Bic Basher

The Tories could have promised the world and they still wouldn't have won in Village as the local election became an outlet for voters to bash the Government with as a protest vote, even if Southwark Labour have continued to act arrogantly.

The P13 should be the least affected by the works as it avoids the Townley Road junction.

You get a lot of assistance with the Lime Bikes. Beauval Road and Dog Kennel Hill are a breeze on them. I haven't dared tried riding a Lime or HumanForest bike up Camberwell Grove yet! Despite being busier roads, I prefer to go up Denmark Hill, Champion Grove and Grove Lane to reach the top of DKH coming from Camberwell. The furthest I've riden on a hire bike so far is Walworth Road which took about 20 mins.

It depends on the bike. Some like to give you a work out while others are more like riding a 750cc moped. The saddle is hard though. Personally I prefer the HumanForest bikes which still give you the feeling of exercise while the e-assist is just enough to climb the hills. Beauval Road is a great test for those e-bikes to see if they can handle steep hills.

Last week, I actually got a warning from Lime for parking in front of the electricity sub-station on Chesterfield Grove, so they're actually doing something about poor parking. I parked there as it didn't block the pavement for pedestrians. This was followed on Friday when I purchased a Lime Pass for the weekend with a pop-up informing me about how to park properly, so ended up parking on the other side of Chesterfield Grove today with two other bikes. All that for a quick 5 min shop in M&S.

The Superdrug bay is for the Lime Scooters.

Comparing OD to the Taxpayers Alliance isn't helpful in this debate. As previously mentioned, there have been supporters of removing the LTNs who have then gone and voted Labour in the last council election regardless of their standpoint over them.

That's just it, I'm also not a petrolhead who wants to drive wherever I want, I use public transport, walk and cycle and have an interest in transport and politics in general and recognise how LTNs affects other modes of transport used by people like me who don't have a car. Being on the front line of the LTN boundary roads, I'm able to see how it's affected my neighbours and my mother as I mentioned earlier in this thread has developed breathing problems in the last 2 years or so as traffic has increased as more people return to work in person. However I support the bike element of micromobility as a way of getting people to use alternative means of travelling without having to use a motor vehicle as it can be a much faster way of getting around East Dulwich than using the local buses that get stuck in traffic especially on Lordship Lane (retail area end and between Dulwich Library & Dulwich Common) and the South Circular. Yet there are people who have no real choice but to use a car as their main method of being mobile and active, along with those who use public transport who have slower journeys because of congestion and 20mph speed limits which are perfectly fine for residential streets, but not for main roads. DKHbilly disagrees with me on that point, but it's my personal experience that I have to leave extra time to travel on a bus not just to central London, but to King's for appointments or to travel to Peckham even if the roads are clear. On a bike, I can get to Rye Lane or Denmark Hill in 15 mins from the Melford Road end of LL.

Lime bikes can no longer be parked on council estates within Southwark. You can ride through them and park on the boundary. Bizarrely, Lime bikes can still be parked in Dulwich Park, but not in Belair.

Councillors are supposed to represent everyone, not just a clique which was happening under Rose's reign being in charge of streets. I was dismissed by the two Dulwich Wood Cllrs at the height of the introduction of the LTNs when I raised my concerns when the other Cllr representing my ward asked if I'd been provoked by an anti LTN group rather than looking at the real concerns residents have where I live. Labour can't afford to be complacent as seen in yesterday's Newington by-election where Labour won, but saw a 15% swing to the Lib Dems in what is considered a Labour safe seat.

Remember the Congestion Charge? Ken Livingstone's idea of reducing traffic in central London by charging drivers and companies a daily charge to enter the zone which is still in operation to this day. Initially it was a success and reduced traffic, but drivers especially the self-employed and companies have factored in the price of the CC and still use those roads because they have to work in that area regardless of the charge. So while the CC is a revenue stream for TfL, it hasn't achieved the aim of cutting vehicle use.

The mobile networks have also invested in booster masts around the festival site, which has allowed festival goers to use their phones without reception/data loss. It's normal for large public events for the mobile companies to add additional cells at stadiums etc.

No, all of the surgeries in Dulwich, Peckham, Camberwell and Nunhead are part of a foundation where they can send patients to any surgery in South Southwark if they provide a specific service. This was more obvious during Covid when the GP foundation allowed patients from their surgeries to get Covid jabs at Tessa Jowell or the Lister Health Centre in Peckham.

