England v Ireland Sunday November 17th - road closures , bus route impacts etc

 

Mumbai Junction site: a record of floods and accidents that Brent Council doesn't appear to know about

 

 Recorded 9th August 2021

 The applicant denied all knowledge of flooding at 231 Watford Road and last week's Planning Committee when the Mumbai Junction plannin application was approved. The above video has been sent to planning officers as they need to be awate of the real situation.

A resident writes:

There are usually 3 or 4 event like this per year when the drainage manhole on Sudbury Court Drive near the junction with Bengeworth Road blows out due to a lack of capacity in the surface water drainage systems locally. The water runs down hill to the roundabout and across the road towards 23 Watford Road. Thames Water are often contacted via the council to resolve.

Officers also appeared to minimise the number of traffic accidents on roads in the area. Twitter tells a different story.

 

 

 

Exposure to toxic air on the way to school

Watch out for major traffic delays in Wembley area Saturday evening

Major emergency works to a collapsed sewer at the junction of Wembley Park Drive and Wembley Hill Road and Joshua v Povetkin boxing at the stadium (gates open 5.30pm) means that there are likely to be major delays to traffic, including local buses, during the evening, restricting local residents' ability to move around the area,

Event Day parking restrictions will apply.

Traffic at the proposed site for Ark Somerville Primary School 9am this morning

Brent Planning Committee will make a decision on granting planning permission for a 630 pupil primary school on the car park of York House on Empire Way, Wembley.

Wembley Matters checked out the traffic conditions around the proposed site this morning.

Residents urged to support petiton for a Public Inquiry into Cricklewood Superhub

A petition has been launched asking the Secretary of Stae for Communities and Local Government to set up a Public Inquiry into the Cricklewood Aggregates Superhub.

This is the petition:

REQUEST FOR A PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO THE CRICKLEWOOD AGGREGATES SUPERHUBLand at Rear Of 400 Edgware Road Cricklewood, NW2 6ND
Planning Application 17/5761/EIA London Borough of Barnet

We the undersigned request you to issue a holding direction on any decision regarding this planning application by the London Borough of Barnet- with a view to calling it in. This decision affects the air quality of future generations in Brent and Camden as well as Barnet.

We believe it meets six of your criteria

• affects the quality of life across a wider area than a single local authority
• has significant effects beyond their immediate locality
• proposals for development of major importance having more than local significance
• proposals giving rise to substantial regional controversy
• proposals which raise important issues of development control, and/or legal difficulties;
• proposals of major significance for the delivery of the Government's climate change programme and energy policies

The petition can be signed HERE

Wembley traffic jams for residents today - any jam tomorrow?

Following a discussion on  the Next Door forum LINK Gary Holmyard has given me permission to adapt his comments for a Guest Post on Wembley Matters. Publication does not imply approval of all Gary's comments but is aimed at stimulating wider debate.
 
Yesterday’s news was all about Wembley Stadium potentially being sold to Shahid Khan as the home ground for the Jacksonville Jaguars.... I for one can only think that this is going to cause continual chaos on our roads and surrounding infrastructure, increased littering, traffic jams, while the coffers of the stadium owners increase... residents never have a say, we bought our houses and chose to live here when it was a National Stadium with occasional matches and concerts, now we are subjected to weekly or bi-weekly games disrupting our every day lives and movements.

Had I chosen to live near White Hart Lane or Highbury, then I would have no cause to complain, but I didn’t... and when the old twin towers stadium was demolished to make way for the new national stadium it was, in essence, a like-for-like replacement. This will be permanent, on top of the 1,000’s of flats being built I cannot help but believe that this is total overkill, and the companies, council and developers are milking every square inch of ground to make money for themselves and not caring about the people who actually have to live here.

