Goose Green councillors - how can we help?

[Alan Medic]

It would appear the good councillor has abandoned this thread.

[Spartacus]

Alan Medic Wrote:

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> It would appear the good councillor has abandoned

> this thread.

And you are surprised by this ?

[Alan Medic]

Spartacus Wrote:

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> Alan Medic Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > It would appear the good councillor has

> abandoned

> > this thread.

>

> And you are surprised by this ?

I don't know his form. You're obviously not. Why is that?

[Rockets]

Unfortunately this was inevitable. It is a particular trait of politicians nowadays (of all persuasions) that once people start scrutinising what they are doing and press for accountability the politicians run for the hills.

What is particularly galling about Cllr McAsh is that he actively used this forum to seek support for his schemes and then just discarded it when people starting asking the difficult questions (which he obviously didnt want to have to answer).

Unless you contact him by email (divide and conquer anyone?) there is no way to interact with him.

I am sure that he will probably return at some point (when the council elections are looming) to say that the forum had become toxic or some such PR spin to explain his abandonment of it but the reality nowadays is that far too many politicians are utterly disassociated from their constituents and are ignoring the issues that are important in a local area.

[Sue]

You have no idea why he isn't posting on here.

He could be ill or in hospital, or there could be many other reasons.

[Abe_froeman]

He seems to be in a position to communicate ok from this outlet:

I guess we were just very lucky that our past councillors had a lot of stamina for this forum.

[Penguin68]

I hate to be remotely fair to the Tooley St apparst, but at least one, and previously the most communicative of our local councillors is a teacher - September is always a busy time for this profession and immeasurably more so I would guess in the Covid return to school.

[Rockets]

To be honest if I was James I would probably not be coming on here; such is the level of negative sentiment towards the council over these changes he would be on a hiding to nothing and he would become the focal point of residents' ire at the council.

It's why I suspect some other councillors are happy to be anonymous. Credit where credit is due James did engage on this platform for quite a while but the optics of his withdrawal are not good - especially when he was drumming up support for the changes via EDF.

He also has the most to lose. As an ardent advocate and campaigner for the changes he seemed oblivious to the negative impact it was going to have on his own constituents. Councillors like Margy in Duwlich Village can grandstand with her neighbours to show what a positive impact she has had on Dulwich Village and those people in the Village who are benefiting from this will vote for her again.

For James it is far more complicated and he is probably worried about his re-election as he hit us with the CPZ and now this at no time has he paid any attention to the majority view and has done nothing to fight any of these changes.

He hasn't been seen on here for over 6 weeks and he has probably been on holiday and been busy with his union and school activities but I suspect his absence is more to do with not wanting to stick his head above the OHS trench!

[jamesmcash]

Hi all,

Sorry for radio silence over the summer break. A combination of things (a family emergency, a holiday, preparation for schools reopening under covid) meant that I had very little time.

Please bear in mind that I always prioritise my council emails over this forum (as this is where most casework comes in) so please do contact me there is you need a quick response. [email protected]

To respond to the issues raised here:

Zebra crossing - Conway made an error when working on this and therefore had to come back to rectify it (at their expense).

Low traffic neighbourhoods (LTN)s

I have received very mixed responses to the LTNs. Some residents have been in touch to express their support for the scheme while others have complained about the clear, and sometimes unmanageable, increase in various on nearby roads - like Grove Vale, East Dulwich Grove and Lordship Lane.

The goal of the LTN is not to displace traffic but to reduce it overall, thus making the neighbourhood safer and more pleasant for walking and cycling.

The increase in traffic on nearby roads will be down to a combination of the following factors

- a general increase in traffic across London post-lockdown due to reduced availability of public transport (this applies to both bikes and cars)

- a temporary increase in traffic due to road users being unaccustomed to the new road layout

- a permanent increase in traffic on some roads due to displacement from closed roads.

When the dust settles it will be possible to tell how much of the increased traffic is caused by each factor. I am hopeful that most of the problems will prove to be temporary. However, if it transpires that the LTNs have not reduced traffic but just created chaos on roads nearby, then I will make sure that they are amended or removed outright.

CCTV - I am in conversations with local businesses to identify hotspots for where CCTV should be installed. If you have any suggestions, then please email me!

Events off Calton Avenue

Sorry I missed this. This in Dulwich Village ward. You're right that the councillors there, Cllr Margy Newens and Cllr Richard Leeming, do not use this forum much but they are very easily accessible by email. I appreciate it's probably too late for this now, but in future I'd recommend emailing them directly because it's not really appropriate for me to get involved in such matters in neighbouring wards.

School Streets at Heber

Heber School did indeed submit an application for School Streets but then decided not to pursue it for the time being. I've told Ms Rosenberg that I will support the school with this if they decide to pick it up again.

CPZ

As noted already, the CPZ is going live on the 14th September.

Noise

If you are having continuing problems with noise and the Noise and Nusiance Team are not able to help then please let me know by email so I can look into it. The team was understandably restricted due to covid but we've nonetheless been able to deal with most issues submitted to the councillors.

Libraries

The council has begun a phased reopening of libraries. Details here: https://www.southwark.gov.uk/libraries/gradual-re-opening-of-library-and-heritage-services

I hope everyone is in good health and that you have had an enjoyable summer.

Best wishes,

James

[dougiefreeman]

Cllr McAsh - I am curious as to how these measures (LTN) are deemed justifiable without any kind of formal public consultation?

[jamesmcash]

Dear Dougie,

I hope you're well.

This was a government initiative to get measures in place quickly. They are all 'experimental' traffic orders. This essentially means the consultation is back to front - they are tried out for a limited amount of time and then, following consultation, we decide whether to keep, amend, or remove them.

