Buses on diversion

[Loz]

Personally, I'm surprised a parking warden hasn't slapped a ticket on it by now for parking on the pavement. I imagine it is only the police cordon stopping them!

[PhilPhilPhil]

Is there any sign of things getting back to normal yet? I get the 12 to work from Barry Road usually but they were few and far between this morning, I think they may have been turning a lot of them round at Peckham Rye because of all the extra bus traffic on the route due to the diversion. I gave up and went to the 63 bus stop on Friern Road in the end.

[Siduhe]

The streetworks register suggests the emergency gas works will be going on until at least 1 July. Not sure if that means they need to keep the southbound road shut for all that time.

[PhilPhilPhil]

Thanks Siduhe. Fingers crossed they don't keep the diversion in place for that long!

[rebwec01]

I usually get the 12 every day too, so I hope this gets sorted soon.

[Zebedee Tring]

As far as I could see about half an hour ago, buses on the 176 and 185 routes (and probably 40 as well) travelling north along Lordship Lane are now following their normal route past E Dulwich station, while I saw buses on 176, 185 and 40 in the other direction travelling along E Dulwich Road from Peckham Rye and then turning left into Lordship Lane. The current info about these routes on the TFL website appears to be wrong.

[James Barber]

I've just received an email from SOuthwark Council officials hoping to open Denmark Hill to southbound traffic tomorrow.

Must say I'm hugely disappointed at how this appears to have been handled.

Closing such an arterial road then only reopening it northbound after 35+ hours and the southbound blocked probably for another 48 hours with little or not visible work going on for most of this time is outrageous.

If we had tube lines people would have underground ways of getting past this.

Even the nourthbound bus services are disrupted as they don't carry lots of spare buses and drivers to cope with the added journey times of the southbound buses.

[ianr]

> Closing such an arterial road then only reopening it northbound after 35+ hours and the southbound blocked

> probably for another 48 hours with little or not visible work going on for most of this time is outrageous.

Well, it might be, if we knew that there were better alternative courses that could have been taken but weren't. Do you know if that is, or is not, the case?

[nikthegreek]

185 still on diversion through Peckham tonight

Denmark Hill remained closed southbound. Couldn't see any sign of work being done to re-open the road.

[James Barber]

Denmark Hill still closed sounthbound and no obvious work going on this mr ing or changes since yesterday morning.

Truely bizarre.

[ianr]

James, if you as a councillor apparently don't have access to the relevant information about what is being done and what any problems are, who on earth does? Is the information being withheld as a matter of national security, or to reduce the risk of public panic or disorder?

[James Barber]

I received an email earleir to say southboumnd Denmark HIll is now reopened under controlled traffic lights.

not Southwark's finest hour.

[DJKillaQueen]

The other thing they didn't do James was put notices on affected southbound bus stops along Dog Kennel, Champion Hill and East Dulwich Road. People were waiting for buses like the 484 at these stops with no idea that none would be coming.

[LUVED]

I agree with you DJKillaQueen, signs would have been nice. I waited at Denmark Hill station before I realised there were no buses. I was a little miffed as the buses seemed to be going the other way so I thought things had been sorted out.

[niall]

I remember pictures of a busy road outside of Japan that was swallowed up by the earthquake. 48 hours later they showed a picture of it completely rebuilt.

Yet a bus takes out sugar mommas display window and brings the whole of south London to a near standstill for almost a week.

C'mon now.

[The Minkey]

Having the bus drivers announce they were on diversion, allowing passengers to get off before they shot past the last stop on the normal route, wouldn't have been too much to ask either, surely?

[Otta]

So, can someone just clarify, are the buses back to normal now?

Have to get to Kings in the morning, and don't want to be late.

[PhilPhilPhil]

This evening there were temporary traffic lights at the 3 way junction by Nandos (Coldharbour Lane?). So traffic is now running in all directions and I assume the buses are now back on their normal routes (the 40 definitely is) but I should imagine there will be tailbacks in all directions as the road / gas works are creating such a bottle neck. Actually "Works" is probably the wrong word to use as there was no activity at all there at 7.30 this evening, just a huge fenced off area that was completely deserted.

[Otta]

Cheers for the update.

[bea1]

So sorry to hear that some people have been inconvenienced over a MAJOR incident where a bus driver had a heart attack , 6 people hurt , a mains gas pipe cracked and shop fronts demolished ... for gods sakes its wasn't done deliberately it was an accident. They boarded up the shops very quickly and got the traffic moving as soon as they could. The timescale for doing this is based on public safety and not people getting to work.

[James Barber]

Hi bea1,

I beg to differ.

Tragic that the incident happened at all and I hope the bus driver and other passengers make full recoveries.

BUT Southern Gas Network have been very lax and lacking any sense of urgency. For such a major thoroughfare you'd expect people to be working from 8am-6pm at least. They don't start before 9am and end by 4pm. The incident happened 11 days ago and still the southbound lane is closed.

For Southwark Council to allow this style of 'working' is beyond me.

[happyhelen]

James

It is getting a little bit tiring that everything is "Southwark Council's fault". Ever since its turned to a Labour administration you have been all guns blazing against it. I understand, you are a Lib Dem politician, that's what you do, but I am sure a lot of people of this Forum want to know what is happening, and what is going to be done, and perhaps what you as a Cllr is going to do to try and ensure this doesnt happen again, rather than comments like "For Southwark Council to allow this style of working is beyond me". Its not helpful, and actually getting a little bit frustrating now.

[James Barber]

Hi Happyhelen,

I'm not blaming the administration. This is Officer led. I think a more hands on approach wouldn't go amiss from cabinet member Barrie Hargrove but I also think that of when under Lib Dem leadership - we should have brought Southwark into lane rental control in the first batch and not the second one.

But Southern Gas Networks have had 11 days and nights to reopen this major thoroughfare and they haven't.

When they dug up Lordship Lane recently they were digging up the northbound lane but closeD one of the southbound as well. They were so rubbish that they didn't quibble with 5 figure fines.

They've now asked Southwark council to close parking on Friern Road starting this July until end of April 2012 and that is what council officers have advertised.

[puzzled]

of course, when your party was in control the sun shone every day and peckham rye became the elysian fields. funny how your brilliance resulted in a swing to labour that bucked the national trend big time and swept you from and your tory mates from power..... and returned tessa and hattie with big majorities too.

[James Barber]

Hi puzzled,

Sticking to this thread - do you think Denmark Hill both ways being closed for 3 days and southbound 11 days is reasonable or not?