My family have been resident for over 20 years… way before any total redevelopment plans were even on the table, so we did not move to the area to make money in the hope that our property would rise in value, and could move on to somewhere else. We moved here because we liked the area and it’s location for getting into town / access to motorways etc. We have spent that time working hard on our house and garden getting it to how we want, and to move now would be an enormous upheaval, and would involve finding new schools, work place consideration etc, so yes, I accept that property prices have increased, but do not agree that the only solution is to move.

Wembley still could be a wonderful place to live, if only developers and councils had long term thinking of how it all comes together. I am all for bring trade into an area, being an ex-restaurateur in Wembley Park myself, I am aware more than most as to the additional revenue match days can bring, however, I am also aware that regular clientele were turned off from travelling as they cannot park anywhere unless they want to fork out £10, £20 or £30.

My biggest concern is not so much how many flats are being built, or matches that are played, but the actual infrastructure that is not being updated / adapted to suit the additional thousands of new residents coming into the area, on top of weekly / bi-weekly matches being held at the stadium. On a normal Saturday afternoons the Harrow Road from the A406 towards Wembley is one continual queue due to matches being played and / or LDO shoppers, locals trying to go home of course compounds this!

To relieve some of the queues, it would make sense to lift the time restrictions on the bus lanes to peak times only to allow traffic to flow that more easily, plus encourage people to return to the LDO instead of saying ‘never again’! I am all for one for traffic control but with another 5,000 homes planned between now and 2020 (from wembleypark.com) this problem is going to manifest into complete meltdown. With 1,000’s of new jobs created, PLUS 1,000’s of new residents (11,500 total flats envisaged if I am not mistaken in total) it does not take long to work out the additional traffic and people movements each and every day, on top of those visiting the stadium, LDO and SSE arena.

We as locals are used to avoid peak times on event days, but it could potentially be that every day could be like an event day with the amount of additional people coming / leaving the area each day. If each flat houses 3-4 people, that is 34-46,000 people, if a quarter of those use a car, that is almost 10,000 additional car movements each day. If half go to school or work, that is around 20,000 people movements each day. This is every day, and excludes LDO shoppers and employees! I have also noticed the re-timing of the traffic lights since the LED types have been installed these have compounded the problem! A total re-think of the Harrow Road, and A406 trunk roads needs to be carried out. I know parking restrictions for event days are in place to encourage people to use public transport but we are not talking about event days, but each and every day.

SOLUTION: Have Park and Ride schemes been considered? Bicester village and many others have such a scheme, which eliminates traffic problems in the village yet gets shoppers into the shopping areas quickly and safely. The two high rises at the Harrow Road / A406 junction have been empty for many years and is the first thing that new shoppers see when visiting Wembley! If these two monstrosities were two multi storey car parks with a Park ‘n Ride scheme (with a minimal cost to the customer) it would eliminate the vast majority of congestion on the Harrow Road at a stroke! The scheme would be open for shoppers as well as football / concert goers and would enable traffic to disperse EASILY and QUICKLY at the end of a match or concert instead of all the road closures and coned re-directions that currently happens and make traffic dispersal ten times worse!

If people paid less for this scheme than parking in the car parks nearer to the “event” then this would encourage people to use it. I am sure that there would be many companies willing to sponsor the scheme also thus brining in even more revenue! I am confident that not only would this suggestion work, it would greatly improve the A406/Harrow Rd junction as well as encouraging people to return! I have thought about this idea for a long time and would like to think that someone somewhere within the Council would have put it forward for consideration, something needs to be done, and this is something that could work! However, this was turned down by the Council….

If Mr Shahid Khan can afford £900mill for the stadium, I am sure he could afford to get this scheme or something similar underway to encourage more to attend his stadium, and gain greater respect from the locals and his team’s supporters! This is my opinion, and as this is an open forum, I can suggest solutions, who knows, someone’s may be realised as ideal, in which case this would all be worth it! ‘My views’ only people! I do not expect everyone to agree, but it’s good to vent off sometimes!

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Brent Cyclists call for Quintain and Brent Council to act to secure safe cycling after Fulton Road/Olympic Way accident

I am grateful to Brent Cyclists LINK for permission to repost this article from their website. Tghis evening football fans will be streaming across the Fulton Road/Olympic Way junction to attend tonight's football match.

