Sutton North Lib Dem Councillors

Cllr Sam Cumber, Cllr Ruth Dombey and Chris Hawton working hard for Sutton North all year round Learn more

OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT FROM 14 SEPTEMBER ON PROPOSED ROAD CLOSURES

by Sam, Ruth and Chris on 9 September, 2020

Sutton Council has now published Experimental Traffic Management Orders for the proposed road closures. The Orders will come into force on 14 September 2020 and you can comment on them after that date using the link below. The orders will on an experimental basis introduce the following:- 

  • a point road closure in All Saints Road west of its junction with Calthorpe Gardens.
  • a point road closure in Benhill Wood Road at its junction with Benhill Avenue. 
  • a point road closure in Benhill Wood Road north of its junction with Oakhill Road
  • a point road closure in Grennell Road at north of its junction with Edinburgh Road
  •  a 20mph zone All Saints Road and surrounding roads 
  •  double yellow line ‘at any time’ waiting restrictions in All Saints   Road opposite its junction with Calthorpe Gardens

All the Experimental TMO documents for the above (including maps) can be found here or at  www.sutton.gov.uk/trafficpublicnotices under “view our Experimental Traffic Order Consultations” selecting “Notice of Making Experimental Traffic Orders” and then “EXP 1091″.

If you would like to make comments on these Experimental Orders you can do so by filling in an on-line consultation which can be found here.

Any comments you would like to make will need to be posted by 13 March 2021.

   65 Comments

65 Responses

  1. Enam Rahman says:

    I think it will create more traffic and pollution.
    I don’t agree with the closure of roads during times were we are trying to get our kids to school on time.

  2. Jackie Mullen says:

    My mum is terminally ill and lives off of Sutton Common Road. I live in Calthorpe Gardens. This closure will force more traffic leading to delays in getting to my mum several times a day.

  3. H Chandler says:

    So, from next week I can’t get out of my own road in the direction of Grennell Rd or All Saints Rd?

    What idiot thought this great idea up.

    How can it be introduced as an experiment and with no prior consultation?

  4. This is the first day of the trial. I live on Woodside Road and since morning we have been experiencing an outrageous amount of traffic. For such a narrow road as ours with houses sitting close to the street this causes an extreme amount of noise and a strong smell of exhaust gases penetrating through the front windows. We find the results of this trial strongly negative and the trial itself hazardous. I would propose to the Council to end the trial ASAP.

  5. Catherine Read says:

    I think all it is going to do is shunt the traffic elsewhere and make conditions even worse, as some one who works with vulnerable adults in the area of the road closure I just hope that none of this causes delays in vehicles reaching us when needed.

    • Catherine Read says:

      I also live in the area so I can presume my road which is already used as a speedy cut thru will be even worse now!

  6. Callum blunt says:

    It’s my normal route back home, it’s absolutely terrible that they are doing this, it took me an extra 20 minutes to get home when it should of taking me one minute. Sutton council should be ashamed of them self’s with this. It has to be said they have also done this in Wandsworth and Mitcham councils as well.

  7. Edward blunt says:

    Wow … just you thought London borough of Sutton couldn’t come up with Anymore stupid ideas, they come up with this.. first getting charged to park out your own home.. now road closures… we had a low turn out in the open consultation in March.. when a pandemic is at its worst Good thinking lbs. when were we the great unwashed who live in the surrounding area consulted Westminster road, Wrythe Lane. Never first thing we found out was today ..and hour for my son to get home From work … he had to try and navigate back trough lots of extra traffic who did the same.. so much for less pollution..
    Now let me guess ,all the roads that are affected by these closures or the new parking (money making) scheme. Not one Councilor lives on them … I love it when do gooders make decisions with out any thought for the people who live there, the consequences are that now it’ll take residents longer to get to their homes.. where they have to pay to park unless they’re very lucky to have a drop kerb… Thanks LBS you’ve turned into a joke… and sadly you’ll loose the next council election to the Tories though stupidity.

  8. PAUL ALEXANDER says:

    Closing roads does nothing but annoy people, make journeys longer, pushes traffic to other roads and makes those residential roads more dangerous.

    Closing roads does nothing but cause chaos.

    If a road must be closed please think ahead what this will do to main roads and other surrounding roads before implementing such schemes.

    Some people cannot walk or cycle and have work to get to once dropping off your child to school.

    This will cause people to object and overthrow the people who thought it was clever at the time to implement this.

    Prime example the cones underneath Worcester Park railway bridge have now gone due to it being the biggest daftest scheme.

    Also I still can’t understand why there is one lane down St Nicholas Way going past the Cinema and Asda car park entrance/exit. What is the point ?

  9. Dr Vitali Averbukh says:

    Since yesterday, we have an extraordinary amount of traffic on the Woodside Road, including commercial vehicles. They produce an enormous amount of noise and create a strong smell of exhaust gases. Ours is a narrow one-lane road with houses sitting close to the street. It is not adapted at all to take such an amount of traffic.

    The original idea seems to be the promotion of greener travel habits, cleaner air and healthier communities. The current road closures clearly lead to the exact opposite: cars and vans, many of them Diesel-powered, zooming through narrow residential roads, creating air and noise pollution and posing a vivid health and safety hazard. It is merely a question of time until a first major accident happens, that can easily involve schoolchildren and their parents always going through our road to primary school. This is not to mention the exhaust gas effect on the life expectancy in a bit longer term.

