first mate

Hi James, Thanks for the update on the good work you are doing to support children and young people in the borough. I have copied a post from another thread on the Healthy Living Streets consultation and further proposals for road and traffic changes based on Council statistics. The post below challenges Council figures about an alleged rise in traffic around Melbourne Grove. A number of us would be interested in your take on this? Have the Council made mistake? ? During the consultation period our Councillors claimed that the traffic "through the junction", had increased by 47% in recent years. This claim featured very prominently in the 2 public meetings I attended and was used as a justification for the urgent need to support the Councils' proposals. I have been doing some research this weekend and learned from one of the Southwark traffic engineeers that the 47% increase came from Southwark's "Annual Report on delivery of the Transport Plan 2017\18" (page 12, Fig 6) The data is from Southwark's annual traffic surveys, ie the number I quoted in my original post. So, the 47% increase "through the junction" is acually comparing traffic going North\South on Dulwich Village, not "through the junction" . And, most importantly, the base period is Sep 2017. when the council was carrying out the reconfiguration works to the DV junction. Can you remember the huge queues and disruption caused by the building works and the 4 way traffic lights. no wonder traffic volumes were lower in that period.? This is therefore a totally false comparison; if you compare 2018 with 2016, 2015 or 2014 you can see that the traffic has actually decreased and is part of a continuing downwards decrease. This is quite frankly outrageous. Councillors have quoted highly misleading statistics to justify a scheme that will have a massive impact on residents in Dulwich. It is possible, though unlikely, that this was a genuine mistake but even so, it totally undermines the credibility of the phase 3 consultation process. If our councillors or their supporters (Exdulwicher, TownleyGreen?) can explain the 47% increase as other than a temporary blip caused by massive disruption in the base period I would be interested to hear their reasons.

Is this about keeping Conway in pocket?

I think a bit every now and then is okay, as well as being at a reasonable time, but all the time no, and definitely not after 11pm.

If people want to listen to loud music every day and night that is understandable but given the number of high quality headsets out there, there is really no good reason to inflict it on everyone else.

If either are healthcare or keyworkers they may need to be washing much more frequently. Additionally, if their water is metered water charges drop after a certain time. In normal circumstance, some of us have neighbours that roll in at 12 or later from the pub and start to play loud music. So I get where you are coming from.

Anal

Yes, but is it standard or ethical to pollard in late spring early summer when birds are nesting?

Don?t feel bad it?s not for everyone but if it helps even a few key workers through it is worth it. Just grin and bear it.

Uncle

Gump

Malambu said : At times this thread feels like vigilantism by proxy. Interesting to see some of the reports of police being unnecessarily inundated with calls including some wishing to settle old scores with neighbours [www.independent.co.uk] And everyone's favourite on line newspaper (The Daily Hate) ran two stories separated by four days at the end of March, the first a story urging people not to bother the police unnecessarily, the second the opposite (grass on your neighbours). You seem a decent cove Malambu but there you go again. You may feel that some of us are overly anxious, or just not ?positive? enough, but the inference that those who do not completely share your views or perspective are ?vigilantes by proxy? with the subtle hint that the same may possibly take cues and values from the ?Daily Hate? and might be the types to grass up neighbours to settle old scores is all a bit OTT and provocative don?t you think? Perhaps you did not mean it that way, I hope not. Understand the use of ?morons? might have got you riled but your sly digs are no better really.

Out this morning every single or pair of joggers skirted right round me or crossed the road well in advance, and each time I thanked them for it. Only one guy forced me to wait in the middle of a pedestrian crossing, so we would not meet on the pavement I was crossing over to and he was running on. He could have detoured into the grass area but chose not to. He thanked me for waiting though. I think runner fatigue can clearly sometimes interfere with judgement!

hellosailor Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Yup. The idea that having anxiety about people > ignoring the advice and risking people?s lives is > what is unhelpful in the current situation is both > spectacularly irresponsible and misguided. We must > adhere to the guidance. Being anxious about people > ignoring it doesn?t make you a whinger. Agreed and how ironic that those who are so keen to leap on a hypothetical ?5%? for being ?whingers? and overly anxious are themselves exhibiting the very kind of behaviour policing they say should stop.