Ariel view of Olympic Way/Fulton Road junction

Cyclist injured at Olympic Way junction

We hear a sad report of a hit-and-run collision today at the junction of Fulton Road and Olympic Way, with a 15-year old cyclist injured. These details come from the Brent & Kilburn Times. 

Scene of the incident photographed by our member Charlie Fernandes

While we do not know full details of this incident, it is clear that the design of the junction of Fulton Road, where it crosses the pedestrian and cycle only route of Olympic Way, is very poor. 

Olympic Way has huge pedestrian traffic, which will only increase with the current large-scale building of homes in the area. Fulton Road has fairly low vehicular traffic, yet the crossing is confused with a design that visually implies priority for motor traffic.

Fulton Road and Olympic Way junction photographed late 2015. The junction was then on a raised table, which is now gone, and the new road surface is lighter in colour at the junction, though the painted markings are the same.

As seen in the picture, give-way lines for vehicles on Fulton Road mean that they should give way to pedestrians and cyclists using Olympic Way, but this design is highly non-standard for the UK, motorists do not expect to have to give way to pedestrains without a marked pedestrain crossing (i.e. a zebra), and observation of the junction shows that generally they do not. As seen in the picture, pedestrians are wary of this junction and take it that motorists have priority. The surfacing, tarmac for the road with pink tiling and grey tactile paving for the pedestrian and cycle route, and the presence of the double yellow lines all along Fulton Road, re-enforce the impression that the road is continuous and the pedestrain and cycle route, Olympic Way, is interrupted. The removal of the raised table after utility works this year has further re-enforced the default vehicle priority.

We believe that with the increasing population and activity in this area this junction will be an increasing hazard. It need to be changed: either a wide zebra crossing should be marked through the junction, the full width of Olympic Way, or, better, Fulton Road should be closed as a motor vehicle through-route.

More widely in the Wembley Park regenation area there is a problem of designs that do not properly recognise the need to have designated space for flows of cyclists. On Olympic Way and the new quasi-shared space of Olympic Park Boulevard, cycling is allowed but mixed up with pedestrain flows. This only does not cause major problems at the moment because the flows of cyclists are low. It is likely to cause problems in the future. We are calling on the developers, Quintain, and Brent Council, to implement adequate dedicated cycle paths within the development area that are clearly differentiated from pedestrian sapce, as well as from motor vehicle space.

Choking on polluted air? What is the answer?

Clean air for London - Sian Berry's plans

London needs a comprehensive plan to bring its air within legal limits as soon as possible, using every tool at our disposal, the Green Party mayoral candidate said today.

With air pollution estimated to cause more than 9,500 premature deaths in London every year, Sian Berry lists a wide range of actions that she would carry out as Mayor to comply with air pollution laws by 2020 at the absolute latest.

Immediate measures include enforcement of the existing ban on idling for parked vehicles, a higher congestion charge for all but the cleanest vehicles in Central London, and accelerating the programme of replacing diesel buses with hybrids and electric vehicles.

In the longer term, she will create a much larger Ultra Low Emission Zone, write much stronger car-free policies into the London Plan, commission a cleaner version of the ‘New Bus for London’ and expand the electric car charging network to create 25,000 charging points.

Sian Berry said: 

Sixty years after the Clean Air Act helped put an end to the deadly smogs that came from coal fires and power stations, we are now faced with a comparable problem.

The time for half-hearted efforts to clean up our polluted air and ensure compliance with existing laws is past. If I’m elected Mayor I will immediately exclude the most polluting cars, vans and lorries from central London, and speed up the switchover to make all new buses and taxis zero-emission. I will cancel road-building plans and oppose all airport expansion.

I also believe in telling Londoners the truth, and I will provide warnings about bad air days so people can protect their health by cutting car use and avoiding outdoor exercise.

