simon-file

STREATHAM’S STREETSPACE
CHALLENGE
Lambeth Council has
immediately wrote to Lambeth
helping Streatham bicycle
published plans for reducing
Council and TfL alerting them to
commuters by expediting
road danger and the risk of
pinch points on Streatham High
Cycle Quietway Route 5 from
COVID-19 transmission as
Rd.
Norbury to Waterloo. This would
part of a Transport Strategy
Emergency Response
(TSER). This includes
immediate changes to the
highway to allow physical
distancing to take place at high
priority locations in line with
Government guidance.
None of the locations
mentioned is in Streatham.
Neil says: “Similar issues are
being experienced close to bus
stops on a number of other
high streets across London, so
we shall wait to see whether
temporarily cordoning off a part
of the bus lane close to these
two bus stops for as long as
social distancing measures
need to be in place may be the
involve asking Wandsworth
Council to allow the route to
cross Tooting Common, where
cycling is currently prohibited.
Quietways are continuous cycle
routes on less-busy backstreets
across London. They are
marked with purple signs and
are good for people who want
to cycle on lower-traffic streets.
best answer for sorting out this
Three priority areas are
problem.”
identified in the Council’s
Neil Salt
This is because problematic
areas are on Streatham High
Rd, which is under the control
of Transport for London. We
expect Lambeth recognise that
this is a significant problem in
some places in Streatham. In
places like those pictured –
Almost concurrently, the Mayor
of London and TfL announced
the Streetspace initiative,
giving space to new cycle
lanes and wider pavements
to enable social distancing.
Wider footways on high streets
will facilitate local economic
recovery by allowing space to
queue for shops and for people
to safely pass while socially
distancing.
adopted Low Traffic
Neighbourhood Plan: Oval,
Streatham Hill, and Valley Road
(see our last issue for details).
It proposes
bringing
forward trial
measures
in one or
more of
these areas
as soon as
possible to
68 Streatham Hill, London, SW2 4RD
Tel: 0208 677 6608 - Email: mail@emmasestateagents.co.uk
www.emmasestateagents.co.uk
outside a general store opposite
Streatham Green, and outside
Boot’s Optician – we urge TfL
to stop shop displays restricting
pavement width, and to extend
pathways into the roads with
temporary infrastructure.
We raised the issue with Neil
Salt, Chair of Streatham Action
Transport after receiving a big
response to posting photos
on @heartstreatham. He
TfL anticipate that cycling could
increase 10-fold and walking
five-fold post-lockdown, and
they aim rapidly to repurpose
London’s streets to serve
demand. Creating new walking
and cycling on the A23 between
Oval and Streatham Hill was
specified – though no details
have been released yet.
The TSER also mentions
reduce road
danger and prevent increased
traffic levels once movement
restrictions are eased. The
‘Oval triangle’ is the one most
likely to be prioritised due to its
link to the full implementation of
Cycleway 5. Unfortunately, the
map of the proposed route is
missing from the TfL website. -
Jane Wroe Wright