    In Wansworth, a similarly “successful” initiative has been recently abandoned under the pressure of the residents. I very much hope that we here in Sutton can also make the plain common sense prevail.

  10. Lorraine Cannon says:

    I live in Woodside Road which is a quiet very narrow road ! Since yesterday it has turned into a cut through for all types of vehicles and for the first time in 22 years of living here, I had to close the windows at the front of the house due to exhaust fumes, so we are not benefiting at all traffic wise or health wise. Because Woodside is a single lane and very narrow road we had a queue of vehicles trying to get onto and off of Oakhill Road. Last week a refuse truck could not get through due to a large van (not belonging to a resident of Woodside) that hasn’t moved for around a month. The refuse truck had to reverse out of Woodside and go round the block and come back at the top of the road to finish bin collections. This week will be interesting as they will have little chance of reversing with all the traffic and won’t be able to go round the block because BenhillWood and Allsaints roads are closed. I was also late taking my mother to a doctors appointment yesterday due to heavy traffic on Oakhill Road. Aultone Way, Woodend and Woodside Road are now taking all the traffic and exhaust emissions on what were reasonably quiet roads. Parts of the roads blocked off will have no traffic whatsoever and no pollution how is this fair !!!

  11. Lorraine Cannon says:

    I have to also point out that some residents didn’t have a clue that this was happening, we received the letter from Sutton Council headed “Safer, active, greener streets for Sutton” on Friday 11th some people in Woodside Road did not get the letter at all !!

  12. Kayleigh Harrison says:

    I have been a resident on Woodside Road for almost 10 years and never have I experienced the flow through of traffic like I have the past 2 mornings!
    Whilst I am all for “greener streets” and “less pollution” I fail to understand how closing off Benhill Wood Road and All Saints Road will achieve this. Effectively what this will do (and has already done yesterday and today) is force traffic down roads such as Woodside, therefore creating more pollution and traffic elsewhere, in what were before now, relatively quiet roads.
    As a previous commenter has already pointed out, Woodside Road and many of the other surrounding roads are very narrow, single lane roads which will create chaos with the volume of vehicles that will now undoubtedly be using them as a cut through.
    I am also not very impressed that I received the letter proposing these plans on Saturday 12th September, given that the closures took place the following Monday.

  13. Jun says:

    To put in place these half baked plans without public consultation from local residents who actually live in the area is foolish.

    As a resident of Hillview Road, the closure of All Saints Road, Grennell Road and Benhill Wood Road will mean I’ll have to drive longer and further into other residential areas to escape this undemocratic scheme by the Council, just to get my weekly shopping. It will cause more traffic and more pollution to those areas.

    This ‘plan’ seems to me like a desperate cash grab by the council for any sort of funding no matter the effect. The council claim that we are well connected by public transport yet in the same paragraph believe we need better transport infrastructure. Make it make sense.

    The closure of roads near schools will create more traffic and disruption to other surrounding roads as parents will try to park their cars as close as possible. As a resident of Hillview Road which is situated very close to Greenshaw High School, this will further add more cars passing and stopping on my and other neighbouring roads which are far more narrower. How is that fair?

    While the idea is admirable, the reality is many of us are working parents who do not live a suitable walking distance to schools to be able to drop our children off and then return to go to work in time.

    A more practical and cost effective measure to reduce traffic levels, improve pedestrian safety and improve air quality would be the introduction of a 20mph speed limit which will discourage non local traffic from using our roads as a shortcut and will improve pedestrian safety. The addition of zebra crossings at schools such as All Saints Primary School where there is currently none will also improve safety and traffic.

    Further to this a study I produced at university found that increased amount of trees and green spaces in urban areas reduced traffic levels and improved air quality so maybe the council should plant more trees.

    I am an advocate for improving air quality and saving the environment but I don’t believe the plan by the Council to be the solution.

    • Kayleigh says:

      Brilliantly put. Couldn’t agree more with the points you have raised here.
      Let’s hope the powers that be realise the error in their ways and fast!

  14. Kayleigh Harrison says:

    Another very apparent cause for concern, is a large number of these vehicles seem to feel the need to speed down the road (both Oakhill and Woodside), presumably in order to make up lost time which I have seen on numerous occasions throughout the day today.
    As a mother myself, I find this especially concerning as these roads provide access to a number of schools including All Saints Benhilton Primary, Manor Park Primary Academy, Sutton Grammar and Greenshaw High School.
    It seems inevitable that it will only be a matter of time before there is an accident and this ridiculous plan should be retracted before it’s too late.

  15. Firuza Khan says:

    I don’t understand why the council thinks by closing roads will lead to greener travel. It’s common sense – if a road has been closed everyone will look for alternative routes. This leads to a rat run on the sounding narrow roads. The pollution has only been REDIRECTED NOT REDUCED! The closure of Grenell Road has redirected traffic onto Woodend. A once quiet road. The council need to realise that those who use cars will always use cars! If you want greener travel – run better bus routes which are frequent and reduce the cost of public transport!

  16. Ezaz Rahman says:

    Dear Council,
    Regarding these road closures, you have really messed up now.
    I know it, you know it, we all know it.
    Learn one tip from our PM Boris and do that U-turn now before its too late.
    Alternativly go hide in a fridge somewhere.

