Proposed changes to A13 Commercial Road between New Road and Jubilee Street Response to consultation July 2016 Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................ 2 1 Background .................................................................................................................. 5 2 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 5 3 The consultation ......................................................................................................... 10 4 Overview of consultation responses ........................................................................... 14 5 Conclusion and next steps ......................................................................................... 33 Appendix A – TfL response to issues commonly raised ........................................................ 33 Appendix B – Copy of consultation letter .............................................................................. 33 Appendix C – Letter distribution area .................................................................................... 48 Appendix D – List of stakeholders consulted ........................................................................ 49 Executive Summary About the consultation: Between 29 January and 11 March 2016, we consulted on proposals to improve safety, journey time reliability and the urban realm on the A13 Commercial Road between New Road and Jubilee Street. We proposed a number of changes to improve conditions for bus passengers and vulnerable road users such as changing parking restrictions, widening the bus lane, improving pedestrian crossings and introducing measures to slow traffic speeds and give pedestrians more priority. Responses to consultation: We received 692 responses to the consultation from members of the public and a further 14 responses from stakeholders. 73% of respondents who answered a closed question about whether they supported the proposals said that they fully or partially supported them, and 20% that they opposed them. A final 7% were either not sure or had no opinion. We received a petition signed by 698 members of The Mulberry School for Girls Student Body. It called for us to address how dangerous they feel it is to cross the road outside the school and requested that we relocate the signalised pedestrian crossing outside of Tesco to outside the school. A delegation of approximately 30 traders from the local business community attended one of our drop-in sessions and called on us to re-think our proposals to implement parking restrictions during the peak periods as they were concerned this would adversely affect parking and loading for their customers. There were several common themes to the responses we received. Whilst many people acknowledged that the proposals would improve safety for cyclists, pedestrians and other road users and were pleased to note the urban realm improvements, a number of requests and issues were raised. The most common theme was requests for further pedestrian crossings, in particular the request to improve crossing facilities outside Mulberry School for Girls by relocating the crossing outside Tesco. There were also a notable number of requests for dedicated cycle lanes to be provided, as well as requests for other design changes such as further reductions in parking, 20mph zones and measures to prevent pedestrians from informally crossing. A number of respondents also raised concerns with driver and cyclist behavior in the area or that the proposals would create more congestion. We have responded to the most prominent of the specific issues raised in consultation in Appendix A of this report. 2 Conclusion and next steps: Over 73% of respondents to the consultation said that they supported or partially supported our overall proposals. Having considered the responses and issues raised, we intend to progress the scheme to the next stage of detailed design. However, we are proposing a number of modifications to the changes to parking restrictions. It is hoped this will allow us to address local businesses concerns about customer access and servicing while still meeting the objectives of the scheme. Our original proposals looked to restrict parking in the bus lanes during the AM and PM peak. So parking would only be possible from 10:00 – 16:00 and again outside red route operational hours, from 19:00 – 07:00. We are now proposing to modify this and to introduce a ‘tidal flow’ approach. The majority of traffic heads into the City in a westerly direction during the AM peak and the opposite way during the PM peak. We will therefore allow parking in the bus lane in the AM peak on the north side of Commercial Road and during the PM peak on the south side of Commercial Road. We also proposed two new loading bays. However, following requests from local business representatives, these will remain as parking bays with a 1 hour time limit. An updated design drawing can be found here. The safety of schoolchildren and other pedestrians crossing outside the Mulberry School for Girls is of primary importance and we have reviewed the request to provide a signal controlled pedestrian crossing here. However, after careful consideration, we have concluded that it is not feasible to provide a new signalised crossing or to relocate an existing signalised crossing to outside the school. This is due to the negative impact on the capacity of the network from additional crossings and matching crossing points to key pedestrian desire lines through the area. We are committed to improving the safety for schoolchildren at The Mulberry School for Girls. We feel that our alternative proposal to convert the existing traffic island outside the school into an uncontrolled pedestrian crossing with dropped kerbs; a wider central island; and relocating some parking to improve visibility for approaching traffic, will significantly improve the safety of this crossing for pupils at the school. In addition to this, we will also investigate the possibility of introducing a 20mph limit along this stretch of the A13 (subject to the outcomes of early trials we are carrying out elsewhere on the network). During detailed design, we will also investigate the possibility of shortening the section of raised carriageway to allow room to put a raised table at the crossing point to further encourage slow traffic speeds. Subject to internal approvals and available budget, we hope to begin construction in 2017. If we do proceed, we will work with the London Borough Tower of Hamlets to minimise the impact and co-ordinate works. We would write to local residents and businesses in advance of the works to advise them of the works programme and any likely disruption during construction. 3 About this document: This document explains how this consultation was delivered, the issues that were raised by respondents and the decisions that we have taken on the future of the scheme. Appendix A contains our response to the issues that were commonly raised. 4 1 Background We have identified a higher rate of collisions along the A13 between New Road and Jubilee Street compared to similar roads in London, particularly involving pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. Therefore, we wanted to design a scheme to reduce the number of collisions involving these vulnerable road users. The area also suffers from traffic congestion, particularly at peak times. Parked vehicles prevent buses from using the eastbound bus lane at busy times, which causes delays to bus passengers. We therefore set out proposals to implement a number of changes to improve conditions for bus passengers and vulnerable road users. With the aim of: Improving journey times for bus routes 15, 115, 135 during the AM and PM peak. Improving crossing facilities for users of Watney Street Market and for School Children outside of Mulberry School for Girls Reducing general traffic speeds to improve conditions for all vulnerable road users Widening bus lanes to allow cyclists and motorcyclists to pass buses more safely Providing a better pedestrian experience with upgraded footway and priority given to pedestrians at side roads Improving the urban realm by reducing clutter and introducing new paving and a more pleasant environment, particularly around Watney Market These proposals involved changes to parking on sections of Commercial Road and were the subject of the consultation that this report summarises. 2 Introduction As part of this consultation we proposed the following changes: Pedestrians Raised carriageway with coloured surfacing on Commercial Road between Turner Street and Sidney Street to help lower traffic speeds and reduce collisions. There would still be a detectable kerb height between the road and the footway Converting the pedestrian crossing outside Watney Market to a wider, straight crossing and relocating it closer to the market. This would mean pedestrians crossing in one stage rather than waiting on a central island. Pedestrian “Countdown” at the crossing would also be provided Providing a wider crossing point for schoolchildren outside Mulberry School for Girls and installing electronic signs to make drivers more aware of schoolchildren crossing 5 Raising the level of all side road entrances and providing kerb build outs to reduce traffic speeds, making it easier and safer for pedestrians to cross Providing a continuous footway across