Steve Kearns and Tom Holmes (TfL)
Minutes:
Steve Kearns from TfL provided a general overview of some of the key policies and initiatives like: fares freeze, bus hopper, Oxford Street “pedestrianisation”, rail devolution, air quality focus and “healthy streets”. London’s population was growing and the city now had a bigger population than in the previous peak in 1939.
A large project in the area was going to be the Bakerloo Line extension, with TfL’s preferred route going from Elephant and Caste to Lewisham via the Old Kent Road and New Cross Gate. This would help people living in the area who suffer from bus reliability and capacity issues, providing a fast and frequent alternative. TfL were developing more detailed proposals for the extension. By early next year they plan to be able to consult on more details including where the proposed stations should be located. The council’s Area Action Plan consultation included questions on the Bakerloo line extension.
Buses in Elephant and Castle
Steve Kearns said that there were 29 routes and over 100 buses per hour running from Elephant and Castle. There was also an interchange to mainline rail and underground. A new two-way traffic system had been introduced, which had led to an increase in journey times and reduction in bus reliability. TfL had widened headways and increased resources to maintain reliability on routes. A possible package of bus priority measures was to extend operation of bus lane hours, and a scheme to assist buses moving from Walworth Road to Newington Butts was being considered. Sensors were to be built into the road at Elephant and Castle in order to help with the bus delays. Steve also informed the meeting that the bus operating grant from central government would fall away in 2018 which would create financial pressures. The new bus 42 double-decker service to Sainsbury’s was contracted for 5 years.
Tom Holmes from TfL spoke to the meeting about the changes to the Elephant and Castle roundabouts. It was a strategic junction guaranteeing traffic movement around South London. It was also one of the busiest bus interchanges in Europe. The junction had sadly also seen the highest number of collisions in London before the changes, so the main objective had been to make the junction safer, especially for vulnerable road users. The subways had been replaced by seven level crossings, and the junction was being monitored for the next three years, in order to ensure that safety was increased. TfL was working with Southwark to install a new accessible space in front of Metro Centre Heights and a new underground station next to the shopping centre. Tom reiterated that he would look into the issue raised by the pupils from Robert Browning School.
In answer to questions from the floor, Tom responded that they were working with Southwark officers to monitor construction traffic, primarily to improve safety and secondly to make the area more attractive. The “scoot” sensor system which would be introduced from the end of October would increase traffic flows by making the lights more responsive. There had been studies done on the traffic impact on local roads, and TfL was working with Southwark to see what could be done to reduce HGVs using local roads. Cycling outside the designated cycle lanes was possible in the carriageways, but it was safer using the cycle paths. In terms of the legal minimum crossing time for pedestrians, this was set at 1.2m a second. The overall Elephant and Castle scheme had been based on the consultation results and on balancing the need of all road users. In terms of the crossing at New Kent Road near the former Elephant and Castle pub, this had not been flagged up in previous road safety audits. A lack of an advanced stop-line at the London Road junction with the Newington Causeway was flagged up which Tom said he would take away.