  17. Julie Pomeroy says:

    These idiotic road closures have made things worse. Rather than reducing traffic you have just managed to create the same problem just in a different location. The more roads that remain open the less chance there is of a buildup of traffic. Did you really think this through or was the idea found in a cracker?!

    • Marina Edelson-Averbukh says:

      Agree, Julie. I just would like to add that the noise and the pollution problem that is being created by these trials is not merely the same but is much bigger than what used to be on the main roads. Because the smaller roads which are being used as an escape from the closures are not designed to withstand the resulting traffic load, and on them the pollution and the noise are felt much stronger.

  18. Matthew Frith says:

    Hi
    I am a long term resident of Woodside Road and to my dismay the road I live on has become a death trap, I was almost ran over by a 4×4 that used the pavement as extra road tonight just so it could get pass a truck that was stuck. I am already noticing the air quality, this can’t be good. This is a slim road and isn’t suitable for this angry speeding traffic. I fear the day when someone gets hurt.
    Benhill Wood Road had a much larger entrance and road width, why would you do this to a side street?

  19. Vilma Songui says:

    I live on Benhill Avenue. I find the closure of the roads a big unpleasant joke. Now that Benhill Wood Road is closed the traffic towards Sutton on Benhill Avenue doubled as that is now the only way to go towards Morden.

    I ask the council to reconsider it as it is not going to achieve their aim that it is less fumes, it will just create more congestions.

  20. Nicola Oatham says:

    The only thing this has achieved is cause massive traffic problems in all local areas! At a time when people are being encouraged not to take public transport it’s not an option for everyone to walk! My daughter has disabilities which mean I have to take her to school and her school is nearly 2 miles away and she can’t walk that far and because of my underlying health conditions we can no longer go by bus. The journey to school has been horrendous and is taking a good 40 minutes to go less than 2 miles a journey that would normally only take 10/15 minutes

  21. Gina Scott says:

    I live within the Sutton Garden Suburb (a conservation area by the way) and can say quite honestly that our neighbourhood has been ruined overnight.
    There is now a constant stream of traffic morning, noon and night whereas before there was very little. Vehicles are driving way too fast down our residential roads and I believe it is only a matter of time before there is an accident.
    The increase in noise is awful, especially when you want to open your windows during warm weather.
    Air pollution will also go sky high, but we won’t know the effect of that as there are no air pollution monitors in force.
    Governments and politicians need to live in the real world and not a fantasy one where they think everyone is going to stop driving their cars because they have closed a couple of roads. All that has achieved is to condense the traffic into smaller roads which are less able to cope and make life miserable for more residents.
    What maybe they should be doing is looking into a national scheme of school transport using low emission or electric buses to enable our children who live too far to walk to school to get there safely.
    I am vehemently against these road closures and I hope that the council reassess the situation as a matter of urgency.

  22. Stefano says:

    As predicted this scheme has already shown that all its done is displace cars from many roads to just a few.
    This scheme has engineered a rat run in Woodend and Aultone Way for people who used to use the others roads. It has not, and will not discourage car use…it will simply move cars elsewhere. I can only describe what I have seen in the last two days as carnage, watching a stream of cars navigate down roads only wide enough for one car.
    I have seen more cars come down here in the last two days than in the last 5 years of living here. From what I have been reading this has been echoed all over Sutton.
    The main roads were also gridlocked this morning with a queue from Rosehill roundabout to Angel Hill, again something I have never witnessed ever.
    I don’t think we need to wait 6 months the see the results of this scheme…it’s clearly obvious from the last two days that this scheme isn’t going to work and Sutton Council should take note of Wandsworth and scrap it now.

  23. Dr Marina Edelson-Averbukh says:

    I hope Sutton Council will be able to admit the mistake of attempting an inappropriate solution for reducing pollutions in the Sutton area and will stop the trials ASAP in order to minimise their damage to public health. I live on a narrow Woodside Road which since yesterday has been taking the traffic load of the adjacent (and now closed) main streets, producing unbearable levels on pollution, noise and the road safety issues. I would be grateful if the Sutton Council could conduct an emergency meeting with public representatives to access the current situation in view of the immediate adverse impact of the trials on the residents. Thank you very much.

  24. Saleh Khan says:

    You haven’t considered people’s travelling time at such a crucial point of recovering and returning the economy to what it was. By closing roads you are causing severe delays and those of us that have children are finding it difficult to drop our children to childcare before going to work.
    This has agitated the situation more as it is now on top of major gas works on Wrythe Lane. Where are these supposedly successful closures? You need to take into account everybody that uses these roads bot just a minority focus group.

  25. Vidya says:

    This whole scheme is absolutely preposterous and lacking any foresight or planning. I am appalled that as residents we have not had any say on these proposals. Ever since the restrictions have been in place the woodend and Greenhill roads is an absolute madness with every single car from all saints road turning into woodend and also cars from Aultone way turning into woodend and Greenhill. Consequently we have huge vans and cars speeding across what used to be a silent neighbourhood until 2 days back. The situation is so bad that I am worried to send my son walking to school on his own. Moreover if I have to drop him at his school I have to drive an additional 10 minutes to get out to the road via aultone way and go all the way via high street, as access across oak hill road has been cut from Benhill wood road.