More info here: https://www.jamesmcash.com/blog/goose-green-newsletter-september-2020

Best wishes

James

[sally buying]

Like Champion HIll, in place for 18 months no matter lets extend it for a further 18 months and then see.

We do not know if it works yet.

[first mate]

Hmmm. What sort of timeframe does limited amount of time refer to? Months, years?

[rupert james]

How long is a piece of string. These closures are in for good better get used to it.

As someone pointed out re CHampion HIll we require more time to evaluate so another 18 months.

Can you see Southwark saying we got this wrong?

[jamesmcash]

This particular piece of string is a maximum of 18 months.

[rupert james]

This is what they said about Champion Hill.

Feel you have lost all credibility like Khan the Magnificent.

[dougiefreeman]

jamesmcash Wrote:

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> This particular piece of string is a maximum of 18

> months.

Please tell me we do not have to endure this bedlam for 18 months. I can save you the trouble and tell you right now it?s not working! You?ve just concentrated traffic that was being handled by all the streets on to an unfortunate few. That does not seem fair to me and quite frankly dangerous to impose higher pollution on those streets for such a long period of time.

[Rockets]

Cllr McAsh - welcome back, I do hope the family emergency has been resolved and that you had a good summer.

Some questions for you:

- It has been two months since the Dulwich Village closures were put in place and due to these closures traffic has increased significantly along routes through your ward leading to, at times, severe congestion and increasing pollution. Are you concerned by the negative impact this is having on your constituents?

- Please can you tell us where the council is monitoring car numbers and pollution levels on streets other than those that have been closed? It seems the council placed monitoring on the closed roads to be able to show how much traffic decreased but have done little monitoring on the roads where displacement is taking place. If monitoring has been put in on displacement roads when did the monitoring start?

- When the emergency planning for these closures was being discussed what roads did the council identify as likely to bear the brunt of the displaced traffic?

- Given the lack of a consultation process and the inability to have public meetings would you be supportive of a online virtual meeting hosted by all the councillors across the area to present to the community your thoughts and rationale behind the closures and to receive questions (using something like Slido would be a good way for constituents to submit questions to avoid it becoming a free for all).

- Is it correct that the council is targeting a 50% reduction in car usage in the area and how is it going to monitor it across the whole area? It looks as if other projects have netted about an 11% reduction in car use (and that was before Covid) so are these closures just the tip of the iceberg or are the council setting unrealistic goals?

[dougiefreeman]

Dear Cllr McAsh

I also have a followup question.

Pretending for a moment that the LTN scheme turns out to achieve its long term goal, has the council assessed the short-term risk to children's health (with respect to spikes in air pollution caused by the road closures) given the number of schools on Grove Vale, Lordship Lane, Townley Road and East Dulwich Grove (the roads currently dealing with the significant additional congestion)?

If so, can you please provide links to the data / information.

Many thanks

[FairTgirl]

Hello there Cllr McAsh,

I would like to know what consideration, if any, was given the disruption and potential loss of income to the businesses located on Melbourne Grove?

If this is a back to front consultation, who sanctioned it?

This suggests that if businesses suffer losses as a result of this plan, they just have to endure them for up to 18 months possibly longer if there is then a consultation process. Is this correct?

Do you think this is an acceptable approach ever, and moreover acceptable now, given the appalling year the businesses have had already?

I hope that you aware that businesses can fail within a matter of months if their customer base is limited, especially overnight.

I am one of those business owners and I live a few minutes away from Melbourne Grove and have children in local primary schools. The ramifications of this plan are on our livelihoods, traffic and air pollution on surrounding roads and schools are incredibly distressing for myself and the broader community.

I too would like to know where, when and how you are monitoring air pollution and traffic levels on closed and surrounding roads prior to this experiment and for its duration.

As this is experimental the implication is that these can just as quickly be removed as placed, and I urge you to re-open Melbourne Grove/Grove Vale junction specifically urgently and if you wish to consult on putting them back in go ahead. But you must consult first and include the businesses in your consultation as a priority, alongside the broader local community.

There are countless other options available to get closer to your objectives, other plans and schemes that could be explored that do not have such a sudden, indelicate and unsympathetic effect on the businesses and locals on these and surrounding roads.

[Abe_froeman]

.

[eastdulwichhenry]

I really hope the council stay the course, and make these changes as well, as restrictions on Townley Road, permanent. I don't have high hopes though - the reopening of Camberwell Grove to traffic proves that ultimately the petrol heads always win the day over at Southwark HQ.

[eastdulwichhenry]

And if Cllr McAsh is listening here, please could I make a suggestion?

What would really make these closures impactful would be to link together the new quiet roads via cycle lanes, to create a complete network of quietways around the area. For example, a new segregated cycle lane or shared pavement along East Dulwich Grove linking the cycle route at Greendale with the newly closed southbound section of Melbourne Grove, would open up the possibility of cycling from anywhere around Sainsbury's / Dog Kennel Hill / Champion Hill through to the part of ED around Barry Road, without having to cycle on any main roads.

Although the changes are a massive improvement, cycling with my child is still a nervous experience as we currently have to use Townley Road, which is still very busy.

[dulwichfolk]

Sounds a great idea.

But EDG is very narrow even more so than most of the roads closed so where exactly would there be space for the cycle lane?

[Rockets]

Cllr McAsh....

...an additional question....

On Saturday traffic was nose to tail for much of the day along the length of Lordship Lane travelling northbound to Goose Green, the problems seemingly being caused by an increase in traffic coming down East Dulwich Grove as a result of the closure of the Dulwich Village Junction. Are you concerned about the increasing pollution levels for your constituents as they shop on Lordship Lane and do you fear that when further closures in Dulwich Village and Townley Road go in the problems will get worse again?