In the longer term we need an effective new Ultra Low Emission Zone to keep polluting diesel vehicles out of London, along with fair charges on motoring to reduce traffic levels. That’s the only way we can bring pollution down to levels that we can genuinely describe as ‘quality air’.

The full details of her policies are:

Immediate action:

• Tighten up the standards on the current Londonwide Low Emission Zone for vans and make sure they are properly enforced through vehicle checks, with enforcement of the existing ban on idling for parked vehicles.
• Introduce a higher congestion charge for all but the cleanest vehicles in central London, to create a Very Low Emission Zone. This will ensure that where drivers have a choice of vehicle they never bring polluting cars into London and provide a strong incentive for London’s car owners either to give up their vehicles or to change to petrol or hybrid cars as quickly as possible. We will invite boroughs to opt in some or all of their area to expand this zone into illegally polluted parts of inner and outer London.
• Accelerate the programme of replacing diesel buses with hybrids and electric vehicles, ensuring the entire fleet is moved to these technologies by 2020 at the latest and that the Ultra Low Emission Zone can be extended to all of London without affecting bus services.
• Maintain and extend scrappage grants and loan schemes for black cab drivers so that all their vehicles are zero-emissions capable by 2018, ensuring there is a suitable charging infrastructure for them to run on electric power in all areas of inner London at least.
• Join car owners and those affected by high air pollution in bringing legal action against car makers for cheating on their emissions tests and misleading all of us about the pace of change in the pollution caused by our vehicles.
• Begin consultation immediately on introducing emergency traffic reduction measures to protect Londoners from the worst air pollution days we currently experience.
• Lobby government for a scrappage scheme for all diesel vehicles, and changes to Vehicle Excise Duty and the new Roads Fund to encourage Londoners to give up car ownership by switching to walking, cycling, public transport, car clubs or at least low- or zero-emission vehicles.

Longer term plans:

• Begin consultation immediately on a scheme to replace the ULEZ that will cover all of London and be effective in complying with the law. This could be combined with the new traffic demand management scheme we will develop to replace the Congestion Charge. 
• Put much stronger car-free housing policies in the London Plan to support the trend for lower car ownership in both inner and outer London. This will be supported by our transport policies to improve public transport and make living without a car easier in all parts of our city.
• Ensure all planning applications are air quality neutral, requiring new developments to reduce air pollution in the most heavily polluted areas.
• Oppose all road and airport expansion in the South East and London, as well as putting together proposals for City Airport to be closed and replaced with a new city quarter for homes and businesses, working with local authorities, businesses, developers, large and small, along with academic and cultural institutions.
• Revisit plans for the ‘New Bus for London’ to explore a number of newer, more accessible, higher capacity and cleaner versions of the new design, more suitable for Londoners’ varied needs.
• Ensure the electric car charging network is properly maintained and funded and aim to expand it to provide 25,000 charging points across London.
• Develop further electric vehicle charging networks for vans, car clubs and private cars in local areas in collaboration with local councils.

NB Sian will reveal plans to promote walking and cycling in her forthcoming People-Friendly Streets manifesto. This will complement the public transport policies she has already announced – flattening the fare zones, making travelcards fairer for part-timers and allowing interchange between different modes of public transport at no extra cost – which are also designed to reduce private car dependency.

'Park and Stride' won't mitigate congestion at expanded Byron Court Primary school

This is one of the speeches delivered at tonight's Planning Committee on the application to expand Byron Court Primary School. The Commiittee later approved the application with some issues regarding potential conditions, raised this afternoon  in an email by Cllr Perrin, and later in his speech to the Committee, to be followed up by Officers. Several members of the Committeee said they had received phone calls from Barry Gardiner MP about the application.

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My name is Suzanne D’Souza.  I am the Chair of the Sudbury Court Residents’ Association.  I am here today representing the 1500 residents who object to the expansion of Byron Court School.

