We need your help!

Southwark Council are consulting on a new cycle route on Peckham Rye (the road on the east side of Peckham Park and Common). This is part of Cycleway C35, an important north-south route.

Respond to the consultation before the deadline on 1st October 2023.

30 Second Summary

Why this is important

This is a really important stretch: it’s a significant desire line for many people in the local area in Nunhead and Peckham, including the several hundred students travelling to Harris Girls’ School as well as those travelling between central London and Brockley, Catford and Lewisham.

We really welcome the council looking at this area. Despite its importance as a cycling route, it is really horrible to cycle, with high traffic volumes, speeding and frequent close passes. All especially stressful when cycling uphill, going south.

Southwark Council could, and should, do a high quality walking and cycling scheme here. Unfortunately, the proposals are really disappointing: they aren’t sufficiently safe for people cycling and they needlessly design-in potential conflict between people cycling and those walking.

A much simpler, cheaper, and more effective option would be to remove through traffic from the area via a bus gate. This would make it far safer and more enjoyable to walk and cycle, and also significantly benefit bus users in the area.

Given this, we are recommending people object to the specific proposal and instead ask for a better scheme that removes through traffic.

Southwark Council have told us that they are open to feedback and input. Following initial engagement by Southwark Cyclists, they are considering doing an traffic reduction measures instead. We as local residents have a really big opportunity to influence the council by responding to the consultation.

The consultation response should only take a couple of minutes and will make a big difference.

The consultation link is here.

The Council also accepts responses by email to highways@southwark.gov.uk.

Our recommended response and a more detailed assessment is below.

Proposed consultation response

We suggest respondents focus on answering four key questions as follows:

• Question 3:  To what extent do you agree this scheme meets the stated objectives?
  • Suggested response: Put disagree or strongly disagree (or neutral if you prefer)

• Question 4: Overall do you support the proposal for this cycle route?
  • Suggested response: Put disagree or strongly disagree (or neutral if you prefer)
  • In the text box, put “I strongly support a safe cycle route for this area but the proposed scheme is not good enough. Southwark Council should instead remove through traffic from Peckham Rye and the wider area.” 
  • If you want, you could provide more specific suggestions
    • 1 Filter on Homestall Road (to the west of Peckham Rye/Cheltenham Road junction)
    • 1 Bus Gate Filter on Cheltenham Road to the South East of Homestall Road junction
    • 1 Bus Gate on Ivydale Road (allowing traffic between Ivydale and St Asaph and allowing traffic between Oakdale and Linden, but preventing traffic between Ivydale/St Asaph and Oakdale/Linden)
    • 1 Bus gate on Brenchley Gardens

• Question 6. What can we do to improve your experience of walking in this area?
  • Suggested response: Tick less traffic (and anything else you want)
  • In other – put “modal filters”/Low Traffic Neighbourhood

• Question 7. What can we do to improve the experience of cycling in the area?
  • Suggested response: Tick less traffic
  • In other – put “modal filters”/Low Traffic Neighbourhood

What we would like to see the council do instead

A safe cycling route needs people cycling to be separated from motor traffic. There are two ways of doing this; build protected cycling tracks and protected junctions, or install modal filters to prevent traffic using the street.

In this instance, a small handful of modal filters is the best option. It would be much cheaper, and create safe walking and cycling conditions on a much larger number of streets than the council’s current plans.

Specifically we would like to see modal filters at the following locations:

1. Filter on Homestall Road (to the west of Peckham Rye/Cheltenham Road junction)
2. Bus Gate Filter on Cheltenham Road to the South East of Homestall Road junction
3. Bus Gate on Ivydale Road (allowing traffic between Ivydale and St Asaph and allowing traffic between Oakdale and Linden, but preventing traffic between Ivydale/St Asaph and Oakdale/Linden)
4. Bus gate on Brenchley Gardens. Note this is really important because it’s also a valuable cycle route but perhaps more importantly, the Peckham Rye route continues onto Brockley Way, and the Brockley Way/Brenchley Gardens junction is incredibly dangerous currently. A bus gate would remove the danger, make it far better for walking and cycling and improve bus performance too.

Map of our proposals:

Legend:

• Yellow pin = Location of existing modal filter
• Dark red pin with Exclamation Mark = Where we propose bus gates are installed
• Lighter red pin with dot =  Where we propose standard modal filter is installed
• Purple pin with temple = school
• Dark green line = walking and cycling routes created by filters#
• Orange line = Through roads

Benefits of our proposals

Our proposals would create genuinely safe walking and cycling routes to over 6 schools (and nurseries) in the area, leading to significant gains for 1000s of school children and staff (and go a long way to make walking and cycling routes for a number of other schools just outside the area). 

They would also create genuinely safe walking and cycling routes to 4 train stations, Nunhead, Brockley, Honor Oak, Crofton park, and put in place necessary measures to link to new routes to Peckham Rye, Queens Road Peckham and New Cross Gate (each would require one further filter to complete routes to those three stations)

Finally, they would also greatly improve bus services in the area as motor traffic (the primary cause of delay to bus journeys) would be removed from three roads with bus routes on them, thereby benefiting passengers of the 343, 484 and the P12.

Why we are we not supporting the council’s proposals

In general, as Southwark Cyclists, we of course support protected cycle tracks on main roads. That’s why we continue to fight so hard for the routes on roads like Blackfriars Bridge Road and Jamaica Road. However, in this instance, modal filters would have a greater impact. Ultimately, the street just doesn’t have enough space for good quality cycle tracks and as a result the specific designs are very poor indeed.

1. The cycle track just isn’t wide enough. Two way tracks like the ones proposed should be over 3m and preferably 4m. These would be 2.5m at the widest point, and at times just 2m wide. That’s not good enough for people cycling with adapted cycles or cargo bikes with families or freight.

2. At the northern edge of the plan, going north at the junction with East Dulwich Road/Nunhead Lane: The proposal is for people cycling to cycle across the pavement into the carriageway from the left just as motor traffic will be turning left. This creates a risk of conflict between people cycling and people walking and left turning vehicles. It just isn’t safe.
   

3. A number of side roads are ignored by the scheme. There is no safe way to cycle between Waveney Avenue and the cycle track on Peckham Rye for instance.
   

4. At the Homestall Road junction, the scheme expects people to cycle on a fairly busy pavement. There is also no protection for people cycling from the north to the west into Homestall (an important movement for kids cycling to the school there). There is a “left hook risk” going northbound as cars cut across into Homestall Road.
   

5. The Peckham Rye/Stuart Road junction is a poor design and very counter intuitive; it would be confusing and therefore dangerous for people walking, cycling and people driving.
   

Respond to the consultation today!

Please respond to the consultation before the deadline on 1st October 2023 by vising the the consultation page here

And remember to tell your friends and neighbours to respond too!

If you live in the area or travel through it frequently, we would love to hear from you. Do get in touch coordinator@southwarkcyclists.org.uk