please empty your brain below
;-)
Only last month those proposals were put back to 2021, despite the construction work that sparked them being close to completion.
When I last looked at them, I was suprised it was pedestrians and cyclists who were the big losers with 15 to 20% increases in journey times while drivers and bus passengers would be getting faster journeys. Oh and only 57% of people were positive about the plans.
https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/roads/wandsworth-town-centre/
Of course. Consultations are just a tick-box exercise these days.
As anyone who has ever bothered to spend time replying to consultations, to point out things those running them haven't considered (which are all ignored, then all come true, just as they predicted), knows.
Out of interest, how many people replied to this consultation, and how many raised the issues you've now found are causing problems?
TfL's bus-related consultation had 190 responses, 116 of which included a comment. Only three issues were mentioned by more than 5 people, each of these fairly vague. So it's no surprise everything was waved through.
Why the sudden desire to remove one way gyratory systems?, Stratford, Wandsworth, Vauxhall all being removed, and Kingston has plans to change back.
For bus users it is not always convenient, and the stationary traffic adds more to the pollution.
One way systems also effectively mean having two parallel ‘main roads’ (one in each direction) instead of one main road and one much quieter side road.
Put simply, reducing capacity and increasing congestion is a feature of converting one way systems to two way, but not an issue, as congestion ultimately discourages people from driving. (Except buses, which ideally should have their own lanes)
TfL's bus-related consultation had 190 responses, 116 of which included a comment. Only three issues were mentioned by more than 5 people, each of these fairly vague. So it's no surprise everything was waved through."
I wonder how many people affected by this major change actually knew there were proposals, or that they could comment on them?
What was the debate by elected members at the Council concerned? Was there even any debate at full committee or sub-committee, or do multi-agency proposals just get waived through these days? (outside of Cities they can't be, but, it being London, who knows!)
And lastly, it may be a mess now, but once the problems are resolved and rectified, is there potential for the new road usage to be a better thing?
TfL alerted users of all relevant routes by email. I got that email.
But there's a massive difference between being alerted to a consultation and reading it, and of course hugely fewer people respond.
Even when they do respond, highly specific comments tend to be drowned out by a chorus of generic "I don't like this" moans. Only four people queried the big gap between stops on route 276, for example.
Some London councils come under extremely close scrutiny from local journalists, ex-journalists and bloggers. Newham is not one of these.
Looking back at DG's previous reports, they mentioned encouraging visitors to the Broadway, High Street and Cultural Quarter; road calming measures to reduce speeds (perhaps that is where the increased congestion and reduced capacity come in); separate cycle tracks (most people support proper separated cycle infrastructure, but it has to go somewhere, and it is not much use if people don't actually use them); moved or widened pedestrian crossings, and new landscaping.
And 93% of the 355 respondants were in favour.
Sounds like a bit of a mess currently, but perhaps it will bed in once stage 2 happens and people get used to it. It will be fascinating to see.
Additionally I only knew about the 425 bus because of your earlier blog. I caught it yesterday evening having spotted it behind a packed 25. The 425 was nice and empty and I did hear people asking where it went when they got on. No notification at the bus stops at all.
The queue was just as long, but you'd likely escape from it a few minutes quicker. Still a miserable journey-destroying jam, though.
There were plenty of opportunities during the consultation for comment. How much was smart or relevant is another story.
However the biggest scandal is the outrageous waste of public funds. When CS2 was being built this scheme already had approval and funding (a booby prize for not getting a 'Mini Holland scheme in a Borough where nobody owns a bike).
However TfL continued to build the Stratford bit of the bike lane in 2014, moving light columns (with 6 weeks of no street lights and increased crime in Broadway) all new pavements, changed kerbs & etc at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
This has now all been ripped up and replaced by this scheme 4 years later. Best use of public funds royally ignored as various departments spend their budget with no care about value for money overall.
Darn sarf we have the changes in Lewisham and Deptford as comparison. The Lewisham system also has pedestrian lights which block traffic which has just passed through a green light leading it to back up. Still. After well over a year.
Anti-social driving by people using the wrong lanes and then barging in is positively encouraged by the changes. The police initially nicked a few people but have more important things to do so it continues.
After the changes in Deptford I know of at least three fatalities at the junction (2 pedestrians, 1 driver) and numerous big crashes, the latest of which was at the end of last week. Just keep your eye out on TfL's Twitter feed for the latest. I do not know if this is an improvement or not. I don't remember that many before but could well be wrong.
The traffic backing up towards Lewisham is now worse, along with Deptford Church Street going south.
So this scheme makes sense - reduce the 'car is king' mindset when clearly car is not the chosen option for most folk in Newham.
We have the same shambles in Waltham Forest with worse to come and more collateral damage to the bus service due. You couldn't make this nonsense up.
Stratford used to rank with Wandsworth in being utterly horrific for cyclists. Last time I pedalled through, though, I found it quite perplexing (and just a little idiotic in places) but still nicer than having to go the long way around the motor racing circuit.
I'm still not entirely sure what all this work is meant to achieve. The new layout doesn't make things better for pedestrians, buses or drivers, and barely seems to improve things for cyclists either.
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