Rockets

Here: https://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/documents/s115170/Report GW3 Parking and Traffic Enforcement and associated services contract.pdf This is the report submitted to Southwark Cabinet meeting by Cllr McAsh and that was the trigger for the Cabinet agreement to extend and expand the APCOA contract. Some key snippets (the total contract is actually £12.5m with £2.5m to provide an extra 48 enforcement officers - which is why there are so many of them circling Lordship Lane all the time now). That cabinet approves the variation of the parking and traffic and associated services contract with APCOA Parking UK Ltd to utilise the available contract extension to extend the term of the contract for a period of three years from 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2027 in the sum of £4,150,611 p.a. and £12,451,833 across the three-year extension period. 2. That cabinet approves a variation of the existing contract with APCOA Parking UK Ltd for parking enforcement and associated services as outlined in paragraphs 10 to 11 in the sum of £2,578,309 p.a to provide an additional 48 civil enforcement officers (CEO) up to a total value of £9,668,660 for the period from 1 September 2023 to January to 31 May 2027 (three years and nine months - 45 months). Interestingly in the Southwark News article (https://southwarknews.co.uk/area/southwark/traffic-warden-contract-worth-11-5-million-branded-appalling-waste-of-money-after-southwark-councils-cpz-u-turn/) Cllr McAsh claims that this contract was not pre-empting the borough-wide CPZs yet in the document he submitted to cabinet last July it said (is he being economical with the truth to Southwark News?): The contract is based on enforcement of the whole borough albeit 32% of the borough does not have controlled parking. There is a need for additional civil enforcement officers to be deployed within the contract in order to provide the capacity to enforce the controlled parking zones that are to be implemented by August 2024. If you can spend over £12m on a parking enforcement contract (to ultimately raise more money from constituents) and then spend the suggested £50,000 on a single "consultation" for the failed DV junction redesign, then don't come pleading that you don't have the cash for cycle hangers and street lights.....it might be a good soundbite but when you scratch beneath the surface you realise something isn't adding up and that there might be more than just a little bit of spin/smoke screening going on from the council.....

This is a very good point - I wonder how council tax revenue has increased over the years due to the regeneration and gentrification in, mainly, the north and south of the borough. I do wonder whether Southwark's problem is not with funding but with spending. Remember the proposal they put in for Dulwich Village/Square that was going to cost something extortionate and was laughed out of the room for the ludicrous cost associated with it, How many times have they had to re-run consultations for various vanity projects (the aforementioned DV junction being one that has a lot of consultations linked to it) - none of this comes for free.

Is anyone happy they have spent £11m on a contract with APCOA for parking enforcement based on a CPZ rollout that they have since had to U-turn on - that doesn't seem to be a smart investment of tax-payers money? And then to claim they need crowd-funding to fund things like bike hangers and street lighting doesn't seem to be that smart - perhaps they are hoping the electorate have short memories....

There be a mayoral election coming....and clearly the Streatham LTN is an unmitigated disaster - propped up by the usual pro-LTN lobby groups working with councils (and the houses who live within the area and to the benefit of a small proportion of the local population) to try and force an ill-conceived plan that actually makes things worse and has a massively negative impact on public transport ....where have we seen that before.....? Speaking of which, has anyone else noticed that new monitoring strips have been going in around the area - Lordship Lane, East Dulwich Grove, Barry Road? There is a new set on Lordship Lane near the Court Lane junction (another on Townley) - clearly the positioning of the ones on Lordship Lane suggests the council wants to conclude that traffic is increasing as they have been moved up the road from the Melford Road position when they were monitoring to prove traffic was down and the LTNs were working!

And I still can't work out why they need Crowdfunding for cycle hangers and street lights when the transport coffers are swelling with LTN fine money and have been showing surplus/profit growth for a while since they went in. The council might want to try and pin this all on central government but I do think scrutiny on some of their frivolous spending might also be required - they did, after all, pay APCOA £11.5m to police CPZs that aren't being installed now....bit hard to play the woe is us card when things like that have happened on your watch.....but hey, there's a mayoral/general election coming so I am sure we will lots more of this stuff from Labour run councils over the next few months.

Can anyone explain to me why Southwark needs money for cycle hangers and street lighting when they are getting millions of extra revenue for roads and infrastructure from the LTN cameras? They can buy that stuff with that money as it would be considered roads infrastructure would it not?

A, perhaps, timely reminder of what Cllr McAsh wrote about LTNs on his blog….has time, and his promotion within Southwark Labour, changed his view per chance?

CPR - yes there is 35% more traffic on that road than there was pre-Covid...let's remind ourselves of what Cllr McAsh said that unless everyone was benefitting from reduced traffic then the LTN's could not be considered a success........we await, with interest, his comments on the latest set of figures......but don't hold your breath on ever hearing from any councillor on anything to do with LTNs...I think they would prefer they could just move on now.....ahem....

