LTN: Our Healthy Streets - Dulwich: Phase 3

[ab29]

Is there no sane person in this mutual adoration society?

Shame on Southwark council and its councillors.

[legalalien]

Well, the scary Southwark Cyclists lady did say that it was imperative that Southwark adopt the five mandated policies before the May 2022 elections. Perhaps she?s realised that there will be an electoral backlash, even if the councillors haven?t... Or is it that Labour see their biggest threat in Southwark as the Greens?

[ab29]

This truly is a parallel universe.

They've made their own constituents life worst by pushing more pollution, dirt and noise to the already busy and polluted roads, they've made air pollution worst by creating miles of idling traffic, they've been ignoring constituents concerns - and they are congratulating themselves on this?

[KidKruger]

Excellent precise, ab29.

[Rockets]

Labour seems to have lost all sense of constituent empathy. As they did at the last general election they have become dangerously disconnected from the voting public, are putting their own ideology ahead of everything else and becoming a liability to themselves and all that Labour represents. You would have thought they would have learnt some lessons from the Corbyn disaster.

[malumbu]

" Is there no sane person in this mutual adoration society?

Shame on Southwark council and its councillors."

Amused me greatly as this thread comes across as a bit of mutual admiration society at times between many of the posters.

Anyway, to be serious.

Rocks you have gone on here, and now on the scooter thread, that Southwark should be investing in on street infrastructure for electric vehicles. Most of the money is held by the government through the Office of Zero Emission Vehicles (previously known as OLEV). TfL is the coordinator for this in London. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/grants-for-local-authorities-to-provide-residential-on-street-chargepoints/grants-to-provide-residential-on-street-chargepoints-for-plug-in-electric-vehicles-guidance-for-local-authorities. Early funding under the Go Ultra Low Cities Scheme granted ?13m across the whole of London https://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/our-key-themes/transport/roads/gulcs

No doubt some councils will spend some of their own money on some recharging, which will be fairly modest.

And I was asked whether boroughs can introduce road charging schemes. They can't. Again that is down to GLA (TfL being part of this).

You could also argue that the better off benefit from subsidies for EVs, certainly the EV car grant does, but government should kill this off and focus on charge points and moving to a sustainable position (note early adopters of electric vehicles were generally wealthy empty nesters, more often that not using this as their second vehicle)

[Rockets]

Well I suppose the political future of our councillors depends on whether their mutual admiration society is bigger and more galvanised than our one.

But, in my books, politicians are supposed to be the catalyst for creating a meeting of minds amongst constituents not driving a wedge between them.

Brave politicians would try to find a resolution that appeases everyone rather than seemingly celebrate the fact a huge swath of the electorate are being ignored per Cllr McAsh and that his "comrades" are brave for continuing to do so - maybe that is modern day Marxism for you!

[ab29]

First and foremost, the brave politicians would listen to their people.

When all this started I thought I was the only person noticing the increase in traffic post-road closures in the area and contacting the councillors; I then discovered than most of my neighbours have been doing exactly the same. The councillors should have come over, talk to people, listen, discuss, see what can be done. Instead, most of us have never received a reply and those who have, got a copy-and-paste emails full of ideological waffle.

[heartblock]

My politics is certainly left of Councillor McAsh - but amazingly this hasn't caused any issues with either how my brain functions or my ability to count cars, see traffic and smell pollution. It also isn't a cure for my asthma.

I also have not been impacted negatively by my left-wing/ green politics, causing an inability to recognise change or analyse data or critically (using this term in the way peer reviewing uses 'critically') review published research.

So quite why Councillor McAsh cannot understand that the Tory Policy of HTN closed roads impacts the residential roads that house much of Labour's base voters and that the consequential increase in idling traffic actually contributes to more pollution both in terms of noise and air quality defies any logic.

[ab29]

Yet another example of how Southwark council ignores people

https://www.southwarknews.co.uk/news/anti-infill-protesters-march-on-southwark-councils-tooley-street-offices-again/?fbclid=IwAR2GyPQaZR5hE0m_OkrMpypDfJEQFkbkPNbmKvSs750FDB9qErMPiQl5cTA

[Rockets]

I think a lot of people are following the rather poetic phrase:

I can't wait till May,

When I can finally have my say!

