North Cross Road / Lordship Lane roadworks dangerous

[Galileo]

My daughter and I just narrowly escaped being run over whilst crossing at the temporary lights. The poor driver turned round and came to find me to explain - she had turned left from North Cross Road which is in the middle of the roadworks and whilst the green man was telling us to cross there was nothing telling her to stop. Unfortunately she came to the pedestrian crossing just after the green man had come on so she found herself driving through a crowd of people missing my daughter's buggy by inches. She turned round to come and find me on the street to apologise and explain how it had happened. Poor lady was in tears and we were both in shock. I have reported this to the telephone number on the roadworks but this is just a 24 hour contact room so he said he'd pass it on to the Aouthwark team to look at. I've looked at the junction and I can't see anything to alert the drivers to the pedestrians when they are being shown the green man to cross. It might be that thet the temporary traffic lights on Lordship Lane are connected to the pedestrian crossing, but there's nothing on Northcroas Road. We are very lucky that this wasn't worse and I am fighting back the tears. Luckily my 4 month old has slept through the whole thing. I'm at the junction now, I wanted to check I wasn't missing something, but I'm not. Pedestrians are being told they can safely cross the road with NO indication to traffic that has just turned out of North Cross Road, only the temporary traffic lights on Lordship Lane go red, which are before the North Cross Road junction. Am I missing something?

[Sue]

No, you're not missing something, however surely the driver should have noticed people in the road irrespective of whether there was a light in North Cross Road.

It all sounds very traumatic, but I can't see that this is anybody's fault but the driver's, sorry.

I do agree that the junction is an absolute nightmare at the moment for everybody using it.

ETA: Suppose there had been lights in North Cross Road, suppose the lights were green but there were pedestrians on the crossing. Would the driver still have just almost run them over?

Any driver should still be looking out for people in the road, surely? You don't need a red light.

Also, cars could be coming out of North Cross Road who want to turn right.

[BeadyBoo]

So sorry to hear this. I reported and posted about this danger last week. James Barber also said he would report this. Surely no crossing would be safer than a crossing which doesn't appear to inform the oncoming traffic that the green Man is showing.

[BeadyBoo]

You can report the problem here:

https://reportit.tfl.gov.uk/pub/servlet/ep.app?a=a&type=177748&ut=X&st=TFLROAD&hideId=Y&displayTitle=none&modifyElId1=TFLLinkStyle1&modifyElClass1=TFLhighlight&googleKey=ABQIAAAA6IrAdSolnFVEgeKIUXV6cxSpH5-UlYEIAENs8wUI3J07Ks5xDhRMMuRCg1KofgVoZMg7NMI6KMbtvQ

[Galileo]

BeadyBoo that makes me even more angry, they knew about the danger and have done nothing.

Sue, I agree that drivers should look for people in the road, but when she turned the corner we (there was a handful of other people crossing, were stood at the side of the road waiting for the signal so she would have seen a clear road, as she then accelerated the green man came on, we all took a step forward instinctively and by this point she was in the middle of us. I've been thinking if it was our fault but at the time I got to the lights the road was clear, she would have come round the corner only a second before the lights changed as the corner is really close to the crossing. I don't think the driver did anything wrong. I know we should all be looking for cars / pedestrians and not relying solely on lights / signals but because the junction is so close to the crossing it's like the car came out of nowhere. It is a disgrace that they have left a crossing in that state. I really feel for the driver who was obviously very shaken by the ordeal.

[Galileo]

Thanks for the link BeadyBoo, I'm filing a report now.

[Galileo]

I've just had a call from a very concerned and sorry gentleman from FMConway to say an engineer is now onsite fixing the issue. It appears that the lights were moved back down Lordship Lane last week when North Cross Road was closed, and they did not move the lights back when then reopened North Cross Road. They have agreed to investigate how this could have happened as I explained they are very lucky they are not dealing with a dead or seriously injured infant.

I hope the driver of the car sees this so she knows something is being done about it as I promised her I would get on to the council about it.

[mockingbird]

What about the lady who was knocked down. Was this a result of the same traffic light issue?

[Sue]

Galileo Wrote:

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

> BeadyBoo that makes me even more angry, they knew

> about the danger and have done nothing.

>

> Sue, I agree that drivers should look for people

> in the road, but when she turned the corner we

> (there was a handful of other people crossing,

> were stood at the side of the road waiting for the

> signal so she would have seen a clear road, as she

> then accelerated the green man came on, we all

> took a step forward instinctively and by this

> point she was in the middle of us. I've been

> thinking if it was our fault but at the time I got

> to the lights the road was clear, she would have

> come round the corner only a second before the

> lights changed as the corner is really close to

> the crossing. I don't think the driver did

> anything wrong. I know we should all be looking

> for cars / pedestrians and not relying solely on

> lights / signals but because the junction is so

> close to the crossing it's like the car came out

> of nowhere. It is a disgrace that they have left a

> crossing in that state. I really feel for the

> driver who was obviously very shaken by the

> ordeal.

