Thank you for contributing to the Commonplace map, which now has over 1,100 comments and suggestions. This is a clear demonstration of the level of interest in measures to support walking and cycling and social distancing in Lewisham. Your comments are helping to inform the Council’s ambitious plans and we are grateful for your local insights and your time.
As many of you will have experienced personally, there has been a noticeable increase in walking and cycling since the start of lockdown as movement was restricted. In March this led to an improvement in air quality by up to nearly a third in some areas of Lewisham, as well as creating quieter and safer streets.
We need to take steps to ensure that as lock down restrictions ease those people walking and cycling do so safely, whilst also maintaining social distancing. As people start to return to work and doing the school run again there will be an increase in journeys. However, we know there will be limited public transport capacity, with Transport for London estimating there will only be 13-15% capacity as a result of the need for social distancing. It is therefore vital to protect pedestrians and cyclists during this time, enabling them to socially distance while travelling. The alternative is a surge in car use which would lead to an increase in air and noise pollution, greater congestion and more dangerous residential roads. Additionally, for the majority in Lewisham, jumping in their cars isn’t an option - with only around half of households in the borough having access to a car.
The Council will therefore create more space for people on our high streets and busy areas, with eight locations identified so far:
• Deptford High Street
• Luxmore Gardens
• Coulgate Street
• Sangley Road
• Foxberry road
• Dartmouth Road
• Staplehurst Road
• Hither Green Lane
• Wells Park Road
Additionally, eight locations are currently being investigated for pop up cycle lanes at these locations:
• A21/A2209/A2210 corridor (including Deptford Church Street, Brookmill Road, Lewisham High Street, Bromley Road)
• Lewisham Road corridor
• Belmont Hill, Lee Terrace corridor
• Brockley Rise, Brockley Road, Shardeloes Road corridor
• Perry Hill corridor
• Southend Lane, Downham Way corridor
• Lee Road, Burnt Ash Hill, Baring Road corridor
• Ladywell Road corridor
Another measure taking place is the implementation of School Streets, as schools start to return. This will protect children, parents and staff allowing them to socially distance during pick up and drop off times. The roll out of the schools will be prioritised using these criteria:
• footway widths less than three metres,
• higher traffic volumes,
• higher pupil numbers, and
• school support for the programme.
If you are a parent at a local school please write to your Headteacher and offer your support for a School Street.
The other key measure is to create quieter and safer residential streets. To achieve this we will be introducing over 30 modal filters across the borough. Modal filters can be implemented using a planter box or an enforcement camera and they prevent vehicular traffic using residential roads as rat-runs or short cuts and crucially still allows residents to access their homes and emergency service access. This reduces traffic on what should be quiet residential roads making them safer for residents and improving local air quality. These initial modal filter locations have been prioritised based on pre-lockdown evidence of the worst rat-runs in the borough and where there are concerns that higher traffic levels would be likely to return. We will be announcing these locations in the coming weeks on the Commonplace website and in an update to this mailing list. We will be continue to seek feedback on these modal filters when they are implemented and suggestions for where additional ones may be needed can be made via Commonplace.
Additionally, the Council is applying for our share of the £45 million pot of TfL emergency funds to support a range of our initiatives. We will also be applying for additional funding from government as and when it is announced.
Thank you again for your continued interest and ideas in developing a transport network that protects public health and safety during this pandemic.