[legalalien]

I found this blog quite an interesting read. Some parallels with the LTN situation.

https://southwarknotes.wordpress.com/2021/09/01/filling-you-in-local-resistance-to-southwark-council-infill-development-on-estates/

ab29 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Yet another example of how Southwark council

> ignores people

>

> https://www.southwarknews.co.uk/news/anti-infill-p

> rotesters-march-on-southwark-councils-tooley-stree

> t-offices-again/?fbclid=IwAR2GyPQaZR5hE0m_OkrMpypD

> fJEQFkbkPNbmKvSs750FDB9qErMPiQl5cTA

[Metallic]

Please never, never compare traffic issues of any kind in Dulwich/East Dulwich with any area in the north of the Borough. If I had a Tube nearby I would not need to consider either leaving home 30 minutes before I need to, to get on a bus, or use my energy up to walk further than the two niles everyone goes on about.

[alice]

Totally agree M. Plus North Southwark is flat.

[Tessmo]

-

[Bic Basher]

Southwark Tories have a survey up about the LTN scheme.

https://www.southwarkconservatives.org.uk/form/streetspace-ltn-survey?fbclid=IwAR1GUAy33a0F0C2zZ3ssyGciRFle3iE6EtAAK5wniT16-s9qRL_v388VDDg

[malumbu]

Oh for heavens sake, please don't bring the Tories into this, whatever your beefs are with Soutwark Council. Tories are fundamentally pro choice (ie car) and against intervention (ie protecting the environment).

[Bic Basher]

malumbu Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Oh for heavens sake, please don't bring the Tories

> into this, whatever your beefs are with Soutwark

> Council. Tories are fundamentally pro choice (ie

> car) and against intervention (ie protecting the

> environment).

You don't expect a rival party to use the negative elements LTN scheme as a reason for gaining votes in May 2022?

I'd expect the Lib Dems to be pro choice in their manifesto regarding these schemes, while Labour will continue to shoehorn them in as they claim to know best for everyone in Dulwich as long as lemmings vote them in as they do in every local and general election.

[malumbu]

Lib Dems totally given up on their green credentials. If you really support the environment then vote Green.

[malumbu]

On and fine criticism of many of your community (lemmings) - surely you can do better than that....

[CPR Dave]

At least he acknowledges they exist unlike our local councillors

[ab29]

I'm prepared to vote Tories if they promise to remove the LTNs. High time the one party citadel on Tooley Street is shaken up.

[legalalien]

Few things to flag:

Link to video of scrutiny committee meeting on Weds is at https://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=7003, with Cllr Rose?s presentation about an hour and a bit in. No particularly incisive questions, a transcript of Cllr Newens commentary is doing the rounds on Twitter

- apparently the Croxted Road situation is down to Lambeth and TfL!

Peckham Lane / Peckham Rye cycle scheme being made permanent: https://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=50027998. Report notes that traffic filters initially included in plan weren?t installed, and that ? The Council are proposing a wider scheme in the area, which will aim to reduce traffic volumes and complement the highway measures proposed in this report. This scheme is currently in outline design with further consultation planned for mid-2022.? Existing measures have decent level of support.

School streets for Rye Oak and Comber primaries made permanent https://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?Id=7504. A decision on a new batch of school streets has been added into the Forward Plan for decision in Feb but no indication which schools yet.

Next cabinet meeting is on Tuesday 7th. https://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=7017. The new Southwark Plan (which dictates planning policy) is due to be adopted ( note it will be subject to ?early review? to beef up climate strategy commitments). To see the long, complex plan you can click on the link at the bottom of the report document listed in the agenda. P48 to P54 of the document deal with transport issues related to new developments including levels of car and cycle parks and charging points related to new developments.

Proposed bid for TfL funding also on cabinet agenda here: https://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/documents/s103397/Report%20and%20appendix%20Approval%20of%20TfL%20grant%20submission.pdf appendix gives a vague idea of upcoming priorities.

( unrelated to traffic, also on the agenda is for Southwark to set up its own in house construction company to build council housing).

[Penguin68]

( unrelated to traffic, also on the agenda is for Southwark to set up its own in house construction company to build council housing).

I lived in Lambeth during Red Ted Knight's rule. They had an in-house building business - notorious for corruption. This bodes extremely badly. Housing construction is a non-trivial business. Many councils (in the 1920s and 1930s) had quite good in-house firms - but post-war there is little experience or understanding within councils of what qualifies as 'good'.

[legalalien]

Haven?t read it yet but at least looks like an incremental approach of building an in house skills base and focusing first on reducing consultancy, maintenance etc rather than setting up a full bells and whistles company to compete with the private sector. Deserves its own thread, but link here https://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/documents/s103374/Report%20Southwark%20Construction%20Company%20report.pdf