
Bromley Borough Development Local Plan 2019
17th March 2019
Metropolitan Police February Crme Figures – West Wickham
30th March 2019
The Council has proposals to make improvements to the area around the traffic lights at the station in order to improve traffic flow.
Mike East and Peter Leigh have met with Ismiel Alobeid of Bromley Council to discuss the proposals which will involve moving both bus stops further away from the lights to enable better flow and in particular to create two traffic lanes approaching the lights from Beckenham Road.
Additionally it will involve minor alterations to the kerb lines, moving the traffic islands slightly, a removal of the yellow box markings in Red Lodge Road at the end of Hawes Lane and replacement with a keep clear box on the entry to Hawes Lane from Red Lodge Road. Similar treatment is proposed to the Red Lodge Road/Pickhurst Rise junction.
Drop kerbs are to be provided at the width restriction to make crossing by wheel chair users easier. Outside the shops in Red Lodge Road, they propose to widen the pavement by about a metre and to plant trees. The existing Pay & Display parking will be retained.
The cost of £300,000 is to come from a TfL fund. There will be public consultation including the shop keepers but the money needs to be used during the current financial year, so work will commence within the first quarter of 2018.
Here is a map of the proposed improvements Enc. 1 for Red Lodge Road Junction Improvements
5 Comments
I walk past the junction every morning to collect a newspaper at the time the survey was carried out. The junction appears to call out for a short ‘Right turn’ period for the Red Lodge Road, Station Road and Beckenham Road traffic lights. At the moment only the two or three cars waiting within the junction actually turn right. Once in the junction no traffic lights are visible so deciding when it is safe to turn right depends on assessing when oncoming traffic has stopped, wasting vital seconds. There also appears to be confusion for Beckenham Road and Station Road traffic whether to pass each other and wait or pass ahead of each other as for traffic in the Red Lodge Road Ravenswood Crescent direction following the road marking. It is often a mixture of the two, with cars left in the junction unable to move when the lights change.
Hopefully someone will comment on the way that cyclists will be squeezed into a smaller space going along Beckenham Road away from this corner as the cycle lane will be removed and the traffic pushed further over in two lanes from the opposite direction. Also removing the yellow box at the end of Hawes Lane to be replaced by a Keep Clear that only helps traffic turning into Hawes Lane from Red Lodge Road will not allow easy exit from Hawes Lane at busy times. Currently the yellow box helps to clear this junction as soon as traffic stops. Furthermore the traffic is likely to build up more near The Avenue going through the width restrictors because there will be less space for a double lane on the traffic light approach with an extended length of only single file traffic as you pass through the width restrictions. Do these planners actually drive or cycle through these junctions to understand the impact of their plans?
I made almost identical comments to these as part of my response to the consultation, in particular it is unacceptable that they are increasing risk to vulnerable cyclists to create minimal extra queuing space for cars, which won’t actually help people get through the junction more quickly. Totally agree about the junction at Hawes Lane, and I would add they are increasing risk of collision between cars coming from the width restrictor and cars trying to turn right out of Hawes Lane. I also think that this will cause further delays for the 352 bus trying to do the difficult left turn from red lodge road into The Avenue.
Dear Councillors,
Thank you for your consultation letter on the above subject. These are my observations regarding the Council’s proposals:
1. The pavement on Beckenham Road on the Station Approach side from Gable Lodge to 18, Beckenham Road is too narrow to be safe, particularly on such a major road and one where traffic drives extremely fast when there is no congestion. There is a considerable risk of pedestrians being struck by the wing mirrors of vehicles travelling at speed, or by cyclists using the adjacent cycle lane.
Solution: Widen the pavement for the whole length from Gable Lodge to 18, Beckenham Road, retaining its use purely for pedestrians, not shared by cyclists. The pavement on the other side of Beckenham Road is wider than is necessary. This could be narrowed by the width of the asphalt strip by the kerb, though this would mean repositioning the lamp standards. Doing this would retain the same width of road, but would be much safer. There is a line of sight problem for the 194 bus stop on that side of the road, as a bush obstructs the bus driver’s view of the stop until they are crossing the junction. This problem should be addressed.
2. In Red Lodge Road, the pedestrian crossing by the width restriction should be an actual pedestrian crossing, so it is absolutely clear that pedestrians have the right of way. At present, many drivers seem to consider that they have the right of way as there are no signs to indicate otherwise.
3. When there is heavy rain, the gutters on the railway bridge flood. As the traffic restriction forces vehicles to drive close to the gutter, and some come through at some speed, often pedestrians are soaked from the knee downwards by the water thrown up. Now is the time to properly drain this stretch of road, so that this no longer happens.
4. Often, cars park on the shop forecourts in Red Lodge Road. If the Council is going to re-pave this area, there is no point in allowing cars to cross the pavement (there being no dropped curbs) risking the new paving being broken up by the weight of the vehicles. I suggest the Council forbids this practice once the new paving is in place, particularly if the shop forecourts are to be re-paved at the Council’s expense.
Thank you for considering my representations.
Kind regards.
Mr. Stuart Froment
33, The Avenue,
WEST WICKHAM,
Kent,
BR4 0DX.
Email: stuartfroment@btinternet.com
There appears to be no sign of the promised trees or any other physical prevention of cars crossing over and along the pavement. So far the only new drop kerb is outside the Railway at the widest and most dangerous place to cross the road