Brixton Playground scheme proposes permanent pedestrianisation of central Brixton
- Thread starter Sarah57
- Start date
snowy_again
Slush
Good to see that some truly crap branding has unified the disparate U75 Brixton posters!
Yes I have been asked already, see above. I came across the forums after starting to follow Brixton Buzz and thought that it would be good to discuss with locals to get out of my bubble.What's rent control got to do with it? It reads like you are trying to sound out whether there is scope to ease this idea through with locals.
I'd say that if businesses want to encroach onto our public spaces they should be charged very heavily for the privilege. None of this £100 licence nonsense. Discounts for single venue, unchained small businesses meeting a multitude of requirements. Triple rent for any businesses whose directors are on or have been on the BIDcartelboard.
Are you involved with this proposal, or any business or group or individual involved with this proposal, in any way?
Apologies if I sound suspicious but it is usually the way with first time posts like yours.
Rent control to prevent the next step of businesses "booming" and "thriving" and the town getting "edgier" and the next place to be, ie gentriification. First they open edgy shops, then they develop new property, then they price out people who have been living there for a while. Social cleansing.If making Brixton a safer and less polluted place is done with the locals in mind, then great, but it seems that it may be for different purposes, ie bring business, push up rent, etc
Pedestriansation should have been started a while ago IMO and not just to bring business to Brixton but for the benefit of those who live there as a priority.
I would also argue that while it can be good for business, again it may not be for the local well implanted businesses. I know that Brixton Wholefoods on Atlantic road was almost priced out recently, and look at how the Coldharbour stretch of shops opposite Southwyck House has been changing over a fairly short amount of time.
I am all for regenerating areas in great need , but regeneration in its original sense, ie improving people's living/working/traveling conditions. If that's the true purpose of this project then I do support it. If not then even if I am sure I would appreciate the cleaner air and actually being able to walk safely in the centre, then I won't.
Sorry for the lomg-ass post
Rushy
basically a scrotum
Thanks and no need to apologise for long posts!
I think the reason folk are so cycnical about this is not generally the idea of some sort of pedestrianisation - there are already plans in the pipeline for partial pedestrianisation (except for buses and deliveries) of Atlantic Road, for instance. It is because this vision has been proposed by BID. And BID is basically a little cartel obsessed with the night time economy. The BIDs director is on record as saying that night time Brixton is the best part of Brixton. Elly Foster - tweeting the crap out of it - is chair of BID. And coincidentally managing director of three venues on Coldhardbour Lane. Their "Vision" appears to involve nothing more imaginative that spreading their venues into our streets, when they are already struggling to mitigate the negative effects of the nighttime economy as it is.
What is truly remarkable about their "Visions" is that they don't even pretend otherwise. They call it a Playground. They show bars taking up the bulk of the street and propose that they be allowed to do this pretty much for free (a £100 licence) whilst tiny venues like Seven in the market are being charged 50kpa + share of gross takings a year for the equivalent of a box room. The arrogance and lack of awareness is remarkable. The accompanying images look fairly refined and gentile - very euro cafe society. Nothing like Brixton on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday night - which is when these places make their money. It would be misery for residents. Of both the immediate streets and surrounding.
Whilst Squires architects (with representatives on the BID board) give things a sensible air of considered professionalism they have a history of night club bar ownership and management in Brixton going back to the 90s. Not only their current private member's bar, plus top end venues which they lease out (around which are the only BID proposed pedestrian areas on the "other" side of Brixton Road). Squire Junior cut his teeth with Sand Bar and private members club on Clapham Park Road in the noughties. So loads to gain from Playgroundification, even if nightclubs are just a fun hobby on the side for them.
You don't need to support BID's vision to support traffic reduction and to an extent pedestrianisation in Brixton. Take a look at the Brixton Liveable Neighbourhood proposals About Brixton Liveable Neighbourhood. Much of this is actually being rolled out at the moment under emergency legislation, although strangely the most important part - Atlantic Road - is apparently not. I'd be fascinated to find out why that is.
A handful of relaxed daytime cafes and restaurants opening into quieter streets would be great. That's not what BID are after. I really don't know anyone living in Brixton who is not just passing through for a handful of years who wants more nightclubs and drinking establishments packed with visitors. It's just playing to the transient crowd and wrecking it for everyone else.
The sad thing about BID is that it puts a credible veneer on these self interested chancers.
Last edited:
BakeRecords
Active Member
So BID's proposed pedestrianisation of the bit of Ferndale next to Squires and that stretch of Coldharbour is pure self-interest then. What a bunch of fucking chancers.
Rushy
basically a scrotum
Well, I'm speculating of course...
I am against any plans that don't involve the residents of Lambeth also I think if they pedestrianise the area it will cause my pollution as there would be loads more traffic on the surrounding roads spend the money and make better improvements helping the youth clubs and elderly bin the area and provide food banks etc let's try to perfect what we have first before anything else
I agree with you bits never about us these people make me sick
BakeRecords
Active Member
I suppose it could be a shocking coincidence that the proponents of this scheme all stand to benefit from it.
