Latest on Streatham High Road works week commencing 12 Feb

Latest news from TfL - thanks to Streatham Action's transport group - about the road works currently causing major disruption on Streatham High Road at St Leonard's Junction:

"The upshot of the Monday morning site meeting between Thames Water and TfL determined that ...  the building of a raised table at the junction of Gleneldon Road and Streatham High Road, alongside part of the work to the triangulated central reservation immediately in front of that junction ... will be able to take place in tandem with the repair to the leaking water pipe by Thames Water on the corner of Gleneldon Road.

More details of planned roadworks for new safer St Leonard's Junction 12th Feb - 29 March

We have received more information about the work that is about to begin to make St Leonard’s Junction safe.

The improvements at the junction of Streatham High Road, Mitcham Lane, Tooting Bec Gardens and Gleneldon Road come after years of local campaigning to get safety concerns addressed.  It is a major ‘win’ for Streatham.  However there will be disruption while the work takes place and so your Green Party team will be working hard to ensure that this is minimised. 

More road closures next week as work starts 12 Feb on new, safer St Leonard's Junction

TfL have informed us of how they plan to handle traffic disruption during the works to improve the safety of St Leonard's Junction, which are due to begin on Monday 12th Feb and continue until the end of March.

Bus passengers and drivers face nearly another two months of road closures and  diversions - following the unexpected road works caused by a burst sewer under Streatham High Road in January.

The works to improve the junction of Streatham High Road, Mitcham Lane and Tooting Bec Gardens are the result of long campaigns to make the road safer for all its users. It has been the scene of numerous nasty accidents over recent years, including two fatalities.

Have your say on key walking and cycling routes

Lambeth Council wants to create more safe routes for walking and cycling - to help people stay healthy, and cut down on air-polluting use of cars for local journeys.

So now is the time to have your say on which routes would be most convenient for you - and which you think could be made safer to encourage travelling on foot and by bike.

From a cyclists' point of view, four key

TfL listens to Streatham on St Leonard's Junction

Transport for London wants to hear your views on its latest proposals to improve safety for pedestrians and other road users at St Leonard's Junction.

Its is proposing to remove the pedestrian crossing located between St Leonard's churchyard and the north side of Gleneldon Road, which is not currently heavily used.

Instead a modern, count-down crossing with a 'green man' will be created on the southern arm of the junction - where there is very high demand from pedestrians, but currently no actual pedestrian crossing. 

A new bus lane is also proposed to ease the flow of buses approaching the junction from Tooting Bec Gardens.

Its consultation on these proposals can be viewed here and runs until 29 October.

New plans for lethal St Leonard's Junction

Cllr Scott Ainslie and the Green team scrutinise plans

Transport for London is developing new plans for St Leonard's Junction - where two people have been killed and five seriously injured in just over two years.

The Streatham Green Team and other members of the Safer A23 Campaign have been working with TfL to propose changes to the road design aimed at reducing danger at the junction. For decades the junction has been a hazard for local people.

Mayor to face question over treacherous junction

Green Party London Assembly Member Caroline Russell is to question the Mayor over the decision by Transport for London to reject plans for a pedestrian crossing for St Leonard's junction - notoriously dangerous for pedestrians.

Ms Russell, who sits on the London Assembly's transport committee, joined local resident Barbara Hartnell, whose neighbour was killed at the junction, and members of the Safer A23 in Streatham campaign to see for herself where two people have been killed and 39 injured - five seriously - in the last five years.

"It was shocking to see this junction which is designed entirely for the benefit of motor vehicles while people have to take their chances looking for gaps in the traffic as there is no green man signal," said Ms Russell. 

"It is not fair that Londoners have to take their life in their hands just to get across the road. I was saddened to hear Barbara speak of her neighbour who sadly lost their life at this junction. 

"I am tabling a question to the Mayor asking him to assess this junction using a healthy street check score and revisit the decision to avoid installing a crossing in the light of the assessment."

Local resident Jonathan Bartley, who was recently elected co-leader of the Green Party, invited Ms Russell to Streatham after news broke on Wednesday that TfL has rejected proposals for a new pedestrian crossing at or near the junction. Proposals for a new crossing were displayed in Streatham Library in November 2015.

The reason given by TfL team leader for traffic infrastructure Mark Griffiths in an email answering questions from the Safer A23 Campaign is that a new crossing would cause "increased congestion to traffic beyond an accetable level". 

The Green Party's Chris Holt, an active member of the Safer A23 in Streatham Campaign, said: "This decision shows where TfL's priorities lie; they believe traffic must be kept moving - even at the cost of people's lives and limbs. We need the new mayor to change TfL's priorities. Londoners have the right to be safe on their streets."

