Elmbourne Rd cancelled LTN - impact on A24 scheme

Good morning I am very concerned about Wandsworth Council’s cancellation of the Elmbourne Road Area LTN trial which was meant to be starting on 1 July but was withdrawn a few days after it had been announced. If this LTN is not in place, TfL’s A24 Street Space scheme will be unsafe and detrimental to traffic volumes through residential streets in the area. It is very important that the Elmbourne Road Area LTN trial should be reinstated in full as proposed by Wandsworth Council in their letter of 26 June. The council has been unwilling to provide reasons for the withdrawal of the scheme or to talk to residents in the streets affected. The reasons that TfL’s A24 scheme (Collier’s Wood to Balham) can only work effectively if the Elmbourne Road Area LTN is in place are: 1. Three Heaver Estate residential roads immediately north of Tooting Bec tube, Streathbourne, Drakefield and Louisville Roads have no entry restrictions – yet all other residential roads off the A24 to the south and north of these do have entry restrictions. It seems that there are no entry restrictions on this roads because it was assumed by TfL that the LTN would be in place meaning that these roads would only be accessed by local residents and subject to low volumes of traffic. Because the LTN has now been withdrawn large quantities of through traffic will go through these roads, on to Elmbourne Road and then out through the wider Heaver Estate to cut through to Bedford Hill, Tooting Bec Road and on to Streatham. 2. The large volumes of traffic which already exist, but will only increase because of the proposed road scheme, will seek to use the Heaver Estate as a cut through and will speed from the controlled junction at A24 Ritherdon Road (which now has entry restrictions) and then cut across the cycle lane on the A24 to turn into Streathbourne/Drakefield/Louisville Roads which are not controlled junctions and on to Elmbourne Road. This will be hugely dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians. In the mornings there are many children walking to either St Anselms primary school in Louisville Road or Rutherford House in Balham High Road. Streathbourne/Drakefield/Louisville Roads are not controlled junctions and are already very dangerous with existing levels of aggressive through traffic turning across the cycle lane. I live close to the Balham High Road end of Streathbourne Road and have seen regular confrontations between motorists and cyclists and pedestrians. Drakefield and Louisville are both narrow, without sufficient space for two cars to pass and are already subject to high levels of motorist aggression when cars are forced to back long distances to allow vehicles travelling in the opposite direction to pass. 3. The Elmbourne Road Area LTN offered cyclists a low traffic route through the Heaver Estate and out to Cycle Superhighway 7 and other cycle routes; it would have eased the pressure on the already overcrowded shared use paths of Tooting Common. Elmbourne Road already suffers over 700vph in peak hours and 7,000 vehicles per day. Without the LTN Elmbourne Road and the wider Heaver Estate will be the sole route for through traffic across a wide area. Cyclists and pedestrians will face huge risk having to share road space with large volumes of aggressive through traffic and Dr Johnson Avenue and the other roads of the Heaver Estate will not be an option for a quiet, safe route. Elmbourne Road will continue to be subject to very high volumes of traffic meaning that children and families will still be subject to risk when they try to access Tooting Common. There are no safe crossing points from Elmbourne Road to the Common because the volumes using this street are so high. As TfL awarded Wandsworth Council funding for the Elmbourne Road Area LTN scheme, it must have viewed the scheme as having value, not least in helping the A24 design to work effectively and it is wrong that the Council should be receiving funding for a scheme which it is refusing to trial. I believe the cancellation of the Elmbourne Road Area LTN trial is highly detrimental to the safety and effectiveness of the A24 scheme. I ask TfL to urgently approach Wandsworth Council to have the Elmbourne Road Area LTN trial reinstated forthwith. Yours