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Coming through your
letter box this week ...
Sydenham Road
Consultation
Want a better High
Street? If you live within 5 minutes walking distance of the Sydenham Road
shopping centre - you should have, or about to receive a consultation booklet
from Lewisham. Don't worry if you are six minutes away you will be able to get
copies from the Kirkdale Book Shop.
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UPDATE -
Living Street Walk report at bottom of page |
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SEE THE
SHOW! -
Saturday December 9th by the Post Office
Lewisham
will be mounting an exhbition about the consultation - your oportunity to ask
and be heard and to get a copy ... |
The consultation will lead to plans to improve Sydenham
Road between the Kirkdale roundabout' and the Mayow Road junction (by
Slatters). It will be designed to take advantage of the opportunities from the
arrival of the London 'Overground' to Sydenham Station around 2010. The
Sydenham Gateway proposal from the Sydenham Society was an imaginative plan
which got people thinking of how we could make this a more vibrant and
interesting area. However the Sydenham Society were limited in the amount of
consultation they could do to create a plan taking into account everybody's
interest.
Now Transport for London has allocated a pot of money
for an extensive consultation and subsequent planning proposals. Furthermore we
have been led to believe that the final amount available for improvement may be
substantial. Millions rather than thousands were talked about. The rub is that
the proposals have to be imaginative enough to justify it. And pressing a few
of TfL hot buttons may help.
Lewisham have retained Living Streets (formerly the
Pedestrian's Association) to carry out a study of how we could better integrate
people in to an environment currently dominated by road transport. And there
are no "no-no's" as to what can be considered. This may be an opportunity to
replace our infamously unloved wobbly roundabout with something more inviting
and more friendly to pedestrians and drivers alike. We could folow the lead set
by Kensington High Street in reversing years of clogging up the road with
bollards, steel railings, signage and other impediments to free access. At last
road planners have discovered that trying to control road users is like trying
to herd cats!
Before & After:
Hannef Germany (above), Kensington High Street (below)
The Living Street people held two 'walkabouts' on
December 1st & 2nd. These were well and enthusiastically attended. The key
items that received most comment were:
Station
Approach
What a welcome to Sydenham we give visitors by rail! A
cluttered, dangerous roadway for pedestrians and a nightmare for motorists. It
also boasts one of the most awful public conveniences yet this will be where
the new london Overground arrives in 2010. Ideas include remodelling the
alleyway, moving the turning point further up to allow the current turning area
to become a focal point with kiosks and seperate people dashing up the alleyway
into the path of cars. If only the current NationalRail carparking plots could
be moved, say, to the Greyhound car park the approach could be redeveloped
imaginatively to meet the needs of commuter and a proper transport interchange
with convenient bus stops and perhaps allowing better car pickup/set down
during off peak periods.
Newlands Road
Junction
One of the more dangerous intersections for pedestrians
who have to run through constantly moving traffic. This with the infamous
accompanying 'sheep pen' signalled crossing Sydenham Road was an eyesore and of
little benefit. This has to be a priority in redesign.
Use of
Pavements
The disorganised clutter of signs, lamposts, bollards,
wastebins that reduce the otherwise generous pavements into narrow scuttleways.
The area outside the Post Office/Narborhood Centre was a particularly bad
example. The arrival of tthe Christmas tree with 'safety' fences that were a
greater danger themselves standing on feet designed to trip up anyone trying to
squeeze past. It was also noted that although Sydenham Road is wide and open -
much space is wasted both to traffic and pedestrians by guard rails, and
prohibited areas.
Kirkdale
Roundabout
This may be a hotspot in the consultation. While the
current 'wobbly' roundabout is loved by no-one some concern was raised by the
Living Street people suggesting that instead of a prettier and more navigable
replacement we should consider making it a traffic light controlled junction.
The advantage would be that this would not waste as much traffic space giving
more space to pedestrians and also allow them to cross the junction directly
instead of the current detours up the incoming roads. It was suggested whether
'The Cedars' could be persuaded to remove the walls to give a more open vista
of grass & trees.
Saturday Living Streets Meeting in the Narborhood
Centre
Living Streets Paul
Holdsworth 'Talking the Walk'
Original wide pavement
becomes a narrow obstacle course
Forbidden to traffic and people - what a waste of
space!
How many different types
of bollard can get in your way? |
