Nigello

Gaby, I agree with you about bins. Some houses have to house their bins on the pavement due to the design (stairs leading to the front door, etc.) but others don't. It is so lazy and renders parts of the street impassable for some people with a disability, with children/prams, etc. Also, they really do make the place look untidy - ironic, seeing as they are rubbish bins! Local councillors do very little to enforce the rules, likewise with overhanging branches (which also can make life harder for the blind, those with limited mobility and pretty much anyone who doesn't like getting whacked in the face with a twig or three), because they don't like doing the "bad cop" kind of politicking (even though it would be popular with the majority of would-be voters who don't let things go). I know that it may seem trite, even petty, to some but everybody deserves to be able to walk/wheel down a street without having to turn back, go into the road or get thwacked by privet (worse when wet) and if that means a local "leader" or two has to get down to brass tacks with a very small number of people, so be it. As for relevance to the cafe, as stated in my previous post, it is a great asset and any problem can be solved by talking to the owner/manager in the short term and, in the longer term, by asking the council to build out the pavement. In the meantime, could a table or two be put on the road where there is a DYL, meaning there woudl be full width on at least part of the footpath as a passing place? I have eaten often outside there and have never seen a situation where nobody could pass, though I agree that a diner ought to be always aware of that possibility.

I, too, am sick of parents drivign kids to school, especially those who live near to the schools in question. But, there is no law against it, so selfish humans will do what selfish humans do, so that is why, despite wailing and whining, some measures have to be taken - just because humans CBA to get up half-an-hour earlier or take a bus, etc. LTNs are not necessarily bad, but when they are bunged in hurriedly, without notification, let alone consultation, bad feelings are bound to arise. So, if you - yes YOU - are reading this and thinking "well, I am a good person because I don't do take my car out that much", think again and promise to get your arses into gear at least once a week so as not to have to make that journey you think is a must.

Please don't encroach on pedestrian/wheelchair space by just "nipping onto the pavement" to cycle over the crossing. It takes an extra ten seconds to dismount, push bike, and remount. I am all in favour of cycle lanes, where needed and not duplicatory with bus lanes, etc., but I also think pedestrians need a space for their feet or wheels.

God - here we go! There'll be piggin' crocheted bench coverers next. Please - no more bloody road signage on already badly-placed hunks of sub-Next furniture! I can see all kinds of clutter arriving - both council-approved and "organic" Pinteresty stuff - slapped all over the new Village Square...

As intimated in my other post, it is always (nearly) best to have a conversation first. Why not, those who don't feel comfortable with the current sitation, point out your concerns, offer solutions, and see what happens? Much better than tsk-tsking on a forum like this. (Sometimes you cannot go to the person in question, but this can't be the case here, where a phone call, note-drop, etc. could easily be done.)

Widening would work well because it would widen the pavement. 🧐

No, never litter. Why not stub it out in a wall and take it to the nearest bin? 🤨

A great compromise would be for the council to widen the pavement, using funds that are available for such things. That way everyone is better accommodated. Why not suggest this to the owner of the cafe the next time you chat to him/her. I?m assuming you?ve already done that.

Remove the bus stop (there?s one about three minutes? walk away in both directions)and oppose deliveries before 8am and after 7pm. 🤷‍♂️

It's fantastic. If it should get scrawled over - a real possibility, alas - please would you consider touching it up? I hope it doesn't happen but past experience shows that street art is not always respected, unfortunately.

A really simple way of helping stop birds and foxes get into the refuse sacks that litter pickers place on the streets is to make sure they are always put on top of the nearest litter bin. It really helps but not all pickers put them on top, even if a bin is nearby.

If you want all the benefits (to many, not all) of living in London you?ll have to accept that the people who provide some of those benefits (in the shape of services) then you can?t deny them a place to live. Teachers, nurses, train drivers, beauticians, restaurant owners and others have to live somewhere. I?d like to see four-storey developments as standard, like in Paris or Barcelona or Glasgow.

A nightmare of people living where they wanted to? 🤷‍♂️

Good on you! A reminder too that anyone can pick litter any any time, so if you?re not comfortable in a group setting, just DIY. It?s not a very common thing to see but neither is it weird or likely to get you catcalls etc., so give it a go!

I agree with rachp and add that a general tidy up (pulling down banners on railings that are half-attached, filling in trip hazards on pavements, cleaning shutters and paintwork, cleaning green BT/Virgin cabinets and phone boxes, etcc.) is much needed. The latter two could be achieved by a simple letter to the local BR/Virgin managers from a council official reminding them it?s their responsibility to keep their property clean when it?s on a public highway and seen by hundreds daily. It just takes a tiny bit if effort and imagination.

Issue or time - my sentiment remains valid. The police go after cars that are driven by speeding drivers and I support that action. They don?t go after new-fangled law breakers because they?re from a very conservative body that doesn?t always react quickly enough. Illegal and safety threatening applies to cycles, electric scooters but they?re not interested because it?s not in their muscle memory. People have died on these things, others have been injured - why wouldn?t a law enforcement agency do its utmost to police them sensibly and sensitively? 🤷‍♂️

Why is it a ?difficult time?? Being a human being is difficult! Sheesh. Those who disrespect laws are already likely to be less supportive of the police, so by doing nothing the police run the risk of causing those who generally do support officers to be less supportive: it?s a double loss, with potential accidents not being foiled and loss of respect from the result of not tackling illegal and unsafe electric scooter riding. Poor show

73jem - I too have seen groups of Sunday cyclists sweep through the lights at the Village Calton crossroads. It?s high handed and boorish but they likely think because they?re of a certain social bracket, probably better educated than most and with more responsibility at their places of work, they don?t need to obey the law. (I did mention this some three weeks ago.) One small group of cyclists did stop but only after I?d glared at them as they approached the red bike light at speed.)

Nice to see they are stopping motorists who speed. I would like to see them doing the same with electric scooter riders (both the on-road and on-pavement variety, especially those who carry children as passengers in a kind of school run deathrace 2000!)

There are a lot of unhappy, unfulfilled people who feel better by "acting out" (eg. retorting about how the council ought to clean up after them because they've paid for this service) even if their actions are ultimately to their detriment. I just accept they will always be with us and not get hung up on it, but still do what I can to tidy up or deter litter.

One easy way of helping retail is to do a clean up - painting peeling lampposts, railings, cutting back overhanging branches, scrubbing away markings on bus stops, shop fronts, etc. Some of that can be done by the relevant bodies (TfL, etc.) but a fair amount can be done by individuals, such as business owners, tenants etc. It's not an affront to that person to ask him/her to keep their property looking neutral (it doesn't even have to be pretty or attractive, just a bare minimum of clean and tidy). So, if any of this applies to you, please consider doing your bit and carry on doing it to help the area cope as well as it can with the aftermath of the pandemic. Multi-thousand quid planters are not needed - just a bit of oomph and elbow grease.

Please tell 101 and/or the Dulwich Hill ward police - you can easily search the latter. They can build up a profile and/or may already know of such a suspect.

Nice to have if they?re in a built up area with no green space but in already leafy DV, a few hundred steps away from a big, beautiful park and green space in the shape of Belair Park and mini orchard it?s a waste of money.

Nuthatches in Dulwich Park in the gated wildlife area are pretty easy to spot. They like the seed feeders.

The receptionist says the website works, but not the app. - Now edited to say the website is working.