Consultation on possible changes to highway measures in support of the proposed extension of route 255 to Balham
Summary of responses
November 2011
Contents
Section Page 1 Introduction 3 2 The consultation 3 3 Responses from members of the public 5 4 Responses from statutory bodies and other 8 stakeholders
Appendices
A Copy of the consultation letter 9 B Consultation area 14 C List of stakeholders consulted 16
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1. Introduction
In summer 2009 TfL consulted stakeholders and the local community about plans to extend bus route 255 from Streatham Hill to Balham. The route included Weir Road and Old Devonshire Road.
The 2009 consultation response was mainly positive, particularly regarding the benefits of a new bus service in the parts of the area furthest from existing routes. There were 689 responses from members of the public of which 472 were generally supportive, 188 generally opposed and 29 neutral. Many of the local people who came to the consultation exhibitions in Weir Road community centre said they would find it easier to use the bus than take a long walk to and from their home, especially where they were older and/or do not have a car. However some concerns were raised about traffic issues, noise, changes to parking and changes to highway infrastructure, particularly on Old Devonshire Road in the London Borough of Wandsworth.
TfL would still like to introduce the extended bus service to improve public transport facilities in the area and meet local requests. The concerns raised in the consultation have been discussed with both Lambeth and Wandsworth Councils. Following this, TfL has prepared changes to the design of traffic measures in Old Devonshire Road. No changes were considered necessary to the proposals elsewhere. The consultation concerned the revised traffic measures and was delivered to addresses in or very close to Old Devonshire Road.
2. The consultation
2.1 About the consultation:
Stakeholder and public consultation on the changes to the design at Old Devonshire Road took place between 9 June and 29 July 2011. Key elements were:
Ensure the ‘entry treatment’ at the junction of Old Devonshire Road and Balham High Road is kept. Relocate the planned Old Devonshire Road bus stop (Streatham direction) to smooth traffic flow into Old Devonshire Road by allowing the timber yard to still load / unload vehicles on the highway Provide a new south side loading bay to replace the existing 3 car parking bay – to provide essential loading as requested in the previous consultation Make parking available after 19:00 on the south side loading bay and after 17:30 on the yellow line
TfL asked the following questions:
Do you support the extension of route 255 to Balham? Do you support the revised location of the bus stop on Old Devonshire Road?
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Do you support the revised junction layout between Old Devonshire Road and Balham High Road? Do you think this bus service proposal could benefit the whole community? Any other comments on these proposals?
2.2 Who we consulted
The public consultation was intended to seek the views of people who lived on or near to Old Devonshire Road, current users of the service and potential users. We also consulted stakeholders including the affected Councils, traffic police, London TravelWatch, Members of Parliament, Assembly Members and local interest groups. A list of the stakeholders we consulted is shown in Appendix C and a summary of their responses is in section 4.
2.3 Consultation material, distribution and publicity
Letter A consultation letter explained the proposals and this was distributed to approximately 120 properties in and around the affected roads. The letter outlined the revised plan and asked for the respondents to reply with their views.
People could respond by means of, letter, telephone, textphone, email or web.
Email Members of the public and stakeholders could reply by contacting us at [email protected] or by any of the methods listed above.
Website A facility was set up on TfL’s website containing the consultation details and a response form.
A community meeting discussing the proposals took place on 6 July 2011, where it was agreed to extend the consultation period to 29 July 2011 instead of the original date of 15 July 2011.
Braille, audio and large font versions of the consultation material were available, as was a translation service to other languages.
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3. Responses from members of the public
We asked four consultation questions and invited respondents to add further comments. There were 50 public responses to the consultation, not all respondents chose to answer all of the questions. 23 responded by post, 26 responded online, and one responded via email. Responses are summarised below.
3.1 Public consultation results
Q1. Do you support the extension of route 255 to Balham?
60 50 40 30 20 10 0 No Yes No Total Answer Number of replies 24 26 0 50
Q2. Do you support the revised location of the bus stop on Old Devonshire Road?
60
50
40
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20
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0 Not No Yes No Total Sure Answer Number of replies 19 23 8 0 50
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Q3. Do you support the revised junction layout between Old Devonshire Road and Balham High Road?
