Oldfields Road bus lane rejected
Sutton North Lib Dem Councillors
Cllr Sam Cumber, Cllr Ruth Dombey and Chris Hawton working hard for Sutton North all year round Learn more
Oldfields Road bus lane rejected
Marlene Heron
Sign up for local news
North Sutton Low Traffic Neighbourhoods to be opened up for local residents
by Sam, Ruth and Chris on 21 January, 2021
Since the beginning of the trial in Sutton North we have been listening to residents and gathering feedback. In the autumn we held virtual meetings with residents in the Sutton Garden Suburb Conservation Area and in the Woodside Road area. We also organised a residents’ survey to gather feedback on potential improvements to the scheme.
In November 2020, the Council carried out traffic counts at around 20 locations within and on the fringes of the low-traffic area. The low-traffic neighbourhood is divided into smaller residential ‘zones’ or groups of residential roads bordered by main or distributor roads. The idea is that access is maintained to every zone via specific entry/exit points but we prevent through-traffic.
The traffic counts comparing Oct/ Nov with before the trial are here.
The three residential zones are defined as:
Aultone Way area: Residents living on Grennell Road, Rosehill Park West, Rosehill Gardens, Greenhill, Woodend and Aultone Way (and side roads).
Woodside Road area: Residents living on Elgin Road, Woodside Road, Benhill Wood Road (including side roads) between All Saints Road and Oakhill Road.
Benhill Wood Road area: Residents living on Benhill Wood Road (including side roads) between Oakhill Road and Benhill Avenue.
Overall there is a 13% decrease in traffic compared to our baseline data of June 2016 and September 2020. This is a drop from 74,330 cars to 54,688. Grennell Road (between Rosehill Park West and the existing closure) has seen a decrease in traffic of around 70% Northbound and 60% Southbound. Grennell Road between All Saints/ Benhill Road and the existing closure has seen a decrease of around 38%. Elgin Road has seen a decrease in traffic of around 64%, Rosehill Park West a decrease of 64% and Benhill Wood Road of around 25%.
However it is clear from the data and feedback from residents that the existing scheme has increased traffic levels in Woodend, Greenhill and Aultone Way, and in Woodside Road. As a result of this we have worked on potential interventions that could reduce traffic on these roads, maintain the reduction in traffic inside the low traffic areas described above and minimise the impact on car journeys.
The additional proposals are:
- Upgrade all existing bollard closures to automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera closures.
- Install an ANPR camera closure at the bottom of Woodend near the junction with All Saints Road.
- Install an ANPR camera closure at the bottom of Woodside Road near the junction with Oakhill Road
ANPR camera allow vehicles through whose registration numbers are recognised as those previously registered with the Council. Other vehicles will get a Penalty Notice.
If the decision is agreed on 28th January at the Environment & Sustainable Transport Committee we would consult those that live inside each of the low-traffic areas about ‘resident access’. Residents would maintain the benefits of driving as they did before the trial but without cut-through traffic. Everyone, including visitors, carers and deliveries would maintain access to each area via specific entry/exit points, but not through the ANPR points. Emergency services would be able to access all the ANPR camera closures. The papers for the Committee meeting are here (item 10).
If introduced, these measures would be trialled for 6 months with a public consultation and further traffic counts before a final decision is made. If progressed, we have asked Council officers for more regular traffic counts on Aultone Way to monitor the impact of the scheme on the road. We have also asked for further measures to be explored to alleviate pressure from the school-run and would continue to monitor traffic levels on neighbouring roads like All Saints Road, Oakhill Road, Edinburgh Road and others.
13 Comments
If this goes ahead you will cut off the only quick access I have to get to my 87 year old mother in an emergency. Going round main roads takes far too long. You have already closed of other avenues of travel. You are the people causing extra traffic on these roads. WHAT DO I PAY ROAD TAX FOR!
Your data is flawed. Of couse traffic has dropped off we are in a pandemic!! Have you actually spoken to any North Sutton residents about this scheme? It is supposed to be a trial scheme where is your air quality monitoring data? Or are you scared to enter into a debate on air quality following the disastrous Beddington Lane incinerator debacle?