Sorry March you’re wrong and I think you are putting way to much faith in the council’s narrative. Look at the numbers: 1) East Dulwich Grove East at 35.8% higher traffic levels than pre-Covid 2) Burbage Road North now at 10.6 higher traffic levels than pre-Covid 3) Townley Road (which is restricted at the bus gate for the morning and afternoon rush hours in one direction) running at 3.2% lower than pre-Covid levels 4) The council claiming Croxted Road is 37.9% lower than pre-Covid levels which is laughable given the unholy row that erupted between the council and TFL when TFL said the LTN displacement was the reason for the increased traffic and congestion that was causing bus delays at the very junction the council does its monitoring. Not sure how those two things tally - can you explain that one? All of the above can be very simply explained: displacement. The Dulwich LTNs have not led to a reduction in traffic- look, even Townley and Burbage which have bus gates are not performing well - traffic has been displaced around the LTNs - it’s as clear as clear can be - except for those who don’t want to admit it. And can you explain your claim that cycling is down because car traffic is up? Are you saying people are abandoning bikes for cars?

March46 is your analysis merely confirming that displacement, rather than evaporation, has been taking place then?

Oh dear....the council's own data that was recently published on the now inaccessible Streetspace Dashboard showed that traffic has increased massively on LTN boundary roads. As you can currently no longer access the data for yourselves (can anyone get access to it as it gives me a 501 error - https://www.southwark.gov.uk/transport-and-roads/improving-our-streets/live-projects/streetspace/traffic-data-analysis) One Dulwich has published the data that the council had published. Really not sure how the council can spin their way out of this one - their own data shows LTNs are not working as desired and are merely displacing traffic - as many feared. Remember Cllr McAsh's own words that LTNs can only be considered a success if every road benefits. Data confirms failure of Dulwich LTNs 15 Feb The latest Southwark data shows that the LTNs have not reduced traffic, simply displaced it When One Dulwich met Cllr James McAsh last year, he said there would be no further updates to the Dulwich Streetspace Data Dashboard. But, to our surprise, an update appeared on 1 February, comparing June 2022 figures with June 2023. It confirms that the Dulwich LTNs are a failed experiment. Firstly, the Dulwich LTNs have not reduced traffic but simply displaced it. As the opening statement on the Dashboard says, traffic across Southwark has been rising since the end of the last COVID-19 lockdown and, in April 2022, was already “above pre-COVID levels on the TfL network near Dulwich”. So if some roads have been closed to traffic, where have all the cars, vans and lorries gone? The new data makes this very clear. In June 2023, traffic on East Dulwich Grove, a Dulwich LTN boundary road – a major bus route, with three schools, a health centre and a nursery, and thousands of children walking and cycling along it – had increased by 35.8% since pre-Covid/pre-LTN. We’ll just repeat this. According to Southwark’s own data, traffic on East Dulwich Grove has increased by 35.8%. Because East Dulwich Grove was already a busy road before the LTNs, this 35.8% increase represents thousands more cars/Large Goods Vehicles, rising to a peak of 16,960 as an average daily vehicle volume over five days in December 2022. At the point where East Dulwich Grove meets Lordship Lane, traffic increased in just twelve months by 23.5%. This is in Goose Green ward, where Cllr James McAsh – the Council cabinet member for the climate emergency, clean air and streets, and decision-maker on the LTNs – is the local councillor. News isn’t much better within the Dulwich Village LTN. Between 2022 and 2023, traffic on Townley Road, closed for 2.5 hours a day, increased by 14.6%, while cycling dropped by 23%. On Burbage Road, cycling dropped by a massive 57%, down to just 400 cycles in the week of 19 June 2023, which is lower than before the LTN went in. Figures for Croxted Road – another Dulwich LTN boundary road – are all over the place. In January and June 2023, there was apparently a large drop in traffic during the morning weekday peak (8am to 9am). But in February, March and May 2023, traffic was the same or above the June 2022 level. The clue to this variation may lie in the opening statement on the website, where Southwark points out that Automatic Traffic Counts (ATCs) “occasionally fail to collect data or under-report volumes”. This is obviously what happened in January and June 2023. On 16 January 2023 the number of cars on Croxted Road was recorded as zero. Despite these obvious reporting anomalies, June 2023 was the month Southwark chose to represent the true picture of traffic on Croxted Road. It’s time for this failed experiment to stop. We all know the pain and misery that have been caused by the Dulwich LTNs. One Dulwich has argued for a long time that 24/7 road closures directly discriminate against those who depend on their cars for basic mobility, especially the frail and elderly, and those with disabilities. But this huge displacement of traffic on to roads that were already busy also underlines that Southwark is failing in its basic statutory duty under the Traffic Management Act 2004 to ensure that road networks are managed effectively, to improve safety, and to minimise congestion and disruption. In Dulwich, as this latest data update shows, we have a road network that is no longer fit for purpose.