Graduate

NewWave Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > My partner is a key worker. > In order to get to and from work (he has been > doing 11hour plus days during this pandemic)he > brought a bike and cycles to his place of work I > really dont understand why people are being anti > cyclists as long as they dont cycle on the > pavement and wear the appropriate safety gear. > The only cyclists I dont approve of are the ones > (sometimes whole families) who insist on cycling > on the pavement or the ones who dont wear helmets > mainly because should they come a cropper they are > putting more strain on our overstretched NHS and > A&E depts. > To be honest I wish I was able to ride a bike > because its getting pretty damn boring taking my > daily exercise on foot back and forth to Dulwich > park or Peckham Rye. Completely support your partner cycling to work along with any key worker, it totally makes sense. Additionally, short cycle rides for exercise, observing social distancing. We all need to try to keep as much pressure off the NHS as possible. We can all agree on that.

KidKruger Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > paulipedia - to suggest all tarmac covered > surfaces (roads, pavement, paths connecting > different areas of park) should be for joggers > only is not reasonable. Basically you?re saying > Dulwich Park is a sports ground but if you want to > walk or go with family then must mind you don?t > get in the way of the runners as they have > priority. > Doesn?t sound like a serious suggestion, or > option. This

Not sure I understand your comment, though your name it is undoubtedly a clever play on the current debate.

That agenda may be actioned in time but for now simply mending broken and uneven paving would be extremely helpful and perhaps not as expensive and disruptive as a mass pavement widening option. Again, one really wonders why such basic maintenance has been overlooked and money spent elsewhere.

The guidelines are blurred and pretty much leave things to the good judgement of individuals. Some people will be intensely relaxed about being 2 feet from people they don?t know, for others 13 feet may not be enough. People also have varying levels of anxiety motivated by totally different things. Additionally, govt advice is generic and population density is very different in the countryside to that of city living. I guess we?ll have a better idea of how we are doing in around two weeks time. The key thing is that the NHS does not become overwhelmed. Let us hope and pray the numbers start to come down and we can start to return to greater freedoms all round, sooner rather than later. I don?t think there in any deliberate shaming or idle keyboard warrior activity going down and if there is I don?t think it applies in just one direction- I very much doubt views expressed on this forum have led directly to assaults on cyclists in Regent?s Park and it is unfair to conflate that behaviour with views expressed here. I do think there are very strong differences of opinion and we just need to accept that. Those who are themselves vulnerable or living with a vulnerable relative or working for the NHS, have good reason to find the sheer volume of people out and about extremely stressful. Especially the former, where every journey out of the home may feel hazardous and the lack of control because other people do not have the same perception and so behave differently, only adds to that anxiety. I said from the start that it was absolutely right that key workers should be able to cycle or take other forms of transport- whatever helps them really. I also don?t have an issue with short cycle rides for exercise or longer ones in the early hours when the roads are clear, so long as loads of people don?t start doing it. Though well intentioned, I am not so sure about seeing this as an ideal time to encourage non- cyclists (other then key workers) to get on their bikes, only because one wonders about the logistics, but I doubt the council would support this unless it was sound.

Doctor

I had to move out into the road to avoid a youngster heading straight towards me on the pavement yesterday, as I did he smirked and started giggling to himself.

Bagpuss, it is such a shame the Healthy Streets campaign could not prioritise work on paving so it can be brought up to standard throughout ED. Many of the pavements are in a terrible and even dhangerous state and this is not acceptable for anyone with a disability or mobility issues. Work of this nature is not as politically ?sexy? as some of the other campaigns but would make a huge difference to people like you. In terms of equality and the rights of disabled people to access and use pavements you wonder how the council has managed to get away with such poor upkeep and management of vital infrastructure for so long? Why not lobby your councillor? Ex Councillor Robin (rch on here) would help you.

Good article in Guardian that concludes on just the right note. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/10/sunbathing-park-deep-moral-questions-philosophers-coronavirus-individual