We understand that the Council have an obligation to provide schools places.  However, the Council also have an obligation to protect residents from overdevelopment.  And building one of the largest primary schools in the country, in the middle of a residential estate, accessible only by narrow roads, is an overdevelopment.

There are many reasons we object to this proposal, but as I only have 2 minutes I will focus on transport.  

The school currently has 3 forms of entry and the traffic problems at school run times are significant.  Brent Council’s own Transportation Officers visited the school and confirmed this.  

The Officers’ view is that the parking and traffic flow issues on these residential streets is a major concern for pupils and pedestrian safety.  Their observations confirm current unacceptable and unsafe conditions on Spencer Road, and surrounding streets.

Over many years, the school have tried, and failed, to solve the problems.  Our local police team have tried, Council Officers have tried, and our local Councillors have tried.  All attempts at solving the traffic problems have failed.  

This is at 3 form entry.  Now imagine we almost double the size of the school and bring in children from further away so their parents are forced to travel by car.  This isn’t just a logistics problem, it’s a health and safety problem.  It is dangerous.  

Brent Council’s own Transportation Officers have acknowledged that there are serious safety problems at present, which will only be exacerbated with the conversion of the school from 3FE to 5FE, and the Travel Plan submitted was considered seriously inadequate.

The Officers go on to say the use of a Park and Stride scheme based on the Northwick Park Car Park would mitigate the negative impact of congestion.  This is described as an essential factor to support the school expansion.

However, the report states that the recent trial of this had a low take-up.  Despite senior school staff campaigning for parents to use Northwick Park car park for park and stride over recent weeks, very few parents have complied. 

This begs the question then, how this, the apparent key to the acceptability of the scheme in highway terms, is to be enforced?

There are a great many reasons why the use of Northwick Park Car park for Park and Stride will not work.  Cllr Perrin will take you through the detail of this.  All I have time to say is that if Brent Council Transportation Officers have said this is an essential factor to support the school expansion, and we know that it cannot work, then the logical conclusion is that this expansion is not feasible and, from a Planning perspective, cannot go ahead.

Traffic safety measures installed at Asda/Forty Lane in Wembley

The Yellow Box has now been installed at the junction of Asda slip road/Forty Lane/King's Drive following concerns over pedestrian at the crossing.

Pedestrian lights and a yellow box have also been installed further along Forty Lane at The Paddocks junction which should ensure a safer crossing from the bus stop outside the French School (formerly Brent Town Hall) and the Chalkhill Estate.

UPDATE First steps taken in making ASDA/Forty Lane/Kings Drive junction safe

New markings were installed this morning on King's Drive, Wembley, at the junction with Forty Lane and the ASDA slip road.

Campaigners including Wembley Matters and local resident Ann Fitzgerald have drawn attention to the dangers at the crossing. LINK Often people drive straight across six lanes of traffic (there are no traffic lights on King's Drive) and do a u-turn on the Asda slip road to drive north to Bridge Road/Forty Avenue. The large 'Turn Left' sign and cross hatching make it clearer that cars should not drive across Forty Lane. In addition there are now no parking zig zags outside the French School entrance in King's Drive which used to be the Town Hall car park entrance, very close to the junction.

Ann Fitzgerald who has witnessed numerous infringements at the junction said the news was 'Brilliant!':

I’m so fearful of one of the children getting knocked down. A BMW on Monday did that Kings Drive cut through at speed.  I just don’t know if I could live with myself – thus I feel I have become a nag.  But as you know yourself, it’s right by the entry gates to the Lycee and I do think drivers get a tunnel vision with gaining time and just don’t think pedestrian.

Ironically cars were seen using the manoeuvre even while the  workmen were painting the signs.

The installation of a yellow junction box LINK at the junction is the next stage in making the junction safe.  This will address the problem in the morning school-run rush hour of slow moving traffic blocking the pedestrian crossing even when the lights are on green.

It is hoped that the box junction will be installed before December 7th.  It will have to be done overnight due to the volume of day time traffic and timing will be dependent on the weather.

