News on Lewisham Safer Streets

This year, Lewisham Council declared a climate emergency and the Lewisham and Lee Green Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) is just one of the steps planned as part of our borough-wide Transport Strategy which aims to reduce car use and improve air quality for everyone.

These are temporary measures brought in at pace due to short Government spending timetables, as part of an ongoing trial and it was always the intention to make changes as needed. Over the past two months, the Council has been listening to feedback from local residents while working with Transport for London (TfL) to gather data and assess the situation alongside councillors in Lee Green, Lewisham Central, Rushey Green, Catford South and Whitefoot.

Coronavirus has not only led to a reduction in capacity on public transport, but many people are still wary of using buses and trains which has meant there are more vehicles than expected on the main roads around the LTN. Having observed the increasing traffic levels and increased bus journey times, short-term changes are needed to ease traffic congestion on key junctions such as Hither Green Lane and the South Circular.

We expect these changes to come into effect from the week commencing 9th November.

1) On Manor Lane, the existing camera will be adjusted to allow vehicles to pass through in both directions, except heavy goods vehicles (HGVs)

2) On Manor Park, the existing camera will be adjusted to allow vehicles to travel northbound (towards Lee High Road). The camera will continue to enforce vehicles who try to travel southbound.

3) The existing cameras on Ennersdale Road and Dermody Road will be adjusted to allow vehicles to travel one-way west to east (from Hither Green towards Lee Green). The camera will continue to enforce vehicles who try to travel east to west (from Lee Green towards Hither Green)

4) On Leahurst Road, a physical barrier will be moved to allow vehicles to travel west to east (from Hither Green towards Lee Green). A new camera will enforce this. A physical barrier will remain in place that will prevent vehicles travelling east to west (from Lee Green towards Hither Green).

5) The Council will work with local schools to implement School Streets in the LTN as soon as possible, which will mean timed closures of some individual streets to coincide with drop off and pick up times.

Longer-term changes are also being considered for the Hither Green and Catford area in January 2021:

These include a camera on Hither Green Lane to permit two-way traffic to vehicles excluding HGVs and further cameras and width restrictions on other key routes, again excluding HGVs. The Council will share initial ideas on these measures in the residents’ information session.

Damien Egan, Mayor of Lewisham said:

“We remain absolutely committed to this Low Traffic Neighbourhood and the principles it set out to achieve. We have been listening to the concerns and issues raised – the positives and the negatives and it has become clear that it is time to make changes to the current scheme so we can address what the local community has told us.”

“I hope that these changes will help to relieve some pressure on Hither Green Lane and key junctions with the South Circular.”

On Thursday 22nd October, 7-8.30pm a public information session will be held by the Council where the Mayor, Damien Egan and Chief Executive, Kim Wright will present the changes and will respond to questions from Lewisham residents.

Residents who are interested in the proposals are invited to register to join the event, which will be held on Microsoft Teams Live, by completing a registration form . Questions can be submitted in advance and there will be the opportunity to raise points and ask questions via live chat during the meeting.