It’s no coincidence at all. It’s the very purpose of BIDs to act in their own interests. It’s a fundamentally weird set-up that essentially gives what are effectively micro chambers of commerce licence to shape town centres.
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs)
Business-led and business funded bodies formed to improve a defined commercial district. Find your local BID on our map.
www.london.gov.uk
quimcunx
imprimeo, lamino, distribuo
Agree with most of what's already been said. Come use brixton as a playground.
Disneyland Brixton where you can watch three Rastas who used to live here play steel pans on Main Street while you drink your beer, enjoy the vibrancy and stick your head through a cardboard cutout of Olive Morris and Darcus Howe. Snort some coke and attend a virtual reality squat party then take the knee in windrush square while drunkenly giggling black lives matter.
Disneyland Brixton where you can watch three Rastas who used to live here play steel pans on Main Street while you drink your beer, enjoy the vibrancy and stick your head through a cardboard cutout of Olive Morris and Darcus Howe. Snort some coke and attend a virtual reality squat party then take the knee in windrush square while drunkenly giggling black lives matter.
Shippou-Sensei
4:1:2.5
Public: We want pedestrianisation to improve accessibility to pedestrians and cyclists, we want cleaner air and safer streets.
we want this to make our spaces better for living.
Business: Pedestrianisation
we want this to make our spaces better for living.
Business: Pedestrianisation
BakeRecords
Active Member
It’s no coincidence at all. It’s the very purpose of BIDs to act in their own interests. It’s a fundamentally weird set-up that essentially gives what are effectively micro chambers of commerce licence to shape town centres.
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs)
Business-led and business funded bodies formed to improve a defined commercial district. Find your local BID on our map.
Truly bizarre, especially when they're so insensitive to residents and the wider community.
As someone pointed out further up the thread, this half baked nonsense risks entrenching opposition to pedestrianisation in Brixton. Based on responses here so far, that seems likely. A dire outcome. Thanks BID.
Wow thank yu for this, a lot of food for thoughts and background info. Defo agree with your conclusion, what a shame
Seahmed1993
New Member
id personally like to know what happens to all the surrounding roads that will take the brunt of all the over flow of the traffic.
newbie
undisambiguated
Well yes. This particular business based proposal may prove to be over-reach but in general I think you'll find that the prevailing view here is that collateral damage is to be expected and people adversely affected should then clamour to make their own streets car free. So the proposal made above, to push all traffic onto Gresham Road, is intended to cause a fuss resulting in Gresham being pedestrianised as well.
newbie
undisambiguated
I said elsewhere I wasn't going to get involved in this, so I'll make one more point then withdraw. Why such a paucity of vision? The traffic problem in central Brixton isn't Atlantic or Coldharbour, they're minor. It's the High Street. Where is the proposal to pedestrianise that? Well, make it buses only. If we're going to do this let's do it properly.
Rushy
basically a scrotum
Brighton Terrace is not much of a rat run at the moment because almost all the time you are better off tackling the high street and turning up Ferndale Road. Of course, their "Vision" is to close Ferndale Road so that Squires and their cocktail bar tenants can have a nice pedestrianised bit in front.
editor
hiraethified
It is almost comical the way that the posh bit of Ferndale Road has been tacked on to the scheme.
Grateful to the sensible piece from Rushy - Why are people objecting? Lots of really good reasons. so how do we work to stop this - rather than just saying how bad it all is. Gentrification and Squires are Go!!! (at the mo)
Crispy
The following psytrance is baṉned: All
Closing CHL is just not realistic. It is a major East-West route, the diversion of which means adding more traffic to the already overloaded high street to the Angell Town back streets, or the choke point at Herne Hill. Pedestrianisation and Quiet Neighbourhoods etc. should be all about removing traffic from back streets, not pushing it there.
thebackrow
Considerably more Brixton.
Brixton Playground? FFS that's awful. Makes it sound like some Magaluf foam party - not exactly a vision of sophisticated north European street dining.
Although that bit is a nasty rat run and I've seen loads of near misses of pedestrians walking on Brixton Road from drivers turning into Ferndale. In theory pedestrians have priority on a side road but nearly all drivers ignore that rule
tough one that. It doesn't work as it is at the moment though. Pavements are too narrow, all jams solid as soon as any of the businesses has a delivery. Asking whether the priorities are right seems Ok but the knock on impacts look hard to solve. Given it jams up so easily it might not actually take that many vehicles so possible it wouldn't be as much of a problem as it intuitively seems.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
You've marked the no-right-turn onto Gresham Road but is there any reason that couldn't be changed as part of a scheme to pedestrianise CHL? Gresham road is much more capable of conveying traffic than the bit of CHL through central Brixton.
In any case, as it stands at present, the east to west route through Brixton is quite tortuous, involving going all the way around the gyratory aroud St Matthews.
Also, there's nothing to say that Coldharbour Lane has to be a "major east-west route". The further you zoom out, the less obvious it is as the main route between places. Going between Peckham and Clapham there are routes via Oval or the south circular for example.
Of course you then get into debates about why Brixton town centre is deserving of pedestrianisation while Tulse Hill is not.
Similar threads