Latest update attached - fascinating that the council unexpectedly updated the Streetspace Dashboard with data that shows traffic increasing massively on a lot on roads they were previously claiming as proof that the LTNs were working....even more interesting is that the Streetspace Dashboard is currently unavailable: https://www.southwark.gov.uk/transport-and-roads/improving-our-streets/live-projects/streetspace/traffic-data-analysis One Dulwich Campaign Update | 15 Feb New data from Southwark on the Dulwich Streetspace Data Dashboard confirms that the Dulwich LTNs are a failed experiment. Traffic in Dulwich has not disappeared or “evaporated”. It has simply been displaced. As Southwark’s own figures show, traffic on East Dulwich Grove – a Dulwich LTN boundary road where thousands of children walk and cycle to school – has increased by 35.8% since pre-Covid/pre-LTN. This increase represents thousands more vehicles. In December 2022, during one five-day period, a daily average of nearly 17,000 cars/LGVs (Light Goods Vehicles) was recorded by the ATC (Automated Traffic Count) near the junction with Townley Road. Within the Dulwich Village LTN, traffic on Townley Road – closed for 2.5 hours a day – increased by 14.6% between 2022 and 2023, while cycling fell by 23%. On Burbage Road, cycling dropped by a massive 57%. Please read our full report here. The question is this: when will Southwark wake up to the fact that the Dulwich LTNs have not reduced traffic but simply created gross inequality? Thank you for your support.

https://twitter.com/DulwichCleanAir/status/1756953535885828193?s=19 So if this is correct that of the 586 households the person doing the door-to-door survey over the last few months 90% said they were against the CPZs and 87% found it easy to park then if anything like that sort of response is seen in the official council consultation it will be fascinating to see what the council do next and if they dare force the CPZ on people with a mayoral election approaching (interestingly on that we got a flyer from Sadiq and London Labour saying don't vote for the Greens of Lib Dems as it could let the Tories in - I think Sadiq might be worried). Bravo to that person for their efforts in knocking on so many households to garner their thoughts.

Saw someone again today on Townley at lunchtime with mask and hoodie up circling around Townley - he cycled down Townley from Lordship Lane they turned into Dovercourt and then immediately turned round and went back the way he came to Lordship Lane. My son reckons they are back as it is half-term and they know a lot of kids are out and about using their phones. Be careful everyone and warn your kids not to have their phones out when they walk along the street.

Indeed...I can't find anyone who has had one of the new leaflets Cllr McAsh promised before the deadline expired...

Did anyone ever get a new leaflet....?

At least Cllr Leeming has admitted that his measures do indeed increase journey lengths and time and, thereby, pollution! Doh! You would have thought he would also know that you can't do your weekly shop in a Sainsbury's Local! This tweet is so wonderfully tone-deaf and the type of tone-deafness that only politicians seem to be able to come up with.....amazing https://twitter.com/RM_Leeming/status/1755187809277620363?s=19

There has always been stressed parents in these parts but wind the clock back 10 years and they managed to be, in the main, polite and thoughtful to others. There is a definite change in the vibe around these days and I can't help but think it is all going a bit Islington (both the shops and the attitude towards others displayed by many). Unfortunately money might buy you a nice house in Dulwich but it can't buy you manners....a few new neighbours on our street have incensed some of the incumbents by their selfish attitude within days of moving in and instead of trying to make peace have doubled-down.

There is definitely a different mood in Dulwich nowadays...it has certainly changed over the last few years and I think it is two things 1) covid made a lot of people really selfish 2) with house prices the way they have been the last few years the Dulwich demographic has started to change again - more of the "money no object" types and that's not good for local vibes!

One does wonder how connected our councillors are to the local area as they make truly bizarre decisions that anyone who knows the area would consider utterly daft. The removal of these pedestrian refuges is really ludicrous and will reduce safety for pedestrians significantly.

Enforcing these measures on bank holidays does seem a bit ludicrous but I suspect it's probably quite profitable for the council given the likely higher number of folks from outside the area being around.

According to the consultation website it did close as planned yesterday: https://consultations.southwark.gov.uk/environment-leisure/option2-dulwichvillage-stage2-cpz/

We have had nothing and nor have our immediate neighbours. It did seem very ambitious for Cllr McAsh to think you could get them reprinted and sent to 8,000 households in just over a week pr perhaps there has been yet another council "oversight". Surely if they have not been delivered the consultation deadline has to be extended yet again?

https://southwarknews.co.uk/area/dulwich/council-to-send-out-8000-cpz-letters-to-dulwich-village-after-houses-were-missed/ Has anyone received one of the new leaflets in the last few days?

Absolutely spot on, for the overwhelming majority car ownership is (an expensive) necessity. For that very reason CPZs do nothing to alter car ownership or have a positive impact on climate change. And the entitlement I see more often than not comes from those who do subscribe to the view that these measures (and others) alter car ownership etc. but I think that is more a case of those who shout loudest have the most to hide - and that is very evident amongst many in the Dulwich area who personally benefit from the changes but do little to alter their own lifestyle choices.