    1. How does driving additional miles make Sutton any greener.
    2. And with so many cars speeding by the neighbourhood definitely doesn’t feel safer. And the paradox is this scheme is named for a Safer and greener Sutton.
    3. What about the fact that this residential area in woodend and Greenhill has so many elderly citizens. Their safety is at risk. Last month we needed the ambulance twice on of emergencies for a disabled elderly person living with us and fortunately both times she survived because the ambulance reached on time. Given the traffic on Aultone way I would be surprised if the ambulance can come on time when called going forward.
    Before any unfortunate incident goes horribly wrong I hope this whole thing is reversed and put back to the way it was.

  26. Courtney says:

    This idea doesn’t even make sense. It doesn’t reduce traffic or emissions, if anything it only increases them. If people can’t go down the road they normally would they will find and alternative route. Plus you’re reducing the amount of routes people can take to get to their destinations, so this means more traffic on smaller roads and cars sitting waiting in traffic for longer as everyone is forced to use the same road.

  27. Jamie Occomore says:

    In the 20 years of living in Woodend I’ve never opened my front door to the smell of exhaust fumes – until now.
    Not sure who’s supposed to benefit from these road closures but when an accident occurs, which it will as Woodend is now a speeding rat run, we know who to thank.

  28. Renata and Phil Clarke says:

    These road closures have dramatically affected the area In which I live (Greenhill) . Grennell Road and All Saints Road are much wider and better suited to take the traffic that is now running through Greenhill and Woodend Which are both much narrower. Moving the traffic from one area to another has not achieved any of the intended outcomes and Question 9 is completely biased in it’s wording. In reality the traffic volume, noise, pollution, congestion etc in neighbouring roads has increased exponentially. The road closures have created rat runs where there were none previously and Aultone Way which was already difficult to navigate is becoming gridlocked with the additional traffic.
    Emergency services vehicles will also be impacted if they have to stop to remove bollards to gain access in an emergency situation, potentially putting lives at risk.
    Much of this new traffic is driving well in excess of the speed limit

  29. Abigail Lock says:

    Please reconsider the road closures in Sutton North. Whilst I support making Sutton Greener surely we need to enable residents to make positive choices away from their cars. Simply closing some of the main routes around the borough displaces traffic onto smaller side roads which can’t accommodate it. Drivers ends up driving further to get around the closures. Please listen to what residents are saying. The implementation of this policy is flawed.

    I have lived in Sutton Garden Suburb for eight years. I echo the comments above. Since the road closures the amount of traffic has raised substantially in the area including large vans and speeding cars.

    I can no longer keep my window open in the day due to the noise and the air pollution.

    I am particularly concerned about the additional time that it will now take Emergency Vehicles to reach residents in the effected areas. In the case of a cardiac arrest, fire or violent crime every minute counts.

    Please don’t wait six months.

  30. Magda Stanton says:

    Second day into the scheme and the impact on my road Woodend has been overwhelming. It’s upsetting seeing your once very quiet road changed into a dangerous rat run overnight.
    Living opposite the triangle marking the Sutton garden suburb “Conservation area” provides me with a good view of the junction from Greenhill to Woodend. In a mere 10 minutes of watching the road around 19:30 I’ve observed number of drivers that do not slow down or even look before entering the junction. There are no road signs and no speed limit signs. It’s only a matter of time we will see some serious accidents here.
    Drivers are often angry and frustrated, speeding and using pavements to be able to squeeze through.
    Aultone way is a road I was always avoiding due to its narrow passage and now it’s the only way out of my road. And for many other roads that never would have to use it. Now there are long queues in peak times and let’s see what happens when the rubbish tracks will be operating there.
    Air and noise pollution levels have been noticeable immediately.
    Government advice was not to use public transport, yet a month later they
    pump money into closing major roads and navigate heavy traffic through handful of narrow residential roads.
    Simply unbelievable way to make Sutton greener.
    Residents will still need to use their cars even if they reduce their car usage, there are still essential journeys and shutting roads has severe impact on main road traffic.
    In addition the public transport is not sufficient enough to get you to various places.
    I’m a cyclist and use my bike very often, but some journeys, especially with kids need to be done in the car.
    In fact this scheme made surrounding roads much more dangerous to cycle on.
    I’m urgently calling for this dangerous trial to be halted before people get hurt.

  31. Svetlana Shallal says:

    I absolutely don’t agree with the new project of road closures. Living on Woodside Road I can say that the noise has increased badly, as well as the air is being poluted.
    Our road is not even wide enough for such traffic. I hope Sutton Council will consider opinion of the majority of residents and change their plans regarding road closures.
    Thank you.

  32. Kelly Wills says:

    I live in Calthorpe gardens. The All saints road closure is at the end of my road. It’s a cul de sac but no sign to mention this. The all come to a sudden stop do turn into our road to then turn around at the end. Speeding, weaving in and out of cars. As others said, allsaints Road is wide enough to take the flow that is forced down the smaller roads. I collect my daughter after work I come from Sutton common road And instead of driving round past the church and then into my road, I have to then put the poor residents of Aultone way through hell by Yet another car using their road as a rat run now OR I go down angel hill, up Oakhill , then woodside then Benhill wood road, then left into allsaints!!! Much more pollution than the original route. More risk of accidents Complete and uttter stupidity. Remove these road closures immediately

  33. Sylvia Keen says:

    The road closure schemes in Sutton North must be revoked immediately. The schemes have not only transferred the problem elsewhere, but have exacerbated the previous issue and created newer, more severe issues.

