Val and councillors press TfL on Oval junction

Val Shawcross, Cllr Jack Hopkins, Cllr Jane Edbrooke, Cllr Mark Harrison and Anna Tapsell from the KA discuss the traffic issues

Cllr Steve Morgan, Val Shawcross and Cllr Mark Harrison in front of the new traffic island

This morning Lambeth's London Assembly Member (and Labour's Candidate for Deputy Mayor of London) Val Shawcross met with councillors, a representative of the Kennington Association, and an office of TfL to discuss problems with the junction between Kennington Park Road, Camberwell New Road, and Brixton Road.

Residents and councillors have several complaints about the junction:

-the new traffic island which separates the bus lane is difficult for cars to manoeuvre around

-there is too little time for cars which want to travel left down Camberwell New Road to get into the correct lane

-the bus lane is incredibly bumpy

-the new traffic island prevents buses from overtaking cyclists

-it is difficult for cyclists to move over from the bus lane to turn right into Brixton Road

The TfL officer has promised to go away and look at what can be done to improve this junction for all road users. We hope to see some results!

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UPDATE: RESPONSE FROM TFL:

1, The build-out was provided as part of the development of cycle superhighway route 7. Prior to the construction of the build out, cyclists heading straight on through Kennington Park Road would need to cross two lanes of traffic turning left into Brixton Road. The speed of traffic turning left was high and the junction represented a significant difficulty for cyclists. The build out slows traffic turning left, and allows cyclists to better position themselves if heading straight on.
The scheme was subject to both a multi-stage safety audit and a consultation with stakeholders, which included the Traffic Police. The design of the build out (as it affects traffic) was not raised as an issue during the safety audit or consultation stages, and we have not been advised of any difficulties subsequent to our meeting. We will monitor the build-out but would not expect its design to present any difficulties for traffic.

2, TfL regularly inspects the Transport for London Road Network and prioritises the repair of any identified defects according to their severity. The most serious defects are repaired within one or 24 hours, and less serious defects within seven or 28 days. I arranged soon after the meeting for Brixton Road to be inspected and any pot holes found to be filled.

3, Finally we also discussed lane discipline at the junction of Brixton Road and Camberwell New Road. TfL has not previously been advised of any road safety issues at this junction by the Police, and analysis of collision statistics does not indicate that there is a particular difficulty in the circumstances described during our meeting. TfL prioritises funding for road safety schemes to areas with the highest recorded collision history, to deliver the greatest reduction in collisions. We will continue to monitor safety at the junction but have no plans at present to undertake a scheme here.

Val has promised to chase TfL to ensure the potholes are filled in as soon as possible.