There are also plans for a new signal crossing at the junction of The Paddocks and Forty Lane, the other side of the French School. It is hoped that this might deter people crossing Forty Lane from the bus stop outside the old Town Hall entrance to the Chalkhill Estate.

Brent Coucil and TfL must take action on dangerous Wembley Asda junction

Watch this video carefully and you will see a woman with a push chair trying to cross Forty Lane at the junction with the Asda slip road and King's Drive, Wembley Park.

The volume of traffic means that vehicles bestride the pedestrian crossing  and move across it, even when the green 'man' indicates pedestrians should cross.  The traffic lights are positioned on the south side of the junction and there is is no further indicator for vehicles on the pedestrian crossing itself.

I witnessed both adults and children dodging between the moving traffic this morning beyween 8.50 and 9am as they go to school or retrun from dropping children off.

I have tweeted the video to Transport for London and Brent Council calling for urgent action. More traffic build up at peak times has been forecast by Transport for London as a result of the road works at Neasden.

There is bound to be an accident at this spot sooner or later.

Neasden road works to impact on Wembley road and bus travel for 6 months

Traffic has been very heavy along Blackbird Hill/Forty Lane/ Forty Avenue during peak hours since new schools have opened in Wembley and they are still not operating to full capacity.

Now roadworks at Neasden are due to cause more problems and TfL has issued a delay warning LINK

These are their disruption maps for October:

Details of the impact on bus services and closure of bus stops can be found HERE

Forty Lane/Asda traffic contraventions and dangers

Local residents have writtent to Brent Council expressing concern about the dangers of the Asda/Forty Lane junction and the nearby Bridge Road/Forty Avenue/Barnhill junction. Pedestrian traffic has increased at both due to new schools and the expansion of existing ones. Vehicle traffic has also increased.

I made the vide above this morning to illustrate the dangers at the Asda junction.

Residents argue that dealing with this issue should be given priority,

'Lollipop' men and women - a benefit to children and the community

I am publishing the speech made by Michelle Goldsmith at Brent Cabinet,  presenting a petition about the cuts in school crosssing patrols, as a Guest Blog as it raises many pertinent issues.
 

Another petition where children lose out.

This petition is asking the Council to review their intention to sack all School Crossing Patrols in Brent.  I appreciate that these are difficult times with huge cuts in funding, but cutting road safety services too far will mean more people being killed or injured. Apart from the human cost, it just doesn’t make financial sense – road accidents can cost millions of pounds so preventing them saves millions of pounds.

Barnet Council gives go ahead for Brent Cross redevelopment

Regular readers will know that the Brent Cross development has been subject to much debate, not least because of the increase in car traffic involved in the expansion of retail and the associated loss of green space. See Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Development  LINK

This is a Press Release from Barnet Council: 

Barnet Council has today confirmed planning permission for a revamped Brent Cross Cricklewood shopping centre as part of the wider Brent Cross Cricklewood redevelopment. 

The confirmation comes today following the signing of final commercial agreements between Barnet Council, developers Hammerson and Standard Life.

The overall development of both north and south sides of the A406 will create more than 27,000 jobs and 7,500 homes and double the size of the shopping centre.

The Section 106 planning agreement is one of the largest in British history and will see a £250m investment in roads, public transport and pedestrian and cycle links as well as three new parks.

It will also see investment in three new schools and other community facilities as well as a £5.6m major improvements to Clitterhouse Playing Fields.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Richard Cornelius said:

It is very difficult to overstate the importance of this redevelopment to Barnet. The council is committed to playing an active role in the development of the south side of the site to get the best financial deal for the taxpayer and to play our part in creating a thriving London neighbourhood.

We are particularly excited by the opportunities presented by Brent Cross overground station which will give a 12 minute fast link into Kings Cross. We are working very closely with the Treasury and the Mayor’s Office to make this happen.

Smog health warning demonstrates need for European cooperation on pollution

The Government is predicting that Southern England will be hit by high levels of air pollution this week.

