Raeburn

Well, off the top of my head, The ULEZ extension in October. Although not perfect (electric vehicles still contribute heavy particulates through tyre/brake wear, and kickup these particles) it's a step to reducing pollution, and the number of vehicles on the roads Selecting non-vehicular traffic deliveries is great - Southwark were doing this through the food drops with PedalMe - but great to see more policy change to incentivise this. PedalMe were offering free trips for people going to get vaccinated too. There's free cycle-proficiency training and other initiatives in Southwark, plus a round of grants for e-pedal powered vehicles for businesses ....Fuel duty has been frozen for over ten years. Perhaps this should be boosted to make driving ICE vehicles and contributing to the pollution less appealing ab29 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Since the air quality should be made better for > everyone, I want to know how is the council > planning to improve it on the roads such as LL, > Croxted Rd, EDG? Some of these roads are A roads > which doesn't change the fact they are also very > densely populated residential roads. > > So while we wait for people to stop using their > cars, which might never happen, the council is > happy to let the buggers living on these roads to > choke on the extra fumes and die of lung cancer 10 > years earlier - because who cares? Certainly not > the Labour councillors and by the look of things, > many on this forum agree with it.

It's not a plan, it's always been the case - it's just that sat-nav systems (like Waze) route traffic along residential streets to save the driver 60 secs, instead of using the roads which have been designated to move traffic around London. - here's a TFL map showing the network, which also includes LL. http://content.tfl.gov.uk/tfl-base-map-master.pdf This increase in traffic on residential roads has been increasing since the introduction of sat-nav technology around 2009. Alas, I'm not sure the tech giants are keen to address this - perhaps functions like asking if the journey is necessary, offering alternative/cheaper modes, or suggesting better times to travel, are around the corner? - not sure I mentioned 'major A-roads', sounds like I'm talking about dual carriageway!

....Which show how pleasant streets can be if we reduce reliance on large vehicles making unnecessary trips on residential roads, and further jamming them up with parking. Unfortunately, all the roads in the videos - Croxted, E Dulwich Grove, Norwood Rd - are all A-road designated, which means major through routes ie. assigned to move vehicles across key points. I think this is often overlooked when two roads are compared. The most effective method of reducing traffic and pollution on these A-roads is simple; stop using single-occupancy cars for unnecessary journeys at the busiest times of the day. dulwichfolk Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I always ask the same question about the photos > and videos of people sitting in the road/parklet > having a drink at the square of shame unless it is > to wind up the displacement areas more then they > already are. >

Not sure what the point of these videos are - they show precisely how much traffic/pollution is caused by privately owned cars with single/low occupancy? How large/over-powered, and inefficient most of them are for the job? How end-to-end on-street parking add further to the congestion? That many of these queuing vehicles and biggest polluters will be dropped by October with the ULEZ extension comes in? That the school run is one of the biggest causes of congestion at this time of day?... etc etc etc. I'd say it's an advert to ask people IF they absolutely need to drive, and if so, is this the best time TO do it? slarti b Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Good video here showing how nice it is in the > morning in Dulwich Village when all the traffic > has ben diverted onto Croxted Rd, EDG, Lordship > Lane etc. Really nice that the residents of > Calton can enjopy their morning cappuccino in > peace now. > > > nnel=OnionBike > > An earlier video shows how awful it is on Croxted > road now... > > nnel=OnionBike

Alice, why do you call the Joyride initiative ?pathetic?? Genuinely would like to hear your perspective.

alice Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Pathetic- a cycle ride for women. What do you mean by this Alice? Genuinely interested to understand your perspective.

Forget who was asking about more secure bike storage, but Southwark are inviting input into the process; https://cyclehangarsinsouthwark.commonplace.is/

@Rockets take them to a skate park (Belair, The Grove, Peckham Rye) or see if Dulwich Park can get one put in?

@Rupert, I?ve not referred to a younger generation? I?ve been mindful not to, because of the potential of many new personal transport options emerging over the last 5-10 years. There?s so many accessible modes for e-assist or battery-powered alternatives which open up more convenient ways of moving. E-bike, e-trike, mobility scooters, e-scooters, power-assist hand-cycles, cargo-bikes, family-carry bikes etc. All enable more people more freedom and better health. Loads of places you can book a test ride and see if it works for your lifestyle and movements. Great to see so many people of all age and ability using battery-assist transport this morning. - apologies if this wasn?t directed at me, but I can?t work out what else it was replying to

That?s exactly the right reason - to provide better infrastructure and enable people to walk, ride, scoot, skate. End the false construct that driving is the answer, and reduce reliance on vehicles for short-hop journeys?

Totally agree Nigello. I stood and watched the LL traffic for a few minutes this morning. Predominantly school run, or single-occupancy private vehicles ...all massively oversized/powered for what was needed. Saw a huge Mercedes SUV with one person, unable to get around a bus at a stop, because it (& opposing traffic) took up so much space, clogging up the lane. - comment on closing a street once-a-week was sort of in jest, but if it meant people would explore alternatives for ?nipping to the shops? or dropping the kids to violin lessons, it might prompt a change bigger than one-day a week.

