What is going on at Copleston Road/Grove Vale junction?

[burty]

Does anyone know what is going on at the junction of Copleston Road and Grove Vale? Is it being permanently closed to traffic? I live on the end Bellenden Road and the area is already like the Bermuda triangle to get to (and leave), closing off this road will make the area even less accessible! We had something through from the council about allowing cyclists to cycle the wrong way up Oglander Road but the plan did not detail closing off this road to traffic...

[Sue]

It does look like it's being permanently closed off, judging by the raised kerbs they seem to be putting in.

I agree this area is an absolute nightmare to navigate around in a car unless you are familiar with the routes via all the one-way streets.

[peckhamboy]

No, it's not a permanent closure. It's all part of the massive waste of money involving narrowing Grove Vale and installing table mountain next to that junction. James Barber posted details on his thread - I'm pretty sure it was only meant to be closed for a week though...

[Sue]

Can't find the relevant bit of James' thread, do you know about what date it was posted?

Because what they were doing at the weekend looked pretty permanent to me, so I'd like to check out what's actually happening.

[Siduhe]

Sue, here you go:

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,729288,769295#msg-769295

[burty]

Yes, I've just wandered past and what looked like a curb does in fact now look like the beginnings of a giant hump.... Wasn't that what was there already?! Oh well, at least we aren't losing one of the precious routes into the Bermuda/Bellenden triangle :)

[Sue]

Siduhe Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Sue, here you go:

>

> http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5

> ,729288,769295#msg-769295

xxxxxxx

Thanks, Siduhe.

But what is a "raised entry treatment/raised table"? Is this to slow cars down? Not sure why that would be needed on a corner?

[Siduhe]

What is a "raised entry treatment/raised table"? Is this to slow cars down? Not sure why that would be needed on a corner?

My understanding is it's the same kind of thing as was installed at the intersection of Underhill/Barry Road. Slows traffic entering/exiting the road.

[KidKruger]

I drove over it a few times last week and notices that on the far side of the hump when headed Northbound there's a LOT of scrape marks where cars have dragged their undercarriage off the hump. This seems a little strange because speeding cars would usually scrape on the first part of the hump they hit, not the far side as they leave the hump.

Could it be that the design for this hump is too extreme and causing 'innocent' cars damage ?

That whole pavement widening / hump thing is totally out of control IMO, buses have to virtually stop to pass, not just because of the hump but because of the narrowness of the road !!

[peckhamboy]

They seem to have built out the corners of the junction (so if you're travelling from the station end of the road, you need to swing out onto the other side of the road in order to turn), and replaced the exiting "raised table" with an identical one that is made from different coloured bricks. The whole thing seems designed to reduce traffic to a standstill.

[jimmyraj]

The narrowing of the road seems really strange. As a cyclist navigating it daily and turning right into Copleston Road, I've found there's not enough room to safely indicate right and not be almost knocked off by traffic coming in either direction. Don't understand the logic behind it at all.

[jonsuissy]

I also don't understand why they haven't included the proposed cycle exit from Copleston at the same time.

[Tarot]

I cant see why they didnt just put traffic lights there.

Some speeding idiots are going to fly off these stupid hump things and cause mayhem

[northlondoner]

James?

[intexasatthe moment]

I have to agree with many of the comments about how badly these changes are working .

Buses going north ( ? i think ) towards DK hill have to stop to allow traffic from other direction to pass .

Driving towards Goose Green roundabout there seem to be a lack of direction signs and cars suddenly find themselves pulling out into middle of road and into the flow of traffic coming towards them .

Perhaps this is the desired outcome ?

[James Barber]

Hi northlondoner,

Sadly, I'm under the impression that the cycle aspects for this junction will be consulted on soon ie any changes will have to take place after these phyiscal changes so potentially throwing money to undo things.

[peckhamboy]

James

as far as I could tell from the information we were sent about the cycle works, it simply involves sticking up a few "Except cycles" signs and painting a cycle lane on the road, together with a cycle lane from Oglander to Grove Vale that cuts across the large pavement there. It's frustrating that it can't be more joined up because it means blocking the road twice but I'm not sure what they would be undoing from the present works. Have I missed something?

[DulwichFox]

East Dulwich along with many other areas have been sujected to endless

road closures, no entries, no right turns..etc.

Whilst this has supposedly been done to calm traffic and make our streets safer, it has done

the reverse.

The streets of East Dulwich have been turned into a Labyrynth and drivers

turned into Minotaurs lost within trying to escape.

Even local drivers are driving around lost as every day another road is blocked off.

This increases traffic levels in mainly residential streets.

It Is getting ridiculous.

Fox.

[dontpanic]

I for one am all for removing them all! As in

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_space. - no signs, no kerbs, no bumps. Drivers have actually consider what they are doing and think about everything around them, not just the signs. Likewise pedestrians

The bellenden triangle is drivng me bananas

[ed_pete]

I find it ironic that the council are considering cycle access from Coplestone/Oglander into Grove Vale. I put this forward as a suggestion within the council's "Cleaner, Greener, Safer" programme a few years back only for it to be rejected. If it is being considered seriously now, then for it not to be done as part of the on-going work is a clear case of council inefficiency and a lack of joined-up thinking.

[Moos]

If it's any consolation to drivers, the pedestrian crossing request button is now much slower to change the lights than the old one.