According to forecasts from the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) the levels of pollutants in the air will be at the highest level possible on the measuring scale.

Forecasts, available on the DEFRA website, show that pollution is set to be at ‘level 10’. At this level of pollution the Government advise people to reduce strenuous exercise and those with medical conditions to avoid activity wherever possible.

Last month one of South East England’s Euro-MPs suggested that free public transport should be made available on days with high pollution to cut the number of vehicles on the road. Keith Taylor, the Green Party’s MEP for South East England, made the proposal after the city of Paris provided free public transport to cut smog levels.

Responding to the latest smog wave Mr Taylor said:

These extremely high levels of pollution highlight just how serious a threat bad air is to our health.

Episodes like this often have a number of contributing factors. What seems clear is that towns and cities across South East England need to reduce the level of air pollution in their streets by cutting the amount of traffic. But on top of that it’s clear that our Government must play a role in pushing for stronger air pollution laws from the European Union, rather than trying to water down the rules we already have.

The air in our towns and cities needs to be cleaned up. To do that we need to reduce the amount of traffic and bring in cleaner alternative transport options. 

This smog, which is affecting Northern France as well as Southern Britain, shows just how important it is that we work with out European neighbours in creating laws that protect our environment and our health.

1)      The pollution forecast is available here: http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/forecasting/ 
2)      Health warnings for air pollution episodes: http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/air-pollution/daqi

Three boroughs near solution after long 'dangerous junction' campaign by residents

Crossing photographs from Father David Ackerman

Guest blog by Jay of Kensal Triangle Residents' Association about a long persistent campaign that now looks as if it will yield results.
 

Positive movement on the Harow Road/Ladbroke Grove Junction!  A solution may well be in sight.

On Friday 7th February representatives from Transport for London, Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea and Brent councils, West One ( the infrastructure management company employed by Westminster Council to manage its traffic planning) and Kensal Triangle Residents Association joined in a meeting kindly organised  and hosted by Fr David Ackerman for a meeting at St John's Vicarage to discuss the Harrow Road /Ladbroke Grove crossing. 

This brought together professionals and locals to address the need for immediate action. The campaign for the provision of safe pedestrian crossing facility has been going for nearly eight years now, and the meeting was arranged to give updates on plans formulated by West One as a result of the last round of surveys.

The meeting proved to be positive on all counts.  It was agreed by all that the attempt to improve the situation by providing wider refuges in the middle of each arm of the junction had not worked at all. West One, in conjunction with TfL are now recommending to all parties that a system be installed with a phase where all vehicle traffic is stopped at the junction to allow a pedestrian crossing phase with the traditional ‘green man’light.  This will allow pedestrians enough time to cross any one arm of the junction.  (it was not proposed to encourage crossing diagonally over the junction as is the case at Oxford Circus)  

There will also be consideration of lane confusion, signage and the hold-ups on Kilburn Lane. 

West One needs to consult with the two other councils to ensure that this solution us agreed by all parties, and further modelling needs to be done to ensure that congestion will not be increased by the new scheme, but the overall message was that positive and effective action is being taken  to make the junction safer for pedestrians and drivers. 

West One could not give a precise timetable for implementation for the plan, but hoped to finish the modelling by the end of March, and installation of the new lights by the end of 2014

The meeting was also notable for its focus on a solution, and Fr David was glad to host a meeting that brought together the most important people who can affect change.  It was extremely helpful and positive to have a meeting so close to the junction concerned, where everyone could see the scale of the problem.

The Background to a Long Campaign

The Harrow Road/Ladbroke Grove Junction

KTRA have been campaigning to get ‘green man’ lights at this junction for 8 years.

It took a long time to find out which Borough took responsibility for the junction as it is on the boundary of three boroughs.  Westminster is the lead borough, as it has the south east and north east corners.  R B K and C has the south west corner and Brent the North West.  This is one of the difficulties, as funding is complicated due to shared responsibility between the three boroughs.

