Changes to Bus Lanes, Parking and Loading in Old Kent Road /New
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Changes to bus lanes, parking and loading in Old Kent Road / New Cross Road between Murdock Street and Chesterfield Way Consultation Summary March 2017 Contents [Type text] Contents About the proposals .............................................................................................. 3 About the consultation ........................................................................................... 3 Summary of responses ......................................................................................... 4 Issues raised during consultation .......................................................................... 5 Appendix A: Notification letter ............................................................................... 6 Appendix B: Stakeholder email ............................................................................. 8 Appendix C: Stakeholder email list ........................................................................ 9 2 Consultation Summary About the proposals Buses play a vital role in our transport system, providing people with easy access to homes, workplaces, town centres, and so on. We want to maintain a reliable bus network, which is why we regularly assess bus routes to see if there are opportunities to redesign the roads in a way that would make bus journeys more efficient. These changes help maintain and shorten journey times for passengers. The section of the A2 comprising parts of Old Kent Road and New Cross Road is an important bus corridor with up 3,000 bus passengers per hour passing through. A lack of bus lanes in some places, along with current location of loading and parking bays, means vehicles often block buses, delaying passengers. Our proposals involve extending westbound bus lanes and removing or moving parking and loading where appropriate to improve the flow of buses and reduce journey times for passengers. We also proposed minor changes to a pedestrian refuge to smooth traffic flow. A new left turn only lane except buses would prevent straight-ahead general traffic blocking buses. As a result of the proposed changes, we explained that we expected a modest reduction in peak-hour journey times for buses. Considering the relatively minor interventions and the large number of bus passengers that would benefit, this scheme would be cost-effective. The impact on general traffic is expected to be modest, with motor traffic journeys at peak times becoming slightly slower. Full proposals can be found at https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/roads/old-kent-road. About the consultation We carried out traffic-modelling of the proposed changes to find out how they would affect buses and general traffic. We also carried out surveys of the loading and parking in the area. We used this and other information to inform our proposals. Once we were satisfied that we had a viable and cost-effective proposal, we consulted on the scheme to find out the view of local people and stakeholders. We sent letters to 900 addresses notifying residents and business owners of our consultation. We also sent emails to relevant stakeholders in the London boroughs of Southwark and Lewisham. We also emailed all known bus users, motorists and cyclists on our customer database in this area. The consultation was open for six weeks from 5 December 2016 to 15 January 2017. 3 The consultation survey included two questions asking for views on the proposals. First, a closed question asked respondents to say whether they strongly supported the scheme, supported it, opposed it, strongly opposed, neither supported nor opposed it, or had no opinion. The second question gave respondents the option to leave comments in an open text field. We also asked various demographic questions to find out more about the respondents. As well as via the online survey, respondents could also respond to our consultation by post or email. Summary of responses We received 102 responses to this consultation: 65 strongly supported the proposals; 17 supported; 3 neither supported nor opposed; 1 opposed; and 15 strongly opposed. Total responses 102 Strongly supported 65 Supported 17 Neither supported nor opposed 3 Opposed 1 Strongly opposed 15 Not answered 1 Stakeholder responses We received three responses from stakeholder organisations and one from a local business. Stakeholders Alliance of British Drivers: Strongly opposed The group said it opposed all bus lanes because it claims general traffic carries more people than buses. They questioned why bus passengers should get benefits over general traffic. Brewery Logistics Group: Strongly opposed The group claimed that because the improvements to bus journey times would only be modest that the scheme was not worth implementing, and objected to any measures that would delay journey times for general motor traffic. They asked what 4 criteria are used to establish if a scheme is cost-effective and opposed changing single red lines to double red because this would reduce the ability of delivery vehicles to service nearby properties. London Taxi Drivers Association: Strongly supported The group said the new left turn only lane at the approach to Aslyum Road should exempt all authorised bus lane users, not just buses. Business Bliss Travel: Strongly supported This locally based coach operator said the proposals would benefit their business. Issues raised during consultation Of the 102 respondents, 60 provided comments on the scheme. The issues raised have been summarised in the table below. Issue raised Quantity Support - general support for proposals 17 Support - removal or insetting of parking/loading bays 4 Support - due to benefits to cycling 3 Support - removal of parking/loading benefits cycling safety 2 Oppose - scheme will cause congestion for general traffic 8 Oppose - parking changes in Old Kent Road 5 Oppose - changes to bus lanes confuse drivers 2 Demand - outside scope, such as extending bus lanes or traffic management at other locations in Old Kent Road 12 Demand - improve cycling provision 4 Demand - make Aslyum left turn lane for all bus lane users 2 Demand - improve conditions for pedestrians generally 2 Our Next Steps and Response to Issues Raised can be found in a separate document at https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/roads/old-kent-road. 5 Appendix A: Notification letter 6 [Type text] Appendix B: Stakeholder email Dear Stakeholder, We would like your feedback on proposed changes to bus lanes and loading and disabled parking in Old Kent Road / New Cross Road between Murdock Street and Chesterfield Way. These changes are intended to improve bus journey times in Old Kent Road. To see a diagram and more detailed description of the proposed changes, please visit https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/roads/old-kent-road. The main changes proposed are highlighted below: Extending westbound bus lanes and reducing the size of the pedestrian island near the junction with Devon Street Moving an on-carriageway loading and disabled parking bay near Commercial Way into the footway, requiring the relocation of one tree and a letter box Extending double red lines on Old Kent Road near Asylum Road by 6 metres Changing the single red line in Old Kent Road between Gervase Street and Leo Street to double red lines ‘no stopping at any time’ Changing the single red line in New Cross Road near Chesterfield Way to double red lines ‘no stopping at any time’ (lines continue into Chesterfield Way) Making the nearside westbound lane in Old Kent Road, at the approach to the junction with Asylum Road, left turn only for general traffic except buses Removing an under-used loading and disabled parking bay from New Cross Road under the railway bridge to the west of Chesterfield Way Partially insetting into the footway the loading and disabled parking bay on the north side of New Cross Road to the west of White Post Street We expect the proposals would result in slightly shorter peak-hour bus journey times and slightly longer general traffic journey times. You have until Sunday 15 January 2017 to give us your feedback by either visiting http://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/roads/old-kent-road or replying to this email. Yours faithfully Mike Cavenett Consultation Team Transport for London [Type text] Appendix C: Stakeholder email list We sent the email in Appendix B to the following stakeholders: AA Bucks Cycle Training Abbey Travel The Expeditional Abellio Surrey Buzzlines Action for Blind People Camden Council Action on Hearing Loss (RNID) Camden mobility forum Addison Lee Camden Town Unlimited Age UK London Campaign for Better Transport Airport Bus Express Campbell's Alive in Space Landscape and Urban Capital City School Sport Partnership Design Studio Carey All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group CBI-London Anderson Travel Centaur Overland Travel Angel BID Central London Cycling UK APC-Overnight Central London Forward Argall BID Central London Freight Quality Arriva London North Partnership Arriva The Shires / E Herts and Essex Central London NHS Trust Association of British Drivers Centre for Accessible Environments Association of Town Centre Management Chalkwell Garage & Coach Hire AS Waston - Superdrug CILT Baker Street Quarter City Bikes (Vauxhall Walk) Bankside Residents' Forum City link Barking and Dagenham City of London Bayswater BID City of London Access Forum Best Bike Training / Cycletastic City of London Police Better Bankside Clapham Society Better Bankside BID Clapham Transport Users' Group Bexley Accessible Transport Scheme, Clipper Bexley Council Cobra Corporate Servics Bexleyheath BID