Time for another Brixton Central Square thread

[lang rabbie]

There are reports on the Lambeth website about the scaled down scheme being presented to a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on 18 September.

http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/Services/CouncilDemocracy/Committees/CabinetReports2006.htm


And this would be a much more comprehensive post if the s*****g forum software hadn't just deleted it after a few moments away from my desk

 

[clandestino]

I don't understand why the joining together of Windrush and Tate has to involve narrowing Effra Road...

 

[Crispy]

I'm looking at the plans on the website now. This one shows the street changes.

The strategy appears to be that all Brixton Hill traffic will now be routed straight up Brixton Hill. This relieves Effra of some load and so can be reduced back down to one lane plus cycle lane. Bus stops on either side of the road. Are they thinking of relieving some of the bus stop load from the main high street? EDIT: No - just 'Bus Stands' - no new bus stops.

There's also provision to allow the section of effra up to the end of st.matt's to be closed off for "summer events" - The section of effra from the town hall up to saltoun looks to be cobbled or some other differentiated road surfacing. Looks like they really want to make the Hill the main throughfare.

Ooh, they want to take down the fence that runs down the center of the high street as well.

Saltoun road gets widened (at least at its effra mouth)

There is less grass than in the current layout, and the derelict building on the corner of saltoun looks like it's being reused (isn't this the new black cultural archive?)

 

[tarannau]

Were they doing something today? I went past Windrush just before 8 and there were fair few people in high visibility vests milling around.

They had put a few roll-down portable display stands out, with the usual bland visual of some empty, featureless 'square of the future,' complete with annoucements how they were aiming to make the place safer, cleaner etc etc. There was something which suggested that they'd be there once a month or so.

I've got to admit I actually haven't a clue what they were doing in reality. Judging from the slightly confused huddle of employees hanging around, at least one with clipboard, I'm not sure they knew what they were aiming to do either.

 

[bluestreak]

doesn't seem too terrible a plan, though i suspect that removing the railings down th emiddle of the road will snarl up the traffic completely due to people wandering across the road at their leisure. and effra road is pretty overloaded (mind you, this is london, all roads are overloaded). shame about losing some grassed space though. nice to see that derelict building getting some use, hope it's a sympathetic development.

 

[editor]

Here's what I'd like for the square please:

 

[Crispy]

Gosh ed, do you realise how much maintenance that would cost? And the accessability and privacy issues, oh my! - No, a big flat exapnse of paving is what's best

 

[ChrisSouth]

Perhaps I'm missing something, but I don't see that many advance stop boxes for cyclists, and certainly no improvement on the existing, and arbitrary placement of boxes. Perhaps they are not that important in the new grand scheme. There aren't any at the end of Acre Lane, facing east, and none at the end of Coldharbour Lane facing west. There aren't any slated for inclusion at the junction outside the Town Hall. Strangely there's been one suggested on Brixton Road, going north, just outside McDonalds. I don't understand the logic of that one.

 

[wiskey]

Strangely there's been one suggested on Brixton Road, going north, just outside McDonalds. I don't understand the logic of that one.

oops

 

[Crispy]

oops

That is odd
Agreed there should be more advance stop areas - maybe there are criteria for their inclusion that I'm not aware of though.

Good to see a loading bay on ch lane - that should unsnarl it a bit. Also there's a dedicated loading bay for iceland which should help. All we need now is some sort of embedded ejection system in the road to launch cars that park in the bus stops.

 

[RushcroftRoader]

Does this plan involve closing off Rushcroft Road to traffic at the Windrush Square end?
Am I the only rushcroft Road resident worried about the creation of a dark and gloomy pedestrian only area just by the largest dealing spot in Brixton?

 

[Gramsci]

Seems that now New Labour are back in power the BCS is up and running again.The the Effra residents group managed to get concerns about the square taken seriously by the council.Unfortunately what this appear to be is the "we wont close of Effra Road but may have a "phase2" to turn the whole space into a giant concrete desert on the edge of brixton".Ie "we will wear objectors down till they give up".

 

[Gramsci]

Reminds me i put in a query into planning to ask why no planning application was put in to remove the fountain and seating from the Tate gardens.Unsurprisingly whilst the offficers say they "consulted people" and that this comes under movement of street furniture they wont justify their actions in a written form .What a surprise.Need to get back as they are supposed to answer queries like this.

 

[newbie]

Perhaps I'm missing something, but I don't see that many advance stop boxes for cyclists, and certainly no improvement on the existing, and arbitrary placement of boxes. Perhaps they are not that important in the new grand scheme. There aren't any at the end of Acre Lane, facing east, and none at the end of Coldharbour Lane facing west. There aren't any slated for inclusion at the junction outside the Town Hall. Strangely there's been one suggested on Brixton Road, going north, just outside McDonalds. I don't understand the logic of that one.

The McDonalds one is in front of new stop lines for pedestrian lights. That's a good idea IMO because currently traffic from Acre Lane pushes the peds out of the way and proper lights might make it all a bit more obvious who should do what, when. Or it might just cause the junction to block.

They've also removed the little bike lane through the refuge at the end of Acre Lane, which I use quite a lot, and changed the shape there to make it more difficult for emergency vehicles (& pushbikes ) to turn right from Brixton Road into Acre Lane.

 

[clandestino]

Latest on the tfl website:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/press-centre/press-releases/press-releases-content.asp?prID=898