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Mile End Station: Pedestrians run the gauntlet |
Over 100 locals attended
Thursday night’s public meeting regarding the CS2 Upgrade (CS2U) works and
its effect on those living in the Mile End area. It was a good turnout considering it was half term and over 20 apologies were received.
As well as MEOTRA, residents from MERA (Mile End Residents' Association), GUPRA (Grand Union Place Residents' Association) and RRRBA (Roman Road residents & Business Association) area were there in numbers.
Three CS2U staff attended: Glenn Tobin from Ringway Jacobs (an
integrated service provider), Nick Dundon and Aaron Rosser from TfL.
Aaron Rosser outlined the main aspects of the scheme via a brief
PowerPoint presentation. (see TfL1, TfL2, and TfL3 for the proposals, consultation results, and travel advice respectively). This was then countered by John White from MEOTRA before moving to a Q&A session with the audience and panel
examining different aspects of the scheme in turn...
Consultation and Planning
Aaron Rosser stated the consultation showed the Mile End
section of the scheme had the support of 88% of respondents. JW questioned
these figures – MEOTRA represented over 700 households and following its own
consultation had opposed core aspects of the scheme, yet no weighting seems to
have been given to MEOTRA’s reply (i.e. it counted as one reply not 700).
Similarly for Tower Hamlets Wheelers (THW), MERA, RRRBA,
GUPRA and other groups. Indeed THW had put forward detailed proposals of their
own which they predicted would have caused less issues for all parties. These
proposals do not seem to have been given more than a cursory glance by TfL.
Banned Right Turns (Burdett Road into Mile End Road; Mile End Road
into Burdett Road)
This formed the largest part of the discussion. No one in
the audience spoke in favour of banning these turns. Aaron and the other TfL representatives heard
from many in the audience about the negative effect banning these turns would
have on the local community. In particular:
- Grove Road is now much, much busier with vehicles seeking to
circumvent the banned turns by turning into it and then performing U-turns.
- HGVs routinely halt under Grove Road Railway Bridge, reverse
across pedestrian lights into Clinton Road and then drive back up to the Mile
End junction
- TfL suggest vehicles drive all the way up to the Old Ford
roundabout to turn around – but this is too small for Lorries
- Vehicles travelling eastbound along Mile End Road and
wishing to turn right into Burdett Road are now using Harford Street and Ben
Jonson Road as an alternative route. This has led to a huge increase in
traffic along these roads.
- Burdett Road already has increased congestion due to the
ongoing CrossRail works near Mile End Stadium and large sections of Burdett
Road are “coned off” for CrossRail use only. Had TfL allowed for this in their modelling?
- TfL’s traffic modelling predicts Bow Common Lane and Campbell
Road to become alternatives. Several audience members expressed concern that these
roads were too narrow and unsuitable.
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The quietest it's been all week (Saturday 3.30PM FA Cup Final Day during Half Term.
But still three illegal U-turns in under a minute. |
Pedestrian Safety and access to Mile End Station
- The Mile End station pedestrian lights phasing with the Mile
End Junction lights is not set properly. Traffic backs up from the junction all
the way to Southern Grove and beyond. As a result pedestrians now routinely
hover and then scuttle across through the moving traffic. There will be death
or serious injury unless this is corrected.
- TfL has not planned for the safety of thousands of Queen
Mary University students crossing to Mile End Station or of schoolchildren at
the many local schools.
Cyclists
Q: Why not separate traffic lights for cyclists as in
Holland?
A: TfL replied that they have consulted with traffic
managers from abroad and are starting this.
Q: Blue paint slippery…
A: TfL adding rougher
material to mix.
Q: Cycle lanes between pavement and “floating bus stops” are
dangerous?
A: We've got used to this on the way to Stratford.
Q: Why not direct cyclists along quiet side roads instead of
main road?
A: Cycle Superhighway
is the spine side roads connect to.
Short-Term (Construction-Phase) Issues
- Noise pollution – the increased congestion results in
short-tempered drivers and vehicles with car horns now being blasted 24/7.
- Many vehicles (and cyclists!) are ignoring the banned right
turns. This is very dangerous for pedestrians as the phasing of pedestrian
lights assumes drivers are obeying the law. Traffic cameras and/or the police
are needed to enforce these bans otherwise serious accidents will occur.
- There was general fury that the traffic lights now favour
through traffic with pedestrians having to wait up to 7 minutes, then given
less than 30 seconds to cross.
- Sometimes the lights aren't working at all.
Other Long-Term Issues
- The large westbound road signage obscures Mile End station
so traffic is not aware it’s there.
- Once the scheme is complete TfL will carry out monitoring
and may adjust certain aspects if they are deemed too dangerous.
- TfL assured us all suspended pedestrian crossings will be
reinstated once construction work is complete.
- 22 mature trees have been felled. TfL assured us they aim to
plant two trees for every one that is felled. This is discussed further on the East London Garden Society website
The meeting was chaired by our MEOTRA chair Margaret Winniak,
with Joan Griffiths taking notes and acting as “question spotter”. They both
deserve a big thank you as do the Epainos Church for providing the venue
as such short notice.
The next blog post will focus on what we can do about these issues.