Kosmo

Yes I meant East Dulwich Grove. Sorry

It's not a mile it's 300 meters. But I agree the water works on Lordship lane can't be helping.

It?s not a coincidence that this started happening two weeks ago. As that is when the disastrous decision to close Champion Hill to traffic to Denmark hill was made, forcing the traffic onto East Dulwich Grove (I've Edited this it used to say East Dulwich road my mistake) which is now grid locked - I now have to drive down this road. I strongly suspect this is a knock on effect as drivers who normally would go down East Dulwich Grove now try Woodarde road. BTW this decision has grid locked several other routes that used to flow freely. Please feel free to post your thoughts with the council.[consultations.southwark.gov.uk]

PeterW Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'm going to go against the tone of most posts > here and try and argue why I think the Champion > Hill scheme, while it has problems, is the right > thing to do. > > To begin with, I think it's not ambitious enough ? > it should be (as originally agreed in the > consultation a few years ago), to make CH > access-only in both directions, ie at the > three-way junction it should be entirely blocked > to motor vehicles. But I'd also say that it should > be introduced as part of wider changes to the > whole area, to make it less convenient to drive > along smaller, residential streets. Individual, > one-off schemes like this just risk pushing the > same traffic onto other residential roads. Now I > get why Southwark are limited in how much they can > do at once ? it?s down to funding ? but it seems > to me the point is not to argue *against* > individual schemes but *in favour of* doing both > these and more. > > Why? Because it's vital both that cars are kept, > where possible, off residential streets, and more > widely that measures are taken to make driving > short distances less convenient, thus pushing > people onto other modes of transport. Of course, > some people need to use cars, vans etc, but more > than a third of all car trips in London are less > than 2km ? ie possible to walk for many, and can > be done on a bike in about ten minutes. But people > are less likely to walk ? and definitely won?t > cycle ? when the roads feel so perilous and feral. > Champion Hill is meant to be part of Quietway 7, a > route aimed at slower, less-experienced riders. > But before the scheme riding along it was > terrible, especially the section with all the > pinch points. > > Any why should we be seeking to make this change? > Because the current situation is both > unsustainable and a massive social injustice. > Factors like the growth of Uber and Amazon mean > roads are ever-more congested. Doing nothing isn?t > an option. And private cars are a part of the > problem. In Southwark, almost two-thirds of > households don?t own a car, and those who do are > disproportionately likely to be wealthier. So you > have a situation where a richer minority is > imposing huge costs ? noise, danger, pollution, > congestion ? on everyone. Pollution outside > schools is a massive problem in London (and > disproportionately affects schools in poorer areas > ? a common feature of traffic-related harm) but > you?re not going to solve it by opposing every > single scheme to reduce traffic. Instead, you need > to argue for more of them. Most inner-London > primary schools have small catchment areas, and > the bulk of pupils could walk, cycle or scoot. The > fact many don?t is often because they feel the > roads are too perilous, given the number of cars ? > that cycle needs to be broken. Eventually, as > shorter car trips are replaced by people using > buses, bikes, foot etc, it gets better for > everyone, including those on buses, or those who > have to drive. > > My challenge to everyone complaining about this is > simple: what?s your solution? The status quo isn?t > sustainable, not least with 10,000 or so people > potentially dying young in London due to > pollution, and an NHS which will collapse before > too long unless people start become more > physically active. If not such schemes, then > what? > > You might say, ?Ah, but it?s just this scheme I > object to.? But there?s always opposition. And if > people argue vehemently against every such change > (eg also Camberwell Grove), then nothing gets > every gets done. And, to repeat, the status quo > isn?t going to stop kids from breathing toxic air, > or make your trip to work any faster. > > Disclosure: I live on CH, and so benefit from the > change. And it?s great. Parents taking kids to > school no longer need to actually stand in the > road so kids can safely cross (some drivers, > annoyed when the person in front stopped, would go > the wrong way round the traffic island and speed > past anyway). And I accept the signage could be > better at DKH, and hope very much the traffic > chaos faced by others on CH and nearby ends soon. > But even if the change was on a neighbouring road > and it was making traffic by me worse, I wouldn?t > argue for it to stop. I?d argue for more action, > not less. > > Mini-rant over. Thank you for your honesty concerning where you live. I?m glad you got the opportunity to put the case forward for why the road should be closed. Other people who live in the local community weren?t so lucky. The first I ? and many others ? knew about it was once it was already closed. Driving for some people isn?t a choice. Not everyone is part of some selfish environment destroying car club, speeding in their 4x4s. I?m a keen cyclist and would love to be able to cycle with my child to school but unfortunately he has a disability and so that isn?t an option. Since this road has closed it has but between ten and thirty minutes onto my car journey. That?s me and a hundred other drivers sitting in traffic polluting the air. If you feel so inclined to investigate how it this is affecting your community further afield please take a short walk down to Melbourne Grove where much of the traffic that used to go down now Champion Hill now goes. What a good idea to redirect the traffic so it goes past many of our local schools. Have a look at the traffic past Charter School or the Allen?s schools, then on into Herne Hill. I?ve never in my 20 years of living in this area seen traffic this bad, nor such frustrated driving. The traffic on Dog Kennel Hill is gridlocked as cars do a u turn further down as there is no right turn at the lights. An accident waiting to happen as frustrated drivers try to find a space to pull into the traffic going in the opposite direction. On top of that, the council has initiated this now when there are major road works scheduled on Denmark Hill until October this year. Sorry for the long post, but given that the consultation closed before I was even aware it existed, this forum appears to be the only chance I?ve got to share my point of view, futile though this is.