Further, as it is a main road, Transport for London is involved, and has to survey the junction to determine what difference a change in phasing would make.  This also has implications on funding any changes.

Almost everyone who lives in the area agrees that the junction is dangerous. It is particularly hazardous for anyone with impaired mobility or eyesight, and it is a nightmare for parents with children, or teachers with school groups trying to cross. It is a huge barrier in the way of any attempts to get more children walking to school

Over the years we have delivered a petition of over 1000 signatures (the previous incumbent at the church collected some of them from the congregation) two long scrolls of wallpaper covered with drawings and comments, many form children, asking for the junction to be made safe, and attended two meetings at Portcullis House arranged by Glenda Jackson with representatives from all t he boroughs to try and find a way forward.  Martin Low from Westminster Council has said in one of these meetings that he is not averse to the idea of a pedestrian phase at the lights, but it depends on TfL and price.

Our position is

1).  Even though there have not been any fatalities or major injuries the junction is dangerous.  There are people who get the bus one stop to Sainsbury’s rather than cross the road there.  There is no time when it is safe for pedestrians to cross any arm of the junction

2) It can only get worse. The junction is used by several different groups of school children as well as  anyone getting off the number 18 to get a bus going down Ladbroke Grove.  In the morning and evening rush hours it is particularly bad.  As the area is developed more and more there will be more pressure on the junction – especially as Sainsbury’s remains the only large supermarket in the area.

3) Widening the refuges in the centre of each arm has not made a difference - most of them did not last a week.  They did not tackle the central problem; that it is unsafe to cross the road.

4) Every junction on the Harrow Road from Harlesden clock to the Edgeware Road has a pedestrian phase, except this one.  There are also numerous pedestrian crossings along the Harrow Road.

Every Junction on Chamberlaine Road from Kensal Rise Station down to the Harrow Road has a pedestrian phase.

There are no traffic lights  on Ladbroke Grove until you get to Ladbroke Grove Station, where there is a separate pedestrian crossing controlled by lights.  It is obviously generally accepted that on all of these roads pedestrian safety needs to be ensured by the provision of light controlled crossings.

5) We consider that putting a pedestrian phase into the Crossing will not cause more traffic queues. 

Coming down Chaimberlaine Road from Kensal Rise the traffic is held up by the lights at Harvist Road and Bannister Road: it is more often than not fairly clear after both of these junctions until cars reach the bend by Ilbert Street: congestion is caused there by the narrowness of the road and parked cars at any time of day or night.  Crossing the Harrow Road is relatively straightforward, except for right turning vehicles.

Coming up Ladbroke Grove, congestion is caused by the two roundabouts at Barlby road and the entrance to Sainsbury’s.  This can cause tailbacks to Ladbroke Grove Station.  Once over the roundabout at Sainsbury’s cars move freely to join a short queue at the Harrow Road lights

There is congestion all along the Harrow Road from Harlesden: it can take seven minutes to get from the Scrubs Lane Junction to the lights at Kensal Green Station.  There is then usually some clear road before the tailback at the Ladbroke Grove Junction.  This tailback is caused by the poor layout of the junction and the bus lane.  The road essentially becomes single lane, with space for only four or five cars to pull into the left hand lane at the junction in front of the number 18 bus stop. Consequently, most of the cars wishing to continue east along the Harrow Road are stuck behind cars attempting to turn right into Ladbroke Grove – and only about four of these make it across the junction in any given phase of the lights.  Moving the bus stop back a few yard would help – it is still set up for the now defunct bendy buses,  and does not need to be anything like as long as it is. 

There is much less problem for traffic coming out of Central London on the Harrow Road: there are two lanes and a left filter lane at eh junction, and although it is still nerve-racking for vehicles turning right up Kilburn Lane, cars going straight on or turning left are not impeded.

A light system with a pedestrian phase, and with right turn filters on the traffic phases would be of benefit to pedestrians and drivers alike