    Closing main routes has displaced traffic onto small, residential roads that cannot withstand it. Greenhill and Woodend have become alarmingly dangerous. Not only are far too many cars driving through, but the majority are speeding through the roads throughout the day and late at night.

    The overall amount of routes available for drivers have been reduced. Traffic is condensed in residential areas. Aultone Way is now more gridlocked – which has exacerbated an already congested area. Gridlock is also evident from Rose Hill to Angel Hill.

    Drivers are driving aggressively in response to longer journey times and stress, causing danger to pedestrians and other road users. The speeding and aggression is especially dangerous for the elderly or children walking to and from Greenshaw High School and other schools in the borough. In the event of an emergency, it is obvious that emergency vehicles will take longer to reach individuals in the area.

    Drivers are increasing the duration of their journeys, causing more pollution. Exhaust pollution and noise pollution is now concentrated in small residential areas, causing much distress to residents.

    The council should have sought thorough public consultation before implementing these plans. If a consultation was carried out correctly, it would have been very apparent that significant problems would arise and would render these plans not only inadequate, but dangerous. The scheme has been introduced incompetently and I urge the council to rescind it.

  34. Patricia Ormiston says:

    I live in Montrose Gardens and we only received notification from the Council of the road closures on Saturday last! Our road has been used as a rat run ever since we have lived here and that is over 30 years and have had to put up with the exhaust fumes all this time. Unfortunately for Woodend they are now having to experience what we have had to put up with for years.

    As usual the Council ignore people’s views and go ahead with ridiculous ideas like the road closures.

    • Magda Stanton says:

      If they made Montrose gardens into Cul de sac, the impact would be minimal.
      Closing so many main roads caused the opposite.

  35. Malek Zebib says:

    We live in Woodend and since this road closure took place we experienced more tragic, more noise, more pollution, and more speedy cars down our road. Is that what the council is trying to achieve? Endangering our health and the safety of our children?

  36. Barry Armour says:

    Absolute lunacy.
    Using Covid as an excuse ! Honestly !
    What on earth do you, the Council think they are doing ! This is not the way forward. Closing roads without consultation really doesn’t win over the local residents. None of us like our roads being used as rat runs, but it’s YOUR fault ! The reason for this is because, instead of looking at the problems on the road, like congested of main roads, and sorting that out, you turn your attentions to the side roads and close them instead, or narrow perfectly good roads, causing more delays, which makes people use side roads to avoid the bottlenecks YOU have created !
    Motor vehicles are here to stay, like it or not. It’s a fact that we all have to get used to. You are causing more road rage, increased traffic and pollution in OTHER roads instead. What are you going to do with those roads, close them too !
    It’s quite simple, stop wasting time and money on a ridicules scheme, improve local traffic and air quality simply by removing these stupid barriers, make the local residents happy again and all this fuss will simply go away.

  37. Kerry Celino says:

    Feeling very frustrated and disappointed with the approach, strategy and communication with the road closures recently implemented. Our families health mental and physical has been impacted within days of the recent restrictions to All Saints, Grennall and Oakhill Road. The pollution increase from the increased traffic being pushed down woodend and the bottle necking of traffic is already noticeable. The noise increase from the rat run you have now caused and the impact to the delays of journeys and increased risk for emergency services attendance is surely out weighed in your reasoning for implementation. From speaking and reviewing media post from Sutton residents across the borough it seems the majority of people are struggling to find positives or appreciation for these projects and I hope sense prevails before serious impact or lives are risked

  38. Louise says:

    The road closures have caused dangerous bottlenecks, increased use of narrow side roads and alarming harsh braking and accelerating as angry drivers try to make up time. It has displaced lorries onto side roads where they should not be. I can see no monitors in place to look at traffic speed, volume or pollution levels so how are you going to judge if it’s worked?

  39. Salvador says:

    I really don’t understand what you are trying to achieve with these road closures, but I can tell you what is actually happening since they have been implemented:
    1. Traffic have been diverted into narrower roads: Woodend, Greenill, Woodside Roads, increasing dramatically the noise and pollution levels for the residents
    2. Frustrated drivers, especially those driving courier/delivery vans, are now speeding up to make up the time lost due to the diversions they encounter, making those roads very dangerous
    3. Some of these roads are used by parents to walk their children to All Saints nursery and primary school. Also, students use these roads to walk to Greenshaw secondary school, and these increased traffic and speeding put in danger the lives of those parents, children and students

  40. Tony Hankin says:

    I live in Calthorpe Gardens. The road closures have been implemented at breakneck speed (unusually for Sutton LDs).
    No consultation or consideration. The reasons set out for this plan is very flawed. Traffic numbers in Grennell/All Saints Rd these are made up. Cut out rat running how did they measure this?-with a secret camera?
    Better air quality- has anyone seen air quality monitoring? Stop this LDs take down these barriers ASAP.

  41. Tom Saunders says:

    A lot of people are going through a difficult time at the moment, what with COVID and the looming possibility of job losses for some we need ‘life’ to be made a bit easier for us all not add more stress and difficult. By the comments above and on several Sutton social media sites these road closures are causing havoc and a lot of grief and upset to the majority of Sutton residents, I’m yet to read or hear someone that thinks it’s a great idea. I don’t understand this ‘we know better than you’ approach by the council. You didn’t have to implement anything, you didn’t have to take the funding to close the roads that you have. We all know that climate change is important that the combustion engine is unkind to the environment and most are doing something about it but, this implementation should have been delayed until you were able to ask us the residents of Sutton. It’s not acceptable in how this has been handled.