Only VERY STUPID people would look at making a very bad situation, created by themselves, WORSE by adding even more EQUALLY stupid measures! Surely, even you, must realise that we are NOT in normal times! Any outcomes from schemes should be regarded with some scepticism ( especially any BIASED recording of data undertaken by you)
It is very hard for us “normal residents “ to grasp that you are prepared to inflict such harm on us in such a bigoted and uncaring way’
Just reopen the roads to be used for what they were originally intended, motor vehicles.
No one wants your schemes, cones or cameras.
Bye bye Fib Dums 2021 elections.
Absolute rubbish. This is nothing more than a money making scheme.
These figures should not be used, they’re huge flaws in this. One being, covid 19 which see many people working from home. All you do is push motorists into one place and cause more pollution build up there.
Stop wasting our money! I’d suggest changing job roles as no one in our local authorities seem to listen at all.
We are in a pandemic and you continually rob us of money by your money grabbing stupid ideas. Road tax is paid, do people get a discount for not being able to drive on PUBLIC roads, they are not Private roads, PUBLIC roads, let’s charge bicycle users road tax or pavement tax.
2022 roll on as it’ll be bye bye Lib Dems. Your absolutely disgraceful
Stop trying to fix something that is beyond repair and not fit for purpose, just open the roads as before , when there were no issues. Who has been consulted ? We live in Aultone Way and no one has approached us for feedback. APNR management will cost a fortune and its not needed. Just remove the blockades and everything will be resolved. Stop wasting money !
Your data can not and should not be used , it has been taken during a pandemic . If you really have to trial these stupid schemes do it when we are out of our currant situation and everything has returned to normal . You are actually causing problems with your pathetic attempts to stop people driving and making money off of us
Please do not add more measures. This is not in the residents interest. Scrap what you have already put in place. You are creating more stress for residents and visitors than us needed in the current climate.
If you have “listened to residents” as you claim to, then you have clearly decided to ignore the overwhelming majority. This is ridiculous. You seem to literally be trying to solve a problem you have caused by doing more of the same and making the problem even worse. Can you not see that the way to reduce the congestion you have caused is to scrap the whole scheme? It’s like trying to resolve a red wine stain by throwing more red wine on it! I will never vote Lib Dem again. We pay to use the roads that you are not allowing us to use. Something serious needs to be done to stop this stupidity.
As a resident of a road off Grennell, at present I am forced to use Woodend to access my property, as are visitors and delivery vehicles. But after cameras are installed in Woodend, visitors and delivery drivers would be forced to use an even more circuitous route.
No to ANPR cameras. Totally agree with all the comments I’ve read! This should not be made into a money making scheme and of course traffic has decreased due to the pandemic! A camera placed at Wooodend/Allsaints Rd would mean I’d have to use the High Street to get to my elderly mother who has severe COPD and lives alone, and in the case of an emergency would lengthen my journey. Woodend already has the privilege of permit only parking, but stupidly has an excluded area at the top where it’s narrow and cars park both sides causing difficulty getting in and out !! All roads need to be re-opened to get us back to normal and the traffic would be dispersed more evenly instead of once quiet roads becoming polluted and like main roads.
Please put a stop to this madness and open up our roads. I live in Grennell Road south side of road closure now for me to take an elderly person shopping who lives in Grennell north side I have to use Woodend/Greenhill to be able to reach their home. Now you are taking of a camera at Woodend my journey now will be even longer. I will have to turn left out of my drive 100 yards as road is now shut turn left into Edinburgh Road left into Duke of Edinburgh then Whitby Road left into Wrythe lane to sit in traffic passed the hospital and shops to the roundabout turning left into Rose Hill then left into Rosehill Park West then Grennell Road. What will this do will pollution???? I have lived in Grennell Road for over 33 years and traffic has never caused problems until you closed the road in half. Stop spending more money on problems you caused in the first place and open up our roads.