionally, we receive pots of grant-funding for specific projects (such as the Borough of Culture) but these can only be used for specific purposes.
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I would agree with the need of double white line - from the pedestrian crossing in question (PEDDER/WHSmith) all way through the bend in A205 covering Devonshire Road- Waldram Crescent (obviously allowing entry to Devonshire Road).
Many times those motorcyclists (coming towards forest hill) trying to take-over cars from same direction, cross and drive on to the opposite lane (oncoming traffic) which can have catastrophic outcome. Have experienced it on several occasions (near misses thankfully).
Going back to the crossing, it will also need a longer “tail” from the pedestrian island, to mark separation of lanes from oncoming traffic; hopefully preventing wrong/illegal right turns.
Also railings should be painted with reflexive colours.
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