See also for the history at this junction:

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/tfl-rejects-crossing-for-treacherous.html

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/st-leonards-junction-have-your-say.html

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/another-day-another-serious-collision.html

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/fatality-at-st-leonards-junction.html


http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/response-from-tfl-about-st-leonards.html

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/yet-another-collision-at-st-leonards.html

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/bus-beached-at-junction-of-streatham.html

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/what-could-be-done-about-junction-of.html

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/another-collision-at-tooting-bec.html

http://www.streathamguardian.co.uk/news/10024077.Crash_causes_injury_and_traffic_chaos/

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/safety-review-at-junction-of-mitcham.html

St Leonard's Junction - have your say

Aftermath of tragedy at St Leonard's Junction

TfL's proposals for a new pedestrian crossing at St Leonard's junction will be open to public scrutiny at a one-day workshop to be held at Streatham Library on November 21.

The junction - where Streatham High Road meets Tooting Bec Gardens and Mitcham Lane outside St Leonard's Church - is notoriously dangerous for pedestrians, with currently no safe crossing place as it enters "the dip" down towards Streatham station.

After concerted campaigning by the Green Party and others, Transport for London's proposal is to put a new pedestrian crossing a little way down "the dip" near Streatham Green. At the workshop, which will be open from 11am to 4pm on Saturday November 21, various options for this crossing will be presented - and local people's views sought.

When senior TfL managers toured Streatham in September they ruled out an option of phasing crossing times to allow simultaneous Green Man crossing periods across the whole junction - something pedestrians say creates the greatest feeling of safety.

See BBC news report on St Leonard's Junction.

See also for the history at this junction:

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/fatality-at-st-leonards-junction.html


http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/response-from-tfl-about-st-leonards.html

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/yet-another-collision-at-st-leonards.html

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/bus-beached-at-junction-of-streatham.html

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/what-could-be-done-about-junction-of.html

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/another-collision-at-tooting-bec.html

http://www.streathamguardian.co.uk/news/10024077.Crash_causes_injury_and_traffic_chaos/

http://streathamnews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/safety-review-at-junction-of-mitcham.html


 

A small epidemic of raised kerb stones

There appears to have been a small outbreak of raised kerb stones locally, so we've been reporting them (both to Lambeth council and Transport for London depending on where they are located) to get them fixed.

These do cause a major problem, particularly for some older residents, those who are partially sighted and younger children.

Getting them fixed is part of our drive to make local pavements safe and enjoyable for everyone (for more on why this is really important see Living Streets)

In particular we have reported a number around the junction of Ambleside Avenue, Garrad's Road, Tooting Bec Gardens, by Tooting Common, so they can be sorted out.

If you see any locally, let us know and we will get them sorted out.

Railings repaired - finally!

It's been ten months since Transport for London first gave us a commitment to repair the railings at the pedestrian crossing on Garrad's Road by Tooting Common.

They originally said they would try and do it by April. We kept chasing, and are pleased to report that TfL have sent us pictures of the repair, saying they completed it last weekend. We are now going to make sure they paint the bit they repaired - hopefully it won't take another ten months!

Here are the "before" and "after" shots they sent:

The truth about resurfacing

If you have ever wondered about claims made by councillors to have got this or that road resurfaced, then you may be interested to see the following, which are the carriageway scores for roads in St Leonard's Ward.

The 2 roads highlighted in green (Tooting Bec Gardens, Rydal Road) were just resurfaced.

To determine which roads should be resurfaced the Council carries out an assessment of every road to determine its condition. The carriageways not highlighted above currently sit on the authority resurfacing list and are prioritised primarily on their condition score.

Other factors are also considered in prioritising roads for resurfacing, these factors are listed below:

- Link/Traffic sensitivity i.e. TFL Network linkages, A road and B Road linkages etc

- Profile i.e. Schools, place of Worship, Community/leisure Centre, Library’s, cycle route etc

Once the Council has made the above considerations of condition, sensitivity and profile the final score for each road is produced (highlighted above in yellow) and the Council prioritises road resurfacing accordingly.

It's on old political trick for councillors to get hold of resurfacing data in advance, and then claim that they have got a road resurfaced through their lobbying. The truth is that it has a lot more to do with other factors including the number of potholes reported. If you report a lot of potholes, you can make a case and secure the resurfacing the road.

We have reported over 100 potholes in St Leonard's Ward in the last year either using the website www.fixmystreet.com or direct to Lambeth council. If anyone would like to see the potholes we have reported in their street, we would be happy to send a copy of the emails we have sent to the council, pictures we have taken, or records from fixmystreet.com

Collapsing drain outside 17 Tooting Bec Gardens

We have asked Transport for London to look at a drain outside 17 Tooting Bec Gardens, which appears to be collapsing on the road by the vehicle crossover, and take appropriate action to get it fixed. This should be treated as urgent by TfL.

[Update: 15/10/13 TfL came last night and fixed it very speedily]

Water leak on Tooting Bec Gardens

There is a water leak coming from under the kerb outside 35 Tooting Bec Gardens. The water is running right down the road as far as the junction with Garrad's Road and Ambleside Avenue.

We have reported it to Thames Water, and asked for it to be fixed as soon as possible.

Yet another collision at St Leonard's Junction overnight

There was yet another traffic collision overnight at the St Leonard's Junction (the junction of Streatham High Road, Mitcham Lane and Tooting Bec Gardens).

