Collision on Mitcham Lane last night and road closure

The collision on Mitcham Lane last night

There was another traffic collision last night on Mitcham Lane, at the junction with Conyers Road and Riggindale Road, outside Streatham Methodist Church.

Thank you to Adrian Gatton, a local resident, who sent us this picture.

I have spoken to police this morning, and have been told that three individuals were in the car which was travelling north along Mitcham Lane.  All had apparently consumed significant amounts of alcohol.  The car came over the bridge and turned over, and hit a couple of pedestrians, and the caught fire.  Police did not know if the car was stolen

There are no fatalities yet reported. However, the three individuals in the car were apparently seriously hurt, and at least one is in intensive care.

Mitcham Lane still shut this morning although police have finished their work

Mitcham Lane was closed between Ambleside Avenue and Conyers Road/ Riggindale Road this morning.  Police say they did all they needed to do after the collision last night, and the road was only remaining closed because Lambeth Council had still not arrived.

One lamp post needs to be looked at, and there is small bit of damage to the road surface (all within the bit cordoned off in the picture to the right).

There does not seen to be any reason why the whole road needs to be shut.  This has had a huge knock-on effect on traffic in the area, and means that police have to stay there until council officers arrive to take over.

We are chasing council officers to sort it out.

We are also continuing our long-running campaign to sort out this very dangerous stretch of road.

Pothole update

We promised that we would check local roads after winter had finished.

We reported the following potholes for repair:

• On Drewstead Road – between Woodbourne Avenue and Hoadly Road

• At the junction of Broadlands Avenue and De Montfort Road

• On Conyers Road – between Fairmile Avenue and Babington Road

• Outside Whinfell Close on Riggindale Road

• At the top of Moorcroft Road

• At the junction of Woodbourne Ave and Steep Hill

• Outside 11, 55, 114 and 144 Kingscourt Road

• Along Norfolk House Road and near the junction with Streatham High Road

• Outside 102A and 153 Gleneagle Road

• Outside 16 Blakemore Road

• At the bottom of Prentis Road at the junction with Garrad’s Road

Let us know if we have missed any that need sorting!

Blocked drains on Riggindale Road (and elsewhere)

With all the rain, its not surprising that there are quite a few blocked drains around, creating a lot of surface water which is causing a hazard for pedestrians and damaging local pavements and roads.

We have been going around identifying and reporting them. This picture was one of the most major we found, on Riggindale Road near the junction with Mitcham Lane, with water covering most of the pavement and a large part of the road.

This has been reported to Lambeth Council (not Thames Water as drains in the gutters are the Council's responsibility).

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

Ramp access at the end of Riggindale Road

There were two vehicle crossovers at the end of Riggindale Road, on either side, which were inaccessible.

The steps on each side meant it was very difficult for anyone using a wheelchair to use that route to get to Tooting Common. It was also causing problems for those with mobility impairments or using mobility scooters, as well as an inconvenience to parents pushing buggies and prams.

One was outside Pinkerton Place.

The other was outside number 2 Riggindale Road.

We asked the Council to ramp the vehicle crossovers, which they did a couple of days ago outside Pinkerton Place:

...and outside 2 Riggindale Road

This part of our ongoing project to make the environment around Streatham more accessible.

For other examples see:

Thirlmere Road ramp access

Outside Wellfield Road Community Centre

Ramps on Tooting Bec Gardens

Pavement widening at the bottom of Tooting Bec Gardens/ Garrad's Road

Or a list here.