Exactly - it showed how nice those areas can be, for people from all walks of life, without being burdened with traffic. Maybe they should make it regular, shut the street one day a week, let people enjoy it without the fumes.

I can never understand how they make their point ....by closing off the road, and showing how nice it is for everyone to enjoy the road, without traffic, noise and pollution. Seems like a great demonstration for less vehicle dependency?

@Jakaido perhaps the free cycle training from Southwark could be of use? https://www.southwark.gov.uk/transport-and-roads/active-travel/training/cycle-with-confidence They have many different levels of training, but I understand they can review a daily route, suggest alternatives if suitable, and then ride with the trainee(s) to take them through routes/light changes at junctions. It could be worth checking if there?s more friends/students needing to cross LL and book a school group on? If you do look into this, be great to know how it goes.

@Siduhue you mentioned request for more cycle-storage/hangers on streets where homes might not have space for secure cycle storage. There's a big program to put these in soon, possibly covered in this thread, for exactly the reasons you highlight; https://www.southwarknews.co.uk/news/southwark-cyclists-to-get-160-new-hangars/ Good news for all.

tedfudge Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Motorists do pay to use the roads more than anyone else It's the complete opposite Ted. People who use the roads the least, subsidise motorists to utilise them. As a simple example, who paid for the LL/Goose Green roundabout rebuild last month?

Completely. I?m not the one complaining about what an imaginary tax entitles you to.

Everyone who pays taxes (Council, Income) pays for the roads. It?s just that privately-owned vehicles are the least efficient, use of this money. Wish I had 10m2 storage outside my house for free!

Rockets, good news, the consultation does include Underhill - you can check online in the dropdown list of roads.

The good news is that there's bigger plans to reduce car/vehicle dependancy - ULEZ extension later this year, TFL's Healthy Streets plans, Gvmt strategy for 'half of urban journeys walking or bike by 2030', tax initiatives to encourage cycling/active transport. All fantastic initiatives to get behind to improve air quality for all - and part of the government target to reduce carbon emissions by 68%(!) by 2030. Anyone really interested could help lobby for more traffic calming/LTN's in the streets that you're concerned about - Heartblock, I agree - Underhill Rd and Wood Vale would benefit massively from some of these measures.

Sure, not recommended, but would have been a suitable solution in the short-term, before the systems updated - right? It's very possible that emergency vehicles were doing this, and it was the additional barriers that then caused the delays to Court Lane in the article. And totally agree, I'd love a simple, cheap solution to keep roads clear for essential users - the problem is some motorists are spoiling it for everyone else. Looking into this, here's a more recent statement from Khadir Meer in September 2020; ?We are working incredibly collegiately with local government partners across London and with GLA partners. We are not aware of any LTNs that have led to any patient safety concerns or any significant delays. We are monitoring it closely but we are also keeping working very closely, collegiately and collaboratively with both our emergency services but also our health and care partners across London. [so as Heather said] we prioritise patient safety and we prioritise our response times above anything and everything else, we?re not aware of any significant issues at the moment and we are keen to continue to work collaboratively to work through any implications of any LTNs.? ------ If there's genuine concern on response times, I've tried to help with the explanation (in the article you originally posted, not me) for readers to know about. There's reassurance that the issue has been worked on, and has been resolved. Good news for everyone? ...but it seem this is about stoking opposition to Healthy Street initiatives.

Yes, thats right - the softwear sometimes takes months to get new road layouts, unlike a commercial satnav or phone. Upon reaching a change, the time it takes to recalculate a route can be many minutes, with crew even having to reboot the system for it to find a route (or use their phones). Rockets linked to this a while back, which has more details - and an unfortunate event in Feb 2020 due to this problem; https://www.southwarknews.co.uk/news/paramedics-say-low-traffic-roadblocks-delayed-response-to-at-least-two-life-threatening-emergencies-because-satnavs-didnt-recognise-them/ My estimation, but I presume this is the same FOI the Telegraph article is based on. I pointed out a few weeks back it was a shame those additional blocks had to go in at Dulwich Square to prevent motorists mounting the pavement. There was plenty of room for an emergency vehicle if it was a real emergency. Navigation systems are now updated, for everyone's peace of mind.

Exactly. The Telegraph article acknowledges the problems were immediately after the implementation - 'newly closed streets' - when the older ambulance navigation systems didn't have the amended road layout. The systems have been updated, and isn't an issue any more. Reassuring to know. I linked to another article which had a broad coverage of the topic, and associated considerations like health. I haven't mentioned cycle-lanes, and perhaps the journalist is confusing LTN's and bike lanes. However, if this discussion is around emergency access, bike (and bus) lanes are largely good for enabling this type of access in congested areas - another positive?

FairTgirl, this is the same stuff Rockets was linking to - ambulance navigation systems not updated to include adjusted road layouts. Good news is the nav systems have now been updated. A better reference might be here - highlights faster response times in some cases; https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/feb/13/covid-bike-and-walking-schemes-do-not-delay-ambulances-trusts-say Hopefully puts your concerns at ease.

Last night the traffic was backed up from Forest Hill along South Circ/LL due to the gas main works at the main junction in Forest Hill.