Key information
Petition presented by: Len Duvall OBE
Date petition submitted: Wednesday 6 November 2013
Petition presented at: London Assembly Plenary
Summary of petition
“We the undersigned, being the residents of the Horn Park Estate London SE12 and the immediate vicinity, call upon the Mayor and Transport for London to give urgent attention to the unacceptable and dangerous road traffic conditions pertaining at ‘Clifton’s Roundabout’ – the junction of the A20 and A205 (both of which are TfL Highways).
In particular we draw attention of the Mayor, Assembly and Transport for London to:
(a) The unacceptable and hazardous lack of a controlled pedestrian crossing on the east carriageways of the A205 ‘South Circular Road’.
(b) The hazard caused by cars waiting on the carriageway entering the Tesco petrol station off the junction.
(c) The need for a reduction in the speed limit from 40 mph to 30 mph on the A205 from ‘Clifton’s Roundabout’ to the ‘Yorkshire Grey’ roundabout in line with the speed limit of 30 mph from the ‘Yorkshire Grey’ roundabout to the Well Hall roundabout.”
Response information
Name of person responding: The Mayor
Response date: Tuesday 17 December 2013
“Dear Len
Re: Petition received at the London Assembly (Plenary) Meeting on 6 November 2013
Thank you for the petition which you presented to the London Assembly on 6 November.
As you know, a very high volume of traffic passes through Clifton’s Roundabout. This is particularly acute during peak hours. Transport for London (TfL) has recently investigated whether a controlled pedestrian crossing could be installed on Westhorne Avenue, to the east of the roundabout. Pedestrian and traffic surveys were undertaken and TfL reviewed a number of options, both small and large in scale, and assessed the benefits and disbenefits of each of these.
Unfortunately, due to the extremely high traffic flow on Westhorne Avenue and on Sidcup Road, TfL has not been able to identify a suitable option. All of the options considered would result in significantly longer queues on all arms of the roundabout, adding delays and congestion. The queues would also regularly extend back and impact other junctions in the area, creating further safety concerns.
TfL conducted pedestrian counts as part of its assessment and found that the number of pedestrians crossing the carriageway was relatively low. TfL deliberately chose a day when there were events at Goals to carry out the survey, as this was likely to be when demand for a crossing was highest. While there is clearly a demand to cross Westhorne Avenue at this location, and more people may cross if a formal crossing were provided, the number of pedestrians was not high enough to justify the negative impact a crossing would have the roundabout.
I appreciate this may be disappointing news to your constituents. However, TfL is working on a safety scheme at the junction to improve lane discipline and reduce vehicle speed. While this is not the solution put forward in the petition, crossing Westhorne Avenue should be slightly easier with slower traffic speeds.
Turning to your point about the vehicles queuing to enter the Tesco/Esso petrol station, I understand that planning permission was granted by the Royal Borough of Greenwich for these premises some time ago.
Access arrangements would have been agreed as part of this process. While TfL is unable to enforce against vehicles that are queuing to enter the site, TfL is discussing this issue with the Royal Borough of Greenwich and Tesco/Esso and trying to find a way for Tesco/Esso to better manage their forecourt. In addition, TfL recently installed cameras to observe when and how frequently the queuing occurred and driver behaviour. The footage, which was recorded from 7 to 14 November, is currently being analysed and will help identify any specific TfL, the borough or Tesco/Esso can implement to reduce the impact and occurrence of these queues. The safety scheme I mentioned will also consider what additional measures can be introduced to address this particular issue.
I can confirm that in early 2014, TfL will be reviewing the speed limits on the A205 between Well Hall roundabout and Burnt Ash Hill, on the A20 between Clifton’s roundabout and the Kidbrooke Park Road junction and on the A210 from Kidbrooke Park road to the Yorkshire Grey roundabout. The aim of this work is to ensure consistency in the area as currently the speed limit is 30mph for some sections and 40mph for others.
I should note that TFL has received requests for the Metropolitan Police Services to increase the speed limit between the Well Hall roundabout and the Yorkshire Grey roundabout from 30mph to 40mph, as the existing road layout lends itself to higher speeds as evidenced by the majority of drivers.
The review will consider the most suitable speed limit for the area. If this is deemed to be 30mph, TfL will then investigate what addition measures can be implemented to ensure vehicles travelling through the area respect the speed limit.”