Road closures in the Loughborough Junction area will remain in place until early November at the earliest, Lambeth council said today,
But it has responded to the uproar over the closures by cutting the review period for the experimental closures from 12 to eight weeks, bringing forward the end of the experiment by four weeks.
It said it had had both negative and positive feedback for the experiment which sparked a packed public meeting and a Facebook campaign against the closures.
The council pledged that: “All feedback will be listened to – from ward councillors, residents, campaign groups and businesses”.
It said “dialogue is ongoing” with Transport for London and the emergency services.
Deputy council leader Cllr Imogen Walker said: “Due to the clear strength of feeling and after discussions with ward councillors in the area, we have decided to review the scheme earlier than we initially planned. This will involve gathering all the evidence, to decide how to proceed.
Vassall ward councillor Paul Gadsby said: “I have, as a local councillor, asked for this review to be brought forward so we can get a true picture of the impact the road closures are having on the area.
“I have had residents contact me with positive feedback about its impact, which should not be discounted.
“But councillors from Coldharbour, Herne Hill and Vassall have had a large amount of concern expressed to them by residents about how these closures are proceeding.
“We all want to see Loughborough Junction a cleaner, safer and more pleasant place, and we need to be certain about the best way to do this.”
Lambeth said that up to 13,000 vehicles pass through the area on a typical weekday. It closed a section of Loughborough Road on August 29 for six months. Barrington Road, Calais Street, Padfield Road, Lilford Road and Gordon Grove were also “subject to closures”.
Traffic was measured at 71 locations in the area to assess the impact on neighbouring roads. Repeat counts will be taken in key locations. The council said this data would form part of the review.
gave up on evening out in Brixton due to traffic standstill – how many businesses are suffering due to road closures?
Traffic planning currently forces all traffic through central Brixton High St. As a result, central Brixton is always heaving with cars and buses and there is lots of standing traffic, adding to the belch of fumes. That’s why our air is worse than Oxford St – why has Lambeth council progressively shut off alternative routes through Brixton, instead of encouraging traffic away from one main road and the smog of pollution that results?