thebackrow
Considerably more Brixton.
Agree on that. Seems really inconsistent from day to day during week but definitely heavier than usual at weekends
Brixton Liveable Neighbourhood and LTN schemes - improvements for pedestrians and cyclists
- Thread starter teuchter
- Start date
Rushy
basically a scrotum
Sunday evening traffic made me wonder whether I'd got my days muddled.
thebackrow
Considerably more Brixton.
I think it's probably explainable as -
General level of economic activity down so weekday traffic reduced.
Many people are still working from home. Enough of them to mean commuter traffic is reduced (and although commute to work by car is a small minority of all commutes its' still enough to noticeably impact on road traffic)
For fear of Covid people are shopping less frequently (and particularly avoiding small frequent food shops, which seem particularly high risk)
However, all those people who are working from home all week still have the weekends off and want to 'do stuff' with friends and family. Public transport is off limits so, if they have access to a car, they are making more trips by car at weekend than they would have done before. Weekend traffic is heavier than usual as a result (definitely seems to be the case heading over to East Dulwich way)
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snowy_again
Slush
newbie
undisambiguated
They do, but more people appear to support suspending parking, CC & ULEZ charges- measures which will increase car traffic.
It also shows that:
Londoners are more likely than not to own some sort of powered vehicle,
more than 2/3 don't own a bicycle,
and that, to get to and from work/education:
cars are heavily used across the age range by those that have them but cycles are not,
even among the target ages, 18-44, only a small percentage use their bikes and it tails off sharply for those older;
taxi/ride share apps are at least as popular as cycling
That's all in the first few pages. There's far, far too many tables for me to read and make sense of, but I'm sure others can find equally pertinent stats.
editor
hiraethified
Coldharbour Lane 3.45pm yesterday. It was actually even busier just before I took this, There are moments where it seems quieter than usual - I took a look at 7.30am and there was just a fairly small stream of cars going by - but other times it absolutely feels a lot busier than usual.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
The other thing to note about the table of people questioned is that people were asked if they support temporary measures.
Not permanent. So answers make sense if seen that way. Drop ULEZ, parking charges and Congestion zone charges. But also bring in more space for bikes and pedestrians.
I can see why people think thats fair during the pandemic. Which is still going on.
Its not panning out that way. Congestion charge has gone up and Council are blurring line between what is temporary / permanent.
editor
hiraethified
So I took a walk through the West End and saw the side streets being used for eating and drinking, and thought it was a great idea.
The huge difference is that none of the streets were on busy main thoroughfares with bus routes like Coldharbour Lane. Soho is different.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
Its also from 5pm to 11pm.
Most of these streets in Soho are pretty empty most of day now. A lot of the offices are still largely empty.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
This is Mildreds veggie place in Lexington street yesterday
Even doing this I don't know how these small restaurant are going to survive long term.
8ball
AV REFUGEES WELCOME
I quite like the idea of taking bits of streets back, but yeah, this can't go on.
newbie
undisambiguated
Remember the cry "Whose streets? Our streets!'?
What used to be public streets can apparently be privatised, fenced off and delineated to keep pedestrians on narrowed pavements. Cyclists can't sensibly get through at all (although that bit of Lexington St is useful). As summer evening Covid response that may not be massively objectionable but in the longer term surely is.
editor
hiraethified
There is a fine line between helping a business (often independent) survive and them effectively privatising the entire road. I can't get too worked up about most of the examples apart from the one above with the fence and the gate which seems to be taking the piss a bit. It's not their fucking road, so they should take the fence down.
8ball
AV REFUGEES WELCOME
Yeah, I meant having that space for human purposes rather than for businesses tbf.
And yeah, the fences can fuck off.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Actually if you look through the tables you'll see they've asked about permanent measures too.
editor
hiraethified
I really want this to work but Coldharbour Lane does seem to be busier at certain times of the day. Sometimes it can seem happily quiet-ish, but other times it looks a lot more congested than how I remember it being (I could be remembering wrong, of course).
Either way, it was very busy at 6.20pm today, and around 40 mins later when I found myself taking quite a while to cross the road because there was so much traffic.
Either way, it was very busy at 6.20pm today, and around 40 mins later when I found myself taking quite a while to cross the road because there was so much traffic.
toblerone3
Grrrrr
Its going to take at least until November before the new traffic levels start to become apparent. There is too much 'noise' at the moment. School holidays, people testing out new ways of getting around. very large levels of home working.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
Was thinking on this.
Soho managed to survive redevelopment post war. Its old maze of streets and alleys were home to small business , Tailors , film, the sex industry and a centre for the gay community.
It therefore in terms of those who would like to tidy up and rationalise London ( including transport) a mess.
In normal times a LTN for Soho would be a be a fillip for its gentrification.
I support the closing of roads for use by restaurents as Covid measure. But as temporary measure. Due to Covid Soho is largely empty.
Soho need its maze of streets and alleyways to deliver and pick up from these smal business.
