Artemis

Sorry - it was LTN BooHoo talking about moaning etc. not northernmonkey?.

northernmonkey - we all know we?re facing a climate emergency. All those who are ?moaning?, as you put it, would agree. The climate emergency has now ended up straight outside lots of doors in Dulwich in recent months and air quality in many residential areas is diminishing. By flagging that, residents are not moaning. They are not saying ?I want to drive my big polluting car everywhere?. They are saying ?there?s a climate emergency and this particular strategy doesn?t appear to be working in this particular area as I am now finding it increasingly difficult to cope with levels of traffic and pollution on my road/roads I use?. Not that Southwark Council has chosen to publish pollution data, but I know the self funded monitors are indicating that this is the case. My view is that it makes no sense to try and sort out problems of pollution on a borough by borough basis. It would be like every council in the UK being given free rein to deal with a virus like Covid as they saw fit. So Southwark might choose to go for herd immunity, Lambeth may require compulsory vaccination, and Lewisham may legislate for enforced isolation. As a strategy, it would be possible for each council to say ?look, we?re doing something to combat the virus!? But if the road next door is doing something different, the virus would continue to spread. The same principle applies to LTNs. Southwark is attached to the rest of the London whether Southwark Council likes it or not. However, there appears to be very limited joined up planning and collaboration with the rest of London. It makes no sense to me. You say people could cycle. But the numbers of cycle journeys as a percentage of a all journeys is tiny. You clearly enjoy cycling and good for you. But others don?t. Other?s can?t. Even if numbers increased three-fold, the vast majority of journeys remain non-cycling and what is being done to cater for those journeys? Buses are slower. There are limited alternative public transport options in Dulwich. Massive amounts of money have been spent in London in improving cycle ways, but the numbers of cycle journeys as a whole is still very small. It baffles me how far Southwark Council seems to have attached itself to the cycling lobby rather than recognising that it has a duty to represent all its constituents. Instead, why are our councillors not lobbying for better public transport and a joined up transport/clear air policy? Why is the Council not asking Helen Hayes to ask questions in parliament about investment in green public transport, instead of this intransigent belief that by making the roads in Dulwich horrible for many that a sufficiently significant number of people to make a difference will get on a bicycle. It?s been a year. Traffic isn?t diminishing enough to justify the downsides, in my view.

Yet some of the highest car ownership is within the LTN roads - just take a walk down Calton Avenue or Court Lane. Yes, I completely agree that everyone should take individual responsibility for sustainable travel choices. But my question is: how is the current state of affairs encouraging residents, and in particular the residents of the LTN roads to make ?sustainable travel choices?? I appreciate that that?s the intention, but is it working? I use the bus as my main form of transport, and it now takes much longer than it used to to get anywhere, as is demonstrated by the published figures. Roads I regularly need to walk down are now jammed with traffic and are less pleasant to walk down because of pollution. I make sustainable travel choices (and always have). The LTNs are not working for me. They may be for you, LTN BooHoo and northernmonkey, and you?re very fortunate in that, and presumably fighting hard to maintain your good fortune, which is understandable. But please, rather than aggressively shouting down anyone who does not share your view, recognise that there are others whose lives have been made significantly worse as a result of the LTNs. And Rockets - you talk a massive amount of sense.

Another recommendation for Roger. I had a mouse in my kitchen and he came on the same day that I called him, reassured me and dealt with the problem quickly. He returned twice and has offered an 18 month guarantee. Coincidentally my parents also had a mouse problem a week after I did, and he?s currently helping them sort it out. Very helpful and pleasant to deal with. Roger?s number is 07518 577977

Fair point, Penguin68. However, I do feel that communication and transparency has been woeful in this whole process, and the Councillor?s ?never mind? seemed not to take the strength of feeling and the calls for more detailed information into consideration as seriously as I think appropriate.

My point is that the Council promised data. You may feel a throw away ?never mind? is appropriate, but it feels a little bit of a kick in the teeth and as though the Council is not taking the lack of transparency to its constituents seriously. I DO mind that I?m paying my Council tax and the Council has engineered a project that has made Dulwich a much less pleasant place to live in, and the Council?s response to its own failing is ?never mind?. My response to the survey would be very different if the data told me that pollution levels over the whole area had decreased as opposed to increased. My strong perception is that it has increased, but how can I be sure? I can?t. That is why I think results will be flawed.

Never mind!? Is that not rather a flippant remark when many in the area have been asking for this data for months, and were certainly expecting it before the consultation closed? This is an issue that is causing distressing and unprecedented division in Dulwich and you say ?never mind? that the consultation is, in effect, massively flawed as Southwark has not published any useful data to show what is and isn?t working. Do you really think Southwark Council has done a satisfactory job here?

Please don?t jump to the conclusion that everyone in Court Lane and other blocked roads are all delighted by the closures. This is really not the case. I have elderly relatives in Court Lane who do not drive, and are unhappy about the closures. Their carers are finding it difficult to reach them (and their other vulnerable clients) on time as their journeys are taking considerably longer because of the traffic jams. My relatives also don?t think it?s fair that others on busier roads are now suffering from greater pollution. The people on the blocked roads had as little say in the road blocks as anyone else and it seems rather unfair to make sweeping generalisations and assumptions.

https://eastdulwichstreetspace.commonplace.is/ And https://dulwichvillagestreetspace.commonplace.is/ These both allow comments about the changes.