Complaining about traffic on Forest Hill Road

[TonyQuinn]

I have been led to believe that nothing will be done to make the traffic safer at the top of Forest Hill Road despite clear indications that the junction with Honor Oak Park and Honor Oak Road is a potential deathtrap. Only a couple of weeks ago I saw a car had crashed into the school gates at Francesca Cabrini. Luckily it was Saturday afternoon and not half 8 on a Monday morning. Because the school is in Southwark but the road is half in Lewisham, Lewisham Council I understand is not interested. Ideally, my contact at Southwark council says, is we get people from the Lewisham side of Forest Hill Road, or parents at Fairlawn School or any other interested party to make their concerns direct to. I think the speed and the insanity that is often visible on that road requires a response from Lewisham and Southwark councils, whether it be speed cameras, zebra crossing, traffic lights, new road design something.

Please send emails to following

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected] is the representative at Southwark

They are awaiting your comments.

Thanks

[Blueskies]

Thanks for this - I for one will email lewisham as forest hill road is concerning given recent accidents.

[TonyQuinn]

Think it's important that we get more and more people complaining. Mr Tarplett has failed to respond to my concerns so I spoke to the council and got through to a Mr Keith Gasson, who was very sympathetic.

Please email him too on [email protected]

Also copy in [email protected]

Will edit my opening thread to add these names there too.

[uncleglen]

All the horrible things that happen there are due to idiots who take risks on a practically blind bend. It looks like a very difficult layout to be able to put effective crossing places without demolishing Francesca Cabrini. As far as I can tell that school exacerbates the trouble because the parents dropping off and picking up causes many problems there anyway.

[TonyQuinn]

I agree it is an extremely difficult layout but I don't think it's beyond the power of the two councils to come up with something. Any ideas anyone has, please relay to the individuals I mentioned above.

[ralee]

I live next door to the school and it is such a dangerous road. Everyone morning the parents on the school run dropping off kids park along the road, cause actual mayhem, rowdy drivers, horns beeping and lots of chaos. I feel very sorry for the lolly pop lady.

The junction is a nightmare too, especially at rush hour. Cars pile at the tops, buses just about squeeze through, both p4 and p12. The road is always busy, make me wonder why nothing has been done to sort it out. Such a tight bend too.

[TonyQuinn]

Ralee, yes it is dangerous and really urge you just to send an email to the named individuals above.....that's the only way we're going to get anything sorted. Cheers.

[gpercival78]

..totally agree that something should be done but due to the layout I guess it is difficult - traffic lights will replicate the problems we see on Goose Green/Lordship lane roundabout.

I am forever standing there trying to cross in the morning to get to the station. Even the junction at the top is just as bad in the evening. The cars turning left into Honor Oak road fly round that corner from Honor Oak Park - I now walk further up H.O rd to try and miss getting knocked over, if I dont cross beforehand.

I actually thought something was being done a week or so ago...sadly not!

[TonyQuinn]

Unfortunately not, it was Thames Water fixing something a couple of weeks back. How much of an improvement was that?

I urge you to make your views known. It'll only take a minute. Regards

[ralee]

There is no where safe to cross at the top - even where there is the bus stop (for P4/P12 towards brixton/Surrey Quays) no crossing near a corner is asking for trouble. I see mothers and children taking chances, especially during the school run. It's frightening.

Will emailing have an impact? Has a petition ever been put in place working alongside the school?

[bonniebird]

I saw that car smashed into the school railings, looked like it went straight across from Honor Oak rd, tis a dodgy juction

[HannahSE23]

Well done TonyQuinn.

There's also a petition going round about a 20mph limit on Honor Oak Road. This definitely needs to be sorted out.

[TonyQuinn]

Appreciate it hoonaloona. Where can I sign this petition? And remember, send your concerns to named individuals up top. That seems to be the only way this can be sorted out. Regards

[dbboy]

why not make it walking pace and bring the whole area to a standstill, I believe Honor Oak Road already has speed bumps.