Soho just hangs on as different way that a City runs itself. Not one based on loads of experts who work for Councils/ Government/ TFL producing reports. Telling people what is best for them.
I took the photo of Lexington street as I was there delivering to a small sole trader business in one of the buildings. Up the old stairs to his workshop.
The independent worker.
snowy_again
Slush
To say Soho hasn’t been gentrified is a weird take.
Also experts, who needs ‘em?
Also experts, who needs ‘em?
snowy_again
Slush
Lambeth's equality analysis of Railton LTN
https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/commonplace-customer-assets/rtstreets/EQIA Railton Phase 1.pdf
https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/commonplace-customer-assets/rtstreets/EQIA Railton Phase 1.pdf
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Soho's been a low traffic neighbourhood of sorts for years - an extensive one way system and a limited number of entry/exit points mean it's somewhere there's little motivation for anyone to drive through unless they are going to/from somewhere within it. And that situation is partly responsible for generating London's cycle courier industry.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
Westminster tried road closures years back and the local small business were up in arms about it so it was abandoned.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
Yes who needs them is a good question.
Perhaps ordinary people have a lot of knowledge to be tapped into.
This of course does not chime with view that only educated liberal middle class people can decide what is best for society.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
Its been partially gentrified. Never said it hasn't.
The closing off of roads for restaurents I support as short term measure.
What I don't want to see is this being made permanent as a Soho version of a "Playground"
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
As a Cycle courier with extensive experience of working in Soho that is incorrect.
Soho maze of streets and alleyways meant that it was easier to get around by bike.
What has affected the volume of work in cycle courier industry in Soho is move from video cassettes to internet. Lot of film/model portfolios are online now.
However lot of need for small parcel pick ups. Needing cargo bikes/ small vans. Which need access to roads.
To get around without breaking the rules of the road is no different for cycles. Its just that parking is easier.
Take Chinatown- whole sections of it are off limits to cycles now after 12.
Been that way for a while.
The pavement extensions in West End have not made my life easier. I accept them as temporary Covid measure.
A lot of my mates are van drivers/ Black Cab drivers/ Motorbike couriers so I can see it from different perspectives.
Most of the people I know who drive use the roads to make a living. Its not about owning a status symbol or being to lazy to walk.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
Numerous cases in Lambeth of the Council experts showing they aren't needed.
Take for example the Grove Adventure playground.
The experts in the Council were telling me for months I was not sensible.
They being the experts knew there was no demand for an adventure playground in LJ.
The experts misused the findings of the consultants they hired to try to push their plans.
To no avail.
So experts who needs them?
In my experience as local person they are worse than useless half the time.
They think there ideas for an area are the best and the little people should just shut up complaining./ or wanting to have a say.
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Prophet_UK
New Member
Hello all, I am a cyclist, scooter rider and car driver so I have a unique perspective to see all sides of the arguments. What I am not seeing is the details of the data. What I do know is what I see and what isn't being reported. 1 example is the Brixton road itself. From Central Brixton, you have major links to central London (Bus & tube) but very poor road management. The section which leads to the station has had a multitude of road shrinkage schemes which squeeze 3 lanes into 2 and a majority of this is bus lanes feeding traffic from Acre lane, Brixton water lane Kennington Road (leading into Brixton) and finally Railton road. No cycle lanes, poor light phasing, and always congested which FORCES traffic onto minor roads within the Ferndale wards. I saw in the youtube video Ferndale road itself but what wasn't evident was the parked cars (and no lay by) which means jams or speeding cars to get through tight spaces. No red routes or no parking enforcements so drivers will park because there isn't any parking in central Brixton anymore yet it's one of the busiest boroughs. Cyclists are often squeezed because there isn't anywhere for anyone to go but this isn't being addressed. The motorist isn't always at fault and before those who state we should use the TFL system should use it. These are often crowded during peak time, way too expensive for the costs of travel and every time I used it I was late for work even with 30 mins added to my commuting time. If you have kids to take to school you may need a car and due to being a local resident you know short routes which also means less time for your car to idle in traffic adding to pollution. Electric vehicles are too expensive to swap for those on low incomes and there are very few charge points especially if you live in flats or social housing. There are loads of parks and green spaces in and around Brixton but no cycle paths through these to make for a safer/healthier ride why? Please do not just take what the media shoves under your noses stop and look around see for yourselves we all live in the borough not just cyclists and pedestrians without cars, vans small trucks the local community dies. Stop letting Councillors who do not live locally dictate what works within the leafy small town in Brixton.
newbie
undisambiguated
.
Hello and welcome. Aiui you can cycle through all Lambeth parks, so theres no real need for dedicated cycle lanes. Other boroughs have different policies, of course.
editor
hiraethified
Except at night, of course, as parks can close as early 4pm in winter.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
What are the cycle routes that you do regularly? And what is the journey that you have had problems with when using the "TFL system"? (does "TfL system" mean public transport?)
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