  42. Tatiane Del Campo says:

    I live in Woodside road and since Monday I have noticed the excessive traffic on our road.
    These trials redirect the traffic from the major two-lane roads to our residential street defying the original purpose of lowering traffic intensity in the neighbourhood. Since the houses on our street sit much closer to the road than on the two-lane streets, from which the traffic was diverted, each of us will unfortunately have to breathe incomparable amounts of exhaust gases in the coming months unless something is done.

  43. Huw Chandler says:

    Love the tag line on the Sutton North LIb Dem Councillors page:
    Cllrs Ruth Dombey, Marlene Heron and Steve Penneck working hard for Sutton North all year round

    Not early true when you look at the mess they’ve made on these recent road closures without consulting any residents

    Time to U turn, like all the cars are having to in Grennell and All Saints..

  44. Jonathan O'Callaghan says:

    Hello,

    I know the council are receiving a lot of negative messages at the moment, both on here, on Facebook, and probably elsewhere.

    But I really think this scheme deserves a bit of a rethink. I understand the intentions, and I do like the sound of them. Quieter, cleaner roads sound great in principle.

    I know the scheme has been compared to a similar one in Waltham Forest, which succeeded in reducing traffic. The major difference, however, is that Sutton is quite a unique London borough, without the transport links elsewhere.

    Waltham Forest is served by both the Tube and the Overground. Sutton has neither of those, only buses, and thus a lot of people in the area drive.

    Especially in these uncertain times when people are wary about getting public transport, these road closures are just not going to have the desired effect. Our roads are not particularly suited to cycling (hilly, lots of parked cars), and transport links aren’t great.

    As a result, people are going to continue to drive. And people aren’t stupid – if you close some roads, they aren’t just going to willingly sit in traffic on the “main” roads. They will look for routes that can shorten their journey.

    One of those routes Is now Aultone Way, where we live, and Woodend, and I know other roads have been affected too. We now have a constant stream of traffic coming through, and at high speeds.

    This is not only unpleasant for residents, but dangerous too. We have a newborn, and it’s not particularly fun trying to cross the road, or walk around the neighbourhood, with this new flow of traffic.

    I really do understand the intentions behind this, and I’m sure there could be a better solution. For example, stop cars parking on the street by The Crown pub near Sainsburys, which would enable both lanes to be used and stop traffic piling back up towards All Saints Road.

    But I do think you need to look at cancelling this trial. I know you have said you expect traffic levels to stabilise over times, but I just can’t see that happening. People are not going to stop driving down our quiet residential roads to catch non-existant public transport.

    I hope you will rethink this scheme. Its never nice to have to perform a U-turn, and I’m sure it won’t go down too well if you do so. But listen to the views of people, and come take a look for yourselves. Not every scheme or idea, no matter how well intentioned, is a good one.

    I do hope you will reconsider the trial, but I hope you can find other ways to improve the local area in the future.

    Cheers,

    Jonathan

    • Jonathan O'Callaghan says:

      Just to add, if you are going to persist with the trial for now, would you consider installing some temporary measures to reduce the dangerous high-speed traffic coming through our roads? For example, police to monitor speeding cars or temporary zebra crossings would be much appreciated. It is likely only a matter of time until an accident occurs, so it’d be great if you could put something in place to try and prevent this. Thanks, Jonathan.

  45. R. Dooley says:

    You have simply pushed all traffic to divert through Woodside Road, Woodend, Aultone Way, leaving residents to suffer the ridiculous amount of noise, traffic congestion and fumes!! Not to mention how dangerous it now is for anyone, but in particular school children being able to walk to school safely! We are now all crossing Aultone Way at our own risk with the amount of cars speeding round from Woodend. It’s only going to be a matter of time until accidents are going to be happening & god forbid someone getting hurt. You have turned the Sutton Garden Suberb into a noisy and dangerous rat run! So much for it being a conservation area!! The noise & fumes we are now enduring is like living on top on an A road! So much for cleaner, greener & safer?! More like toxic, chaotic & dangerous!! Judging by the last few days, you are making residents lives hell!

  46. Beata Howe says:

    As a result of roads closure the traffic is absolutely horrendous. That contributes to more stress and aggressive behaviour. People want to get home after work asap, and instead they need to follow and idiotic scheme of road closure and sit in the cars and fumes. Where is logic?
    Dear councilors, are you paid to be so inefficient and acting against humanity?

  47. Dr Marina Edelson-Averbukh says:

    Dear Neighbours and everyone who commented on the disastrous trials on this page. On Monday 14/09/2020 an online consultation of the Sutton Council went live:

    https://sutton.citizenspace.com/highways-environment-and-planning/north-sutton-area-exp1091/

    Please scroll to the bottom of the page at the link above and follow the Online Survey link to fill the survey form.

    Let’s express our opinions and try to give the Council a realistic picture of what happens on the ground as a result of these closures.