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40
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20
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0 No Yes No Not Sure Total Answer Number of replies 21 20 9 0 50
Q4. Do you think this bus service proposal could benefit the whole community?
60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Not No Yes No Total Sure Answer Number of replies 18 19 2 11 50
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Reasons for supporting the scheme:
A number of reasons were given for supporting the change, and they can be seen in the table below:
Reason Total Would improve bus links to the rest of South London 7 Better for elderly and disabled users 2 Single deck bus will cause less disruption to residents 1 Revitalise the area 1
Reasons for opposing the scheme:
A number of reasons were given for opposing the change, and they can be seen in the below table:
Reason Total Increase in noise 12 Increase in congestion on Old Devonshire Road 11 Safety of properties and pedestrians on Old Devonshire Road 8 Loss of parking spaces 3 The road is too narrow to accommodate buses 2
3.3 Other Suggestions
Some respondents suggested changes to the proposal or took the opportunity to re-iterate their concerns and also comment more widely about the service.
Issue Total The bus route should go via Thornton Road 3 Two bus stops should be introduced on Old Devonshire Road or make this section of the route hail and ride 2 The bus route should go via Clapham South 2 Route could be extended further 1 The service should be implemented now 1 The route should be extended to Clapham Junction 1 The bus stop should be on Weir Road 1
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The route should go through Balham Town Centre providing better interchanges 1
3.4 Public meeting responses
A public meeting was organised by Cllr King to discuss the consultation. The meeting was held in Balham on 6 July 2011. The meeting was chaired by Cllr King and attended by Wandsworth officer David Tidley, Richard Tracey AM and a TfL officer. There were also 22 local residents in attendance.
All residents who attended were opposed to the rerouteing of the 255. Their comments were as follows
Issue Total Potential move of Travis Perkins might open up the site for redevelopment and this would affect how busy Old Devonshire Road would become 1 The changes to the junction present a safety issue to cyclists and CSH has increased the numbers of cyclists 1 Old Devonshire Road is already very busy 5 Old Devonshire Road is too narrow 6 The Mosque causes congestion which would make it too difficult to operate a bus 1 Bus stop location will adversely affect the fire exit from no. 45 Balham High Road 1 The junction was narrowed to improve safety – to widen the junction would make it less safe 2 There would be an adverse impact on local business with the increased congestion and lack of parking 1 The increased noise will adversely affect local residents 3 The bus and stops would bring more people to the road increasing the risk of opportunistic theft 1
Note – residents were also asked to formally respond to the consultation
4. Responses from statutory bodies and other stakeholders
TfL received written responses from LB Wandsworth and from Val Shawcross AM. Richard Tracey AM responded at the public meeting.
There was no response to this consultation from Lambeth Coucil. All the measures proposed are outside their area, though they are designed to allow a service their residents, also. The council’s response to the 2009 consultation was strongly supportive of the proposal.
LondonTravelWatch did not reply this time. Their 2009 response was supportive. 8
London Borough of Wandsworth The council has previously expressed their opposition to the rerouting however their response to the second round of consultation noted that they would reserve final judgment until they had seen the consultation results.
Val Shawcross AM The extension of the 255 along Weir Road itself is a much needed improvement. Can’t comment on the detailed changes which are proposed to accommodate concerns on the Wandsworth section of the route, however, was pleased in general to see TfL moving ahead and trying to find compromise that will facilitate the routeing of this bus to serve the Weir estate.
Richard Tracey AM Raised concerns about the proposal at the public meeting. Was in agreement with local residents that the service would not be appropriate for operation on Old Devonshire Road.
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Appendix A – Copy of consultation letter
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Appendix B – Consultation Area
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Appendix C – List of stakeholders consulted
Elected Members Chuka Umunna MP Jane Ellison MP Justine Greening MP Kate Hoey MP Sadiq Khan MP Tessa Jowell MP Andrew Boff AM Caroline Pidgeon Darren Johnson AM Dee Doocey AM Gareth Bacon AM Jenny Jones AM Mike Tuffrey AM Murad Qureshi AM Nicky Gavron AM Richard Barnbrook AM Richard Tracey AM Valerie Shawcross AM Victoria Borwick AM
Local Authorites London Borough of Lambeth London Borough of Wandsworth
Other Stakeholders London TravelWatch
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