[Renata Hamvas]

To update, myself and my fellow ward councillors are totally aware of the situation at the top of Forest Hill Road and want something done to make this area safer. Discussions have been going on for some time. In 2010 the informal crossing point was put in. This is meant to act similarly to a zebra crossing ie that vehicles would stop to enable people to cross. I would like residents opinion on how well or not this crossing point functions. (I have my opinion on this, but I want residents/crossing point users opinions).

Southwark Officers have had a number of meetings with Lewisham officers to try to have a joint approach to sort this area out. I am very aware that many people cross just round the bend to go between the P4 and P12 bus stops, including parents pushing buggies. There is not even a central island at this point. Lewisham Officers don't appear to have had any complaints from local residents or from Fairlawn School. Southwark have had the issue raised by ward Councillors, residents and St Francesca Cabrini Primary School. I have spoken to the OP so if you are a Lewisham resident struggling to cross the road or a Southwark Resident whose child attends Fairlawn and find it difficult to cross or are nervous of the speeds on the bend please contact Lewisham (and Fairlawn school if your child attends there).

I had discussions with a council officer yesterday, a possible solution could be one crossing point near the P4/P12 bus stops, another one below St Francesca Cabrini School and a rejigging of the junction to slow speeds. It does however require cross Borough co-operation. This is possible, Southwark successfully worked in conjunction with Lambeth to produce a scheme at Waterloo on the Lambeth/Southwark border.

Cabinet Member Barrie Hargrove has been to visit site as has GLA member Valerie Shawcross.

Renata

[dbboy]

Why don't you start by tackling the huge problem of parents with chikldren who atrtend St Francesca Cabrini School and park to drop off their children from at least Honor Oak Rise up to the main gates of the school on BOTH sides of the road, acroos the main gates of the school, round the corner into Honor Oak Park, on the pavement and generally block the road. They additionally park in the bottom of each of Netherby and Canonbie roads.

If the parents did not park so dangerously and without any consideration for anyone else, the crossing in front of the school operated by a Lollipop lady (who you forgot to mention) would be a whole lot safer.

Please start by tackling the parents before you attempt to have introduced more traffic calming measures and infact why not conduct a survey and act on its findings. Yep, you did that for Colyton road and ignored common sense!!!!!!!!!!!

[Renata Hamvas]

Hi Dbboy,

The Lollipop Lady is only there when Primary schools starts and finishes and not at other times (and she has been knocked over, I discovered when talking to her when I was on site with Cllr Hargrove), eg when parents drop pickup from Fairlawn and St Francesca Cabrini Nursery and when they do breakfast or afterschool/sports clubs at either school. Secondary pupils from Kingsdale and other secondaries also cross between the P12 and P4 bus stops (there is no lollipop lady there). Also residents have reported trouble crossing in rush hour, evenings and at weekends.

I am aware that the head does write to parents at the school and that traffic enforcement officers are regularly in attendance (residents have complained to me in the past about poor parking practice and I have passed their complaints on to the school). I will contact the Head after the half term break and suggest she reminds parents that they should be parking legally and considerately.

Renata

[dbboy]

Renatta, it needs the Council or authorities i.e. the Police to ENFORCE the restrictions which parents blatantlt disregard

Furthermore the Traffic enforcement officers are sometimes there (only ever seen one there once) but do nothing about the FHR, HOR, HOP junction and was hesitamnt to talk tp parents parked on the Lewisham side of teh road???????

I see no benefit in a traffic calming measure between the two bus stops you mention. Have there been any accidents there, not that I am aware off. Any traffic calming measure particularly there would further hold up traffic on all three roads in both directions, it is slowly enough already so please don't fix something that doesn't need fixing.