  48. Sie Evans says:

    Fully support the closure of Benhill Wood Road (the lower end) After two days the entire area has been transformed and is a much quieter place. I feel for residents who’s streets have now become new rat runs. These should be managed too, keep the cars on the main roads and let residents actually enjoy the streets.More trees would be nice also 🙂

  49. Janet says:

    Why this has been done I don’t know but it is causing so much traffic queues at busy times people going to work and then mums taking the children to school who ever came up with this needs to go back to the drawing board cos I think they are incompetent and probably not even a driver and what with road works going on as well it’s just adding to al this
    I think you need to rethink about what you have done it is just a shambles

  50. Lizzie Bea says:

    I am writing to express my concerns at the recent changes to shut roads and thereby divert traffic elsewhere. As a resident of Aultone Way I am quite frankly shocked and appalled at the volume of traffic now passing along this road, not to mention the congestion, tailbacks and pollution during peak times. Aultone Way is a single lane road as there are residents’ cars parked along both sides, it is not able to manage the increased volume of traffic that is currently being witnessed as a result of the road closures. There have been tailbacks onto Rose Hill as there are so many cars trying to turn into Aultone Way and on a daily basis it is even difficult to pull out from a parking space due to the constant stream of cars rushing by. When not stuck in a jam, the speed that vehicles are travelling at also seems to have increased as individuals try to navigate this newly diverted mess as quickly as possible. I have also witnessed HGVs now using this road as a matter of course and even one wider vehicle earlier having to flatten their own wing mirrors so that they could fit down Aultone Way without scraping any of the parked vehicles. I haven’t even mentioned all of the school kids that walk up the road and who are now having to cross in front of all the extra traffic. I am really not sure how any of this is greener or safer and would suggest renaming the scheme as smoggier and dangerous courtesy of the Lib Dems. It’s outrageous and ridiculous.

  51. Matt Little says:

    I’ve been keen to stay positive about these changes, because the proposed outcomes – safer roads, less polluted air, better routes for cyclists and a reduction in carbon emissions – sound *exactly* like the kind of neighbourhood I want for my children.

    I also understand that positive change takes time. Changes like these will always cause a temporary inconvenience and there will be a lot of pushback and outrage. And measuring the data accurately to see whether the outcomes were actually achieved also requires time and objectivity.

    However I also know that change must be appropriately managed. As a resident of Hillview Rd, I feel like I’ve had a fair amount of warning of the changes that were to take place, with various literature posted through the door. I don’t remember there being any proper consultation though, and I think one claim I read – that there had been low turnout to public consultation events *in March* – was a poor excuse for not giving the public further opportunities to respond, seeing as March was when Covid-19 hit the UK. We weren’t in the right headspace to think about traffic when a global pandemic was going on.

    I have two main concerns.

    Data: I’d like to know which data you have used to make statements in the literature through the door that the Road Closures *will* lower pollution, make roads safer, lower the amount of cars, etc. To make these claims you surely must have access to previous pilot studies elsewhere? Why have I not seen these? I’m a university science graduate, I’m well capable of interpreting the data.

    I’d also like to know *how* you established baseline data for pollution, traffic flow, safety etc BEFORE the Road Closures were introduced and NOW, in the period you are ‘testing’ them temporarily. Your job is to prove that the outcomes you proposed actually happened as a result of these road closures. If you can, I will happily accept the road closures as permanent, even though they are an inconvenience – if you cannot, I won’t.

    COMMUNICATIONS: the second thing I’m extremely cynical about is how well you’re doing in terms of communicating the changes in a way that maximises the road closures’ chance of success? You have let Sutton North residents know about them – great. But here are just a few observations I have already made:
    – Motorists ignoring ‘Road closed’ signs and continuing to travel down roads, only to have to turn around and return less than a minute later.
    – Motorists going round and round in circles trying to find which route they should actually take to get where they want to go – because there are ONLY signs to say that a road has been closed, but NOT where the traffic is being diverted to!
    – A Heavy goods vehicle powering down the road towards my children’s school, then turning in the road at the barrier while there are children and parents queuing up on the pavement at the start of the day. (Not safe!)
    – When I tested GPS mapping services, Apple Maps correctly showed that the road by All Saints school is now blocked and directs me another way from my house to the school. However, Google Maps (the most popular system for GPS navigation used today) just said that the road was a bit busier in that location – Google Maps does not know that the road is closed – WHY NOT? Why haven’t you told them? This is a no-brainer and explains why people keep driving down All Saints Road expecting to be able to get through.
    – This morning I witnessed a Refuse Van stop next to All Saints school and the refuse collectors looking and pointing at the road closure ahead of them and saying to each other: ‘How are we supposed to get through there?’ If our Council’s own commissioned services don’t know about the road closures, this is a huge communications fail!
    – About the same time, a motorbike zoomed through the barrier past the school. I thought the road closures were supposed to be road closures for all motorised vehicles to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists? How are the road closures supposed to prevent motorbikes going past? (The signage is insufficiently vague on this point)

    As I said, I would love these road closures to succeed because I am passionate about the outcomes for environment and for residents. Too many towns are planned around the needs of motorists, not pedestrians, and so this is an exciting time. But so far, I think you are botching the communications and leading to a lot of angry people. I hope that changes soon.

    • Matt Little says:

      I’ve heard a rumour that the road closure by All Saints Benhilton school will now be opened.

      Going back to my original post, which data have you used to make this decision to back-track on a temporary trial?

      Hundreds of children and parents wait every day on the pavements outside All Saints for the school to open. The lack of traffic has made it a lot safer to wait there. In addition our lungs have probably benefited from the lack of exhaust fumes.