I see that. I take back my previous post. Very sorry for everybody affected including the driver, and thankful that nobody was hurt.

[first mate]

It may be useful to remember that Conway and S'wark are so close that I am told Conway actually have an office within S'wark. Perhaps this incident may provide a way to shine a light on what appears to be a slipshod approach to work throughout ED.

I am also very sorry for those concerned and so glad a truly serious accident was narrowly avoided.

[edhistory]

Which Southwark Council employee authorises F.M.Conway invoices for payment?

[DulwichFox]

mockingbird Wrote:

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

> What about the lady who was knocked down. Was

> this a result of the same traffic light issue?

No.. She was knocked down at the Lordship Lane Frogley Road Junction.

DulwichFox

[JohnL]

The best policy is if there are people in the road is to stop and wait.

However, It's so confusing if the road management is wrong that you don't

know what someone will do.

and if other drivers beep in their confusion - so be it.

[Sue]

Just passed there.

Loads of people working on it, and lights prominently and sensibly placed.

Pity it apparently took an incident like this to give them a kick up the ****

[EDAus]

Two incidents - I reported the below incident this morning:

My four year old and I were nearly knocked down at approx 8.15-8.20am today - if I had not read the post above from Galileo above we would both be dead or seriously injured.

My little one was awake for 3 hours last night, so we decided to take the pram to nursery as she was too tired to walk.

Heading North, the 185 bus had stopped at a red light, the green person was clearly showing - I checked both ways and went to step off the pavement with the pram leading, a dark blue hire car came racing around, overtaking the 185 clearly speeding and straight through the green light crossing, I screamed at them to stop which they ignored, I checked again went to step off when a second dark blue hire car did exactly the same thing. The second driver clearly saw me and just shrugged.

Had I stepped off with the pram leading, both my daughter and I would have been killed or seriously injured.

[James Barber]

I've just had the answer that these works will be completed 7 September.

The delay due to obtaining kerb stone - weirdly not ordered sufficiently before the works started and that they have to be imported. You could not make this up.

[Sue]

James Barber Wrote:

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

> The delay due to obtaining kerb stone - weirdly

> not ordered sufficiently before the works started

> and that they have to be imported. You could not

> make this up.

This is absolutely ridiculous.

I have a query about the tendering process.

What are the criteria for choosing contractors, and is the process transparent? Are we allowed to know who else has tendered and why Conway are chosen each time? And who in the council is ultimately responsible for this decision?

Because the ability of Conway's managers to actually project manage appears to be, let's say, limited.

[Blah Blah]

So there is nowhere in the UK that makes kerb stone?

Good point Sue regarding Conway. Kind of makes a mockery of the tendering process if the same company always gets the contract.

[DulwichFox]

Have people here never heard of the Freemasons..

;-)

Foxy

[Sue]

DulwichFox Wrote:

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

> Have people here never heard of the Freemasons..

>

> https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:AN

> d9GcTbwXPD1Sx7STw0gkfwhlsHjEiAQ2EwXexTa856Ucyt7eVk

> 2ET2Rn5IU4w

>

> ;-)

>

> Foxy

And that is why I ask whether the decision making process is transparent.

Not necessarily mason-connected however.

[James Barber]

FMConway were selected for a term contract. It will have followed OJEU processes. So please don't libel people who udner took this. It is apparently one of the cheapest deals in London - I attended a riveting highway maintenance conference hosted by TfL a couple of years ago. So cheap that it didn't make sense for Southwark to join a sub regional amalgamated consortium of local councils.

But you usually pay for such deals in service.

Equally Southwakr specifies the materials. Clearly we need to get Southwark to review the materials they select for global warming impact - shipping from China - supply chain delays, if you run out it takes a while to restock. Even if the materials headline pricing might be cheaper.

Either way 7 September.

[rch]

The builders told me a couple weeks ago that the hold-up was kerb stones from China, as well, so it's reassuring that management is giving the same story. Bear in mind that they are using the same kerbstone for the Townley project, so that's using up stock as well.

I remember we tried getting stone from Ireland a couple years ago, but that ran out as well...

Anyway, the underlay on the pavement area in front of Londis is compacted and the gravel is laid, it looks like they are going to lay the paving stones from the corner by Londis up to the pedestrian crossing any minute, so I suspect that that section will be open first, hopefully by the weekend?

[Zebedee Tring]

As someone has already asked the question but has not been given an answer, I will ask it again:

Is there no company in the UK that makes kerb stone? Do we really have to import every bit of raw material that we need?

No wonder that this country is in such a mess!

JB says that the Conways deal is one of the cheapest in London. To quote an old clich?, if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

[Abe_froeman]

These guys do zebedee but the British standard kerb looks a couple of feet shorter than the East Dulwich standard...

http://www.marshalls.co.uk/commercial/kerb

[dbboy]

Can I ask why the kerb stone is being replaced and why it seems as though the pavement is being widened so making turning left out of North Cross road more hazardous?