Rockets comments about the monitoring strip being moved from the junction of Melford Road to Court Lane is spot on. Nothing has changed there, traffic is still getting stuck there as cars wait to turn right into Dulwich Common. I can see it from my window, so it's not a conspiracy and I can see the traffic from Dulwich Common at the back. We're at a pinch point between two LTN boundary roads. Yet because the measuring equipment doesn't show stationary traffic and has been moved to a quieter part of LL, it's all great according to the figures. Why are Southwark continuing to deny that their tactics aren't affecting those of us who are paying the price for residents in Court Lane, Calton Avenue, Woodwarde Road etc can have quiet roads?

I'm keeping Helen Hayes just as I'm just inside the Dulwich Wood ward. On the opposite side of the road which I can see from my window, there will be neighbours who will be represented by Ellie Reeves (or whoever wins at the next election). However for the first time, both sides of Wood Vale will be represented by one MP for the first time (bar a tiny bit between Melford and LL which stays in Dulwich Wood).

In any case, I don't trust the measurement of the traffic because they don't count standing vehicles which is more common where I am.

The Boundary Commission have published their final report which will see East Dulwich split between two constituencies. Dulwich Wood, Village and Champion Hill wards will be in Dulwich & West Norwood. (Helen Hayes) Dulwich Hill, Goose Green and Peckham Rye wards will become part of Lewisham West & East Dulwich. (Ellie Reeves).

One important thing that should be addressed in addition is that cyclists can use the pavement on Dulwich Common between LL and College Road as it's a shared path. It's badly signed and only regular cyclists use it. The amount of times I've seen cyclists use the very tight main road for motor vehicles when they can use the pavement. Again, the remodeling of the LL/Dulwich Common junction should address this, especially from cyclists coming from Forest Hill who then continue to use the road.

Pre LTN, they'd be traffic jams queuing from College Road to Lordship Lane during the peaks with a small pile of queue from Firemans Alley to LL waiting for the lights. It wasn't so much of an issue as cars could use Court Lane to get onto LL towards Forest Hill. In the last 18 months or so, it's now common for cars to queue for most of the day in the eastbound direction on the Common, even at 8pm. I'd like to hope when TfL finally remodel the traffic lights at the junction of LL and Dulwich Common that it'll relieve some of the queues on the Common and Lordship Lane where there's a queue of cars waiting to turn right onto the South Circular.

Tell that to my mother who has developed breathing problems since the LTN was introduced or the fact that day I see traffic on Dulwich Common which is even worse (no actual data because Southwark refuse to monitor a TfL managed road).

I don't think it's all party politics regarding LTNs either. Aspire which is a hard left Corbynite party won Tower Hamlets on a socialist agenda, yet they also removed LTNs that the previous Labour administration introduced during Covid. The Lib Dems are for LTNs on some councils, most notably Bath and Oxford, but were against the LTN scheme in Dulwich.

And the actions of "Clean AIr" Dulwich haven't? The fact is LTNs continue to split communities because those who live in them enjoy the benefits of reduced car usage while those on the boundary or outside see increased traffic and pollution as vehicles use already at capacity main roads, especially during the peaks. What I believe One Dulwich are looking for is a more considered solution to road usage where bicycles and motor vehicles can use local streets without it being to the detriment of one group over another. Three years since the two LTN schemes were introduced and it continues to be a struggle for those of us who live on boundary roads.

The fact is One Dulwich have provided new information, the fact Cllr McAsh actually met up with One Dulwich is a huge step forward in the relationship between Southwark Council and the anti-LTN group who previously dismissed them. While that clearly doesn't please those who think the LTN's are working, it shows that Cllrs need to listen to all sides of the debate which the likes of Rose, Newens and Leeming were blind sighted previously.

I spotted a teen on a Lime Bike in Penge today which is well out of the coverage area for them. It didn't make the clicking sound and the e-assist appeared to be working, but I believe it had been jacked. When I've used a Lime bike in the boundary area, the speed limit will drop to 10mph (you'll see a tortoise icon on the dash) and when you are out of the riding area, it will slow to a crawl, so there appears to be another hack to get those bikes working outside the approved area as well.

It's certainly an improvement than when Cllr Rose was in charge when she wasn't very good at taking constructive criticism for her policies from the opposition parties.