      Clearly a lot of people have complained already, and to clarify I am still not convinced that the road closures as they stand are the best solution for the positive outcomes you want for Sutton borough (cleaner air, safer roads, less traffic etc) but all positive changes take time and this backtracking seems like a knee-jerk reaction to placate people rather than a considered response based on actual data.

      • Dr Marina Edelson-Averbukh says:

        The continuous and prolonged exposure of the residents (including children) of the narrow side roads, such as Woodside Road, to the extreme levels of exhaust fumes and traffic noise created by the trials represents the most evident health hazard and needs to be addressed immediately.

  52. Anna S says:

    The week before the closures started I left a comment on another forum predicting an increase in traffic on the side roads and was not wrong.

    Why has the 20mph speed limit not come into play yet? Frustrated drivers are speeding along the narrow roads which remain open.

    On Thursday 17 September at approximately 5.30pm I watched a frustrated 4×4 driver mount the pavement and drive over the grass from the north corner of Benhill Wood Road with Oakhill Road. This does not make for a safer area.

    I also noted a long queue of traffic on Oakhill Road backing up all the way to Brunswick Road, this is much worse than it ever was before. Therefore, a few households that are set back on wider roads may be experiencing better air quality, but those on other narrow or already busy roads such as Oakhill Road with properties close to the road, are experiencing much worse conditions. This is not fair and completely unsustainable.

    The reduction in the speed limit should be implemented ASAP, the road closures removed ASAP and other solutions found to reduce traffic by the schools. Perhaps closures that are only in place past the schools for an hour around the start and end of the school day would go some way to achieving the intended goals without the huge disruption throughout the day and weekend.

  53. Yuan says:

    Many congratulations for coming up with this idea. We must live in separate universe. How can anyone possibly think closure of roads will lead to less traffic? Well, yes, on the closed roads. Very other road is now badly affected.

    I leave on benhill wood road near all saints road. It was usually quiet. Now it is usually busy and noisy.

    The closure did not reduce the number of car journeys. It will just making driving a lot stressful.

    Maybe you are fed up running the local council in Sutton, and you want to get kicked out in the next local election. But please can I ask you not to make residents’ lives more difficult than necessary?

    Regards

  54. J.Griffin says:

    Having been a very contented resident of Woodside Road for 43 years I feel I must write to vent a few feelings.
    Our road is relatively narrow with parking bays on either side, one side having partial pavement parking.
    Most of the residents have forfeited their once pretty gardens for hard standing to allow visiting family & friends to park on the road.
    These bays are now used as a long term parking solution to large vans, the owners of which are not residents. Although they are parked legally, their width often exceeds the white lines & they are frequently & thoughtlessly parked opposite another van, leaving very little space for traffic, importantly emergency vehicles, to pass between them.
    Since September 14th our road has been used as a “rat run” with vehicles not adhering to the 20mph rule & if the road is clear will race down the hill at top speed before being “blocked” by a vehicle coming in the opposite direction.
    I have witnessed drivers of lorries, too large to move between parked cars or vans, hooting ,knocking at doors & the resulting abusive language from other motorists as they block the road. This has resulted in the lorries having to reverse into Oakhill Road, causing other traffic to back up or mount the narrow pavements, whilst they chuck out noxious fumes & cause danger to passing pedestrians.
    Whoever chose to close much broader roads, leaving Woodside to become a “nightmare”, particularly at rush hours, needs to become acquainted with the road & its residents.
    I am all for maintaining a 20mph limit but sadly this is
    mainly being ignored.
    As for a SAFER,CLEANER,QUIETER,GREENER area, this is certainly not the case in Woodside road, but quite the reverse.
    Our mental health has “held together” in a positive way throughout the pandemic, but sad to say this is now NOT the case.

  55. Salvador says:

    What is the point of the 20mph speed limit signs on the roads if they are not inforced?
    All vehicles are still cruising at high speed on these affected roads!!!!

  56. Uzi Uzi says:

    Hi, I am resident of Edinburgh Road, who ever put forward this stupid and idiotic idea of road closures need to be reversed ASAP because;

    -It won’t achieve lower air pollution
    -It won’t achieve lower noice pollution
    -It won’t achieve safety for pedestrian and Motorists
    -It won’t relax residents of Sutton, it will make them stress because they will require more time to drop their kids which will by default have them over speeding on other narrow roadshow
    -It will also effect the value of properties due to reduced access from one side as compared to access from two sides.

    Please cancel all road closure especially Grenell and Benhill Wood road ASAP.

    We residents of Edinburgh road will be starting a parliamentary signature petition so any one who approved this road closure idea should be named and shamed due to his/her poor decision making abilities and fraudulent waste of tax payers money.

    Thanks
    Uzi

  57. LEO LUCAS says:

    WITH THE GREATEST OF RESPECT —PLEASE NOTE–THE ROAD CLOSURES IN SUTTON HAVE HAD A VERY DISASTROUS EFFECT ON THE DAILY LIVES OF LOCAL RESIDENTS—IT LOOKS LIKE SUTTON COUNCIL IS GOING OUT OF ITS WAY TO ANTAGONIZE ALL THE LOCAL RESIDENTS—THIS IS CLEARLY AN ABUSE OF POWER—-PLEASE CANCEL ALL THE ROAD CLOSURES NOW STARTING WITH GRENNELL ROAD–
    THANKS
    LEO LUCAS
    20 GREENHILL

Leave a Reply to Tom Saunders

You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>