Details released on latest south London road scheme focused on improving walking & cycling

Image credit: Pixabay/Lewisham Council

Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed that improvements will be made to a stretch of the A21 between the junction with Ladywell Road, south of Lewisham town centre, and the gyratory at the South Circular Road in Catford.

Works will start on Monday 24 August with measures expected to be in place by mid-September.

TfL say they are working closely with boroughs across London to “ensure that transport plays its role in enabling a healthy and sustainable recovery from coronavirus”.

Measures are being introduced quickly to help improve the environment for walking and cycling as well as encouraging people to use buses along this key route.

Residents in the area should look out for a letter from TfL with more information and are encouraged to share comments and feedback via the Government website.

Features include:

• Existing bus and cycle lanes to be extended to 24/7 operation, to maintain separation between cyclists and traffic around the clock and to reduce bus journey times for people using public transport

• A new 20mph limit throughout to reduce the risk of collisions

• New sections of protected cycle space, including segregated cycle lanes using cylinders along Molesworth Street and parts of Lewisham High Street

• An increase in the total length of bus lanes on the corridor

• A bus stop bypass to protect people cycling

• The introduction of a number of banned turns to reduce the risk of collisions between people cycling and motor vehicles, including a left turn ban from Ladywell Road to A21 except buses, cycles and taxis, a right turn ban from Courthill Road to A21 except buses, cycles and taxis, and a southbound right turn ban into Wildfell Road

• Four side roads to be made exit only, except cycles: Rosenthal Road, Feldlay Road, Roxley Road and Mount Pleasant Road

• 80m of parking and loading bays removed from A21 and relocated to side roads where possible

• A pelican crossing on Lewisham High Street (just south of the junction with Molesworth) will be converted to a walking and cycling toucan crossing.

A monitoring programme will be in place to consider the impact of these temporary changes, including banned turns, to review the impact on the local area. The banned turns being introduced in TfL’s scheme are considered essential for the safety of people cycling in the area.

Cllr Sophie McGeevor, Lewisham’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: “We are pleased that TfL has recognised the huge potential for improving the safety of cyclists on the busy A21 corridor between Lewisham and Catford.

“With more people cycling for the first time as a consequence of COVID-19, enhancing cycle safety is a priority for Lewisham Council. Public transport capacity is limited so supporting more people cycle will improve air quality, reduce congestion, improve the environment for pedestrians, and prevent a car led recovery from COVID-19.

“We have asked TfL to monitor the impact of these changes closely and we will be working with them to review the scheme.”

Lewisham Council say these are temporary measures, being introduced quickly as part of TfL’s broader aim to ensure a healthy and sustainable recovery from COVID-19.

A spokesperson for the council said: “Having worked with TfL for some time on the proposals we believe this strongly builds the case for our long term ambition to have a fully segregated and permanent cycle way along the ‘Lewisham spine’ on this stretch of the A21.

“We understand that the modal filters may add a few extra minutes to your journey time. Although we would like to encourage you to move to more sustainable forms of transport which are permitted to enter our low traffic areas - such as walking, cycling or via public transport – we understand you may need to travel by car on some occasions.

“Following your feedback we have been working with Satnav providers to update their systems and have also been in touch with online maps such as Google. Now, if you use a digital mapping tool such as a Satnav or Google maps, it will show you a route which avoids the modal filters.“

Cameras have now been installed in three out of four modal filter locations on bus and emergency services routes in Dermody Road, Manor Lane and Ennersdale Road.

This means that any driver, with the exception of bus and emergency vehicle drivers, who passes through these filters will be recorded on camera and issued with a penalty charge notice.

The charge is set by London Councils at £130 (or a reduced rate if paid within 14 days). It is expected that this will help reduce some of the traffic alternative routes that have been identified to the west of the railway line.