There is;

1. a crossing outside the school

2. Road humps along Honor Oak Park and I believe Honor Oak Road

3. Traffic lights at Woodvale

4. Traffic lights with a crossing at Jonathos teh newsagent just past teh 63 bus stop

5. Traffice lights with a crosssing at Colyton road

6. Speed camersa by Peckham Rye Park

7. Trafffic lights at Peckham Rye / East Dulwich road

[Katrusja]

I'm afraid I have to agree with dbboy to a certain extent. I have complained to Renata before about this and received the same response but almost every day I continue to see the same issues with parents from St Francesca Cabrini and their parking at the top of the hill. I'm sure the majority of parents are considerate and don't block the traffic, but there are several who think that it is acceptable. I have started to keep a photo diary of it, but I have no idea as to who to contact and send the photos to, given that no-one seems to want to take responsibility (I'll try the Lewisham councillors suggested as well). Here is Friday's installment - the man holding the child's hand at the top got out of the car furthest away and was walking his child into the school. I've no idea how long his car was left there but he obviously felt fairly confident that no-one would be placing a parking ticket on his vehicle.

[TonyQuinn]

I don't think the parents dropping off their kids at the school is the primary problem. The biggest problem is speed. That's what most local residents want addressed in my opinion. As I stated in opening post, there have been accidents, most recently when a car crashed into the school gates on a Saturday afternoon. No parents dropping off their kids then. Ms Hamvas, appreciate your involvement in this. Please keep us informed of any developments. Again, I believe the best way to get things done is to email officials named in opening thread. Also dbboy, unaware of any crossing at the school, otherwise I would use it all the time. And staggered by your suggestion that the problem with the traffic flow around the top of the road is how slowly it goes. Maybe during school drop offs/pick ups....certainly not the case any other time.

[ralee]

I also think there needs to be some traffic calming down the hill (forest hill road) from the top at the school down to wood vale. I frequently hear cars zooming down over the speed limit and also speeding up the hill. I live on Honor oak rise and find it difficult pulling out onto the road with the traffic especially when cars park along the road including the regular van which completely blocks the view down the road.

I am a southwark resident but is it Lewisham councils turf?

[dbboy]

What I meant was the place infront of the school where the lollipop lady gets (or trys to get) people to cross the road.

[Blueskies]

The crossing in front of Cabrini is very hard to use in rush hour (not necessarily ony during school drop off and pick up times). Reason being is that due to the constant flow of traffic down forest hill rd, there is rarely a gap in the cars which enables one to walk out and cross the road, and of course cars don't need to stop for you. The cars are also starting ti speed up down the hill too at this point, which exacerbates the problem. I have had to walk out where cars are approaching with my hand up to try to get them to slow down so that I can cross the road. cars do seem to speed down the hill to the wood vale traffic lights and all the way to the bottom at the lights by Peckham rye park. Didn't someone recently share some data on traffic incidents which suggested the road is a hot spot?

[dbboy]

See the

1. a crossing outside the school

2. Road humps along Honor Oak Park and I believe Honor Oak Road

3. Traffic lights at Woodvale

4. Traffic lights with a crossing at Jonathos teh newsagent just past teh 63 bus stop

5. Traffice lights with a crosssing at Colyton road

6. Speed camersa by Peckham Rye Park

7. Trafffic lights at Peckham Rye / East Dulwich road

[Growlybear]

I don't understand why people are being told to contact St Francesca Cabrini and Fairlawn Primary Schools? Most schools in this area face a constant battle with parents who park illegally and inconsiderately - do people really think that they aren't aware of the problem? Schools constantly remind parents of the dangers they pose to children and others by parking illegally, but there is little more that they can do. Senior staff are abused on a regular basis when they tackle people who are illegally parked, and unfortunately they have no jurisdiction outside the school premises. Some schools 'name and shame' people who are parked illegally, but they don't have the power to do anything to stop people parking. The vast majority of schools in Lewisham are constantly asking for regular visits by traffic wardens, but the number of people available to visit around 80 schools in the Borough is woefully inadequate, and most schools can only expect one visit per term. Encouraging people to contact schools is not helpful.