Apparently it involved a Hyundai, which must have been going quite fast to completely take out the traffic light on Streatham High Road between the Time2Move Estate Agent and the Manna Christian Bookshop.

This is a crossing which residents have repeatedly raised is dangerous, and just north of the location of one fatality. It is also about 20 yards from the location where a bus became "beached" earlier this month.

TfL promised a safety review of this junction last year. It was due to happen in April, but we got it brought forward after several collisions over Christmas. It was also recently resurfaced, and the box junction moved. We are still waiting for the results.

There are a number of ideas that could be pursued to improve the junction significantly if TfL is prepared to think creatively.

Bus 'beached' at junction of Streatham High Road / Tooting Bec Gardens / Mitcham Lane

There were huge tailbacks on Thursday morning along the Southbound carriageway on Streatham High Road (A23) when a bus apparently hit a traffic island and got stuck.

The incident happened at the St Leonard's Church junction, where Streatham High Road meets Tooting Bec Gardens and Mitcham Lane at the point where Gleneldon Road joins the High Road.

TfL promised a safety review of this junction last year. It was due to happen in April, but we got it brought forward after several collisions over Christmas. It was also recently resurfaced, and the box junction moved. We are still waiting for the results.

There are a number of ideas that could be pursued to improve the junction significantly if TfL is prepared to think creatively.

Another obstructive pole removed from Tooting Bec Gardens

Last year we got an old rusty pole removed from outside number 25 Tooting Bec Gardens, following a request by local residents. This was causing problems to pedestrians as well as difficulties for accessing off-road parking for the property.

We have also now got another one removed on the opposite side of the road outside number 30, which was also causing a hazard to predestrians and unnecessary street clutter.

Before:




After:

Getting the railings repaired at the bottom of Garrad's Road/ Tooting Bec Gardens

We are pleased to report that TfL have agreed to repair the railings at the bottom of Tooting Bec Gardens, at the junction with Garrad's Road, by Tooting Common.

These have been bent for several years following a collision there. We made several requests to TfL who have now responded and said they are "programmed in" for repair. They expect the repair to be completed by the end of April.

(TfL Ref: 1012030371/MOS )

What could be done about the junction of Streatham High Road, Mitcham Lane and Tooting Bec Gardens?

The junction of Streatham High Road, Mitcham Lane and Tooting Bec Gardens is a nightmare. There is continual traffic congestion, incidents of road rage, air and noise pollution, the crossings are considered unsafe by many pedestrians, and the junction is inhospitable to cyclists.

Is there anything that can be done?

We are waiting on the results of a safety and traffic review. In the meantime, @pheripheral tweeted this morning a very interesting video about how a similar junction has been transformed in Poynton, Cheshire. The solution there resulted in:

- Improved traffic flow
- Slower speeds
- Fewer collisions
- Less congestion
- Increased footfall of 88% in local shops
- More cyclists using the junction
- Shorter crossing times
- Greater accessibility for those who are old and disabled
- Less street clutter

Sounds impossible? Have a look at this video...

Extension to resurfacing work on Streatham High Road

We wrote last week that we had some good news, and TfL had agreed to resurface the junction of Mitcham Lane, Streatham High Road and Tooting Bec Gardens. This was long overdue, and many local residents had said that the surface was so bad, their houses were shaking when the buses went over the potholes.

However, the resurfacing wasn't going to extend down towards the dip, most notably to cover the area at the bus stops which are in a terrible state.

We therefore contacted TfL to ask if they could extend the works to cover the bus stops, and we are pleased to say that they have agreed.

This was the original map produced by TfL (Via Green Party London Assembly Member Darren Johnson's office) which shows the area which was originally to be resurfaced:

The area will now extend further down Streatham High Road (to the bottom left on the map).

We are still waiting to hear the results of the safety review at this junction as well as plans to sort out the congestion.

Junction of Mitcham Lane/ Streatham High Road to be resurfaced

Some good news. You may have seen the notices appear around the junction of Streatham High Road/ Mitcham Lane and Tooting Bec Gardens about works that are about to start. The junction is finally to be resurfaced.

We have been contacted by local residents on both Gleneldon Road and Streatham High Road, saying that their houses and flats shake when buses go past because of all the potholes. The crossing from St Leonard's Church to the other side of Streatham High Road is cracking up to the point it has become a hazard to walk on.

The resurfacing of the whole area should start soon.

We have been sent the following map by TfL (Via Green Party London Assembly Member Darren Johnson's office) which shows the area which will be resurfaced:

As you can see it will cover the two pedestrian crossings on Tooting Bec Gardens and the entrance to the Church of the English Martyr's on Mitcham Lane, and along Streatham High Road in both directions to cover both crossings.

However, as things stand, it won't extend down as far as the "dip" on Streatham High Road. There is a particularly bad area around the bus stop as you go down the hill, so we are asking if TfL will extend the resurfacing a little.

We are still waiting to hear the results of the safety review at this junction as well as plans to sort out the congestion.

[Update: 12/02/2013 We have now had a response from our request to TfL to resurface the area towards the "dip" on Streatham High Road, covering the bus stop. TfL have agreed to do this ]