Your ward councillors remain concerned about the speeding traffic, the frequent out of hours buses and the heavy lorries in Collingwood Road, and their impact on road safety, air pollution, noise and vibrations.  We are conscious of the impact on residents and continue to work with Council officers to address these difficult issues.  See our earlier reports.

Speeding traffic

Too many drivers exceed the 20 mph limit, despite extra signage, and the road layout changes implemented two years ago.  There is some evidence that the flashing 20 mph signs are having some effect, but still too many drivers illegally exceed the speed limit.

Liberal Democrats are supporting measures in Parliament to transfer enforcement of 20mph speed limits to local Councils, but so far the government has refused to allow this.  Locally we work with the police to support the work they do, but their resources are stretched.  We attend Community Speedwatch events with them in the road using a hand held speed camera, but these events are few and far between.  We will be doing more of these in the coming weeks.

Please use this link to raise a concern with the Police about speeding, or any other road danger issues in the road, including accidents.

Frequent out-of-hours buses

We continue to raise concerns about buses in Collingwood Road.  We know the 80 bus is very much welcomed, but are concerned at the move to a double-decker, which we don’t think is justified.  We continue to be in contact with Go-Ahead Sutton, who run Sutton bus garage, about instances of poor driver behaviour, and also about the frequency of out of hours buses in the road.  Last summer they took on a new route, bus 413, which runs between Sutton and Morden. The route is through Gander Green Lane to Cheam Road and then through the town centre, to Sutton garage.  But we have seen instances of it returning to Morden after its shift, through Collingwood Road.

We have come to the conclusion that the only solution to the high level of bus traffic in the road is to move the bus garage to a more suitable location, such as the Kimpton Rd estate.  If you agree please sign the petition here. Ruth has asked Council officers to discuss this with Go-Ahead, but this would be a long term solution.

Chaucer Road junction

Councillors have asked traffic officers to review the junction with Chaucer Road where there have been several accidents and near misses.  The problem is that vehicles leaving Chaucer Road do not have a clear line of sight of approaching traffic, especially from the left.  Council officers are proposing a scheme which would bring the Give Way lines across the Chaucer Road junction further forward.  But to make this safe, the three car parking spaces opposite would need to be removed.  We think it is important that this junction is made safer, and the Council will be consulting on their proposal in the coming weeks.  Do respond to the consultation.

Heavy good vehicles

Many heavy vehicles (HGVs) use Collingwood Road as a cut through to get to the town centre.  This is despite the fact that the road is part of an area where HGVs over 7.5 tonnes are banned unless they have business in the area.  The area is quite large, bordered by the by-pass, Cheam Road, St Nicholas Way and Rose Hill.  So there will always be some heavy vehicles using the road legitimately.

We have worked with the Council so far to improve the signage so the lorry ban is clear, and to report individual sightings for investigation.  But none of this has had much effect.  We have now asked the Council to investigate camera enforcement schemes.  These cameras record vehicle registration numbers and automatically issue penalty notices.  This keeps the enforcement costs down.  Council officers are proposing a single camera at the by-pass end, together with a change in the HGV regulation, make it illegal for HGVs to enter Collingwood Road from the by-pass for any reason.  HGVs having business in Collingwood Road, for building works, or to deliver skips, would need to enter from the other end.  This would obviously stop HGV traffic from the by-pass, but would do nothing to prevent traffic from the town centre.  Councillors have argued for a camera at either end, but traffic officers say that for such a scheme to work there would need to be cameras covering each stretch of the road, to monitor whether the HGV has legitimate business in the road or the roads leading off.  Your councillors are still working with Council officers on this given the great concern to residents.

Please note that despite the scaremongering from the Conservatives, we are not asking for Collingwood Road to be closed to traffic but only to enforce the HGV ban and prevent heavy lorries from using the road as a cut-through and disrupting the lives of people living there.

Councillors are asking for solutions in other Boroughs to be looked at.  Once we have a solution it would take some months to implement, as there would need to be full consultation, and a change to the Traffic Management Order which regulates the HGV ban, before installation can begin.  

Road resurfacing

The resurfacing of the second half of the road is dependent on Thames Water completing their investigations of the drainage problems in the road, and also on a new electricity cable being laid across the road at the Bushey Road end of the road.

TfL’s map of upcoming roadworks shows that TW will be carrying out a camera survey on the drain, between Alexandra Ave and Anton Crescent, in early Feb, while the electricity cable is due to be laid in February.  In the hope that the TW camera survey does not indicate any further problem, this should allow the resurfacing to begin after that.

New pedestrian crossing

About ten years ago, councillors consulted with residents about a possible zebra crossing, near the junction with Chaucer Road.  The proposal was rejected as it would require a number of parking spaces to be lost.  Since then the traffic in the road has got worse, and it is time to look again at improvements in pedestrian safety.  We have asked officers to bring forward an update proposal, looking at locations nearer to Alexandra Avenue.

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