10 days to tell TfL to do better on Balham High Road

We have just 10 more days to respond to this consultation on Balham High Road. I've posted about it previously here, the key points for me to raise with TfL are:

• Where are the protected, continental style, cycle lanes? 
• Where are the bus stop cycle lane bypasses? 

I've got a bunch of flyers printed to encourage people to respond. They won't get out there by themselves. I've got just over 2500 more to get out there. 

Interested in helping?

Here's what you can do:

1. RESPOND to the consultation! (easy to forget to do!)
2. Share details with your friends (email - Facebook - Twitter)
3. Distribute some flyers (drop me a line if you'd like some - jon.irwin[at]gmail.com) I work in Balham and have them at my desk. 

The only reason that we can't have the sort of streets that are being built in central London at the moment, is if we don't ask. We don't have to wait 20 more years to get serious improvements to Balham High Road. 

@jdavie @citycyclists @london_cycling @RantyHighwayman @AsEasyAsRiding WaterloBr-B'friars not officially open but... pic.twitter.com/BsoX2f6PAn

— Dickie's Ticker (@DickiesTicker) November 4, 2015

NB - Also with a Crossrail 2 station going to be either in Balham or Tooting, there is even more reason to ensure that people are given safe space to cycle without needing to share local streets with construction vehicles. Over to you folks.

Reminders why our local streets need to be fixed

With my latest petition for Tooting Bec Road continuing to tick up a few more supporters, I thought it was worthwhile highlighting a few comments and recent tweets which highlight why improvements to this road and others need to be made.

I asked our local Wandsworth Guardian journalist her thoughts, and from speaking with other local residents in the local elections last year, I know she's not alone:

@Jon_events no. I've lived in London for 6 years and only once got on a Boris bike. It's too dangerous-I've written about so many fatalities
— Sophia Sleigh (@SophiaSleigh) January 19, 2015

Here are a selection of the comments left under the petition to date:

I cycle along the road several times a week from the athletics track to the lido & feel very vulnerable and exposed so a separate cycle path would be the safest option. The piece of road at the entrance to Tooting Lido car park is also a risky spot and hard to cycle safely out of the Lido, a Keep Clear marking on the road would make that a much safer spot. - Lucinda

Please can we have cycle paths on either side of the road? Two-way tracks on one side don’t work. Also, there’s a lot of anti-social behaviour from a small number of people who currently choose to cycle on the pavement along this stretch of the road. Please make the police arrest them; at present the police aren’t interested in tackling this problem. - Will

We've got 134 signatures so far, but will need more to ensure that TfL and the council act. With the Mitcham Lane petition we've got officers looking into new proposals following a petition which gained 553 signatures.

The creation of segregated cycle routes will encourage many more people to cycle and access the open spaces of Tooting Bec, including older people and families who currently are too intimidated by the proximity of fast moving traffic. - Steve

Myself and my dog nearly run over each day we cross the lights near franciscan rd with drivers going 40 mph in a 30 and they go through the red lights – the quicker this happens the better. Have called TFL to introduce speeding cameras and told there needs to be a fatal accident before they do that! Madness - Niall

If you agree with Sophia, Lucinda, Will, Steve or Niall please add your name if you haven't signed it already. 

It would be great if we didn't have to do all these petitions and if our elected politicians not only recognised the problem, but were prepared to take action to deal with it. 

Our council, our Transport for London, is accountable ultimately to us through our imperfect democratic institutions. 

Petitioning is a small way in which we can illustrate the need for change. 

Add your support here:

http://www.wandsworthlibdems.org.uk/let_s_make_tooting_bec_road_safe_for_all

PS: don't forget you can now register to vote online. Do that now if you aren't sure you are registered to vote.

Decaying van rusting to bits in the street

It's coming up for two years since I first came to view the property that is now my home in Furzedown. Fairly confident betting that it's been a little longer that this van has been parked on my street.

Thanks to the pro-active nature of the Labour team in Tooting & Furzedown that represent us locally I'm left wondering if they are waiting for the van to naturally decay and then claim that it's as a result of their work!

Another issue on Mitcham Lane is the cars that are regularly parked there for sale, clearly not private re-sellers. If local people keep on voting Labour, we can't be surprised if we keep the same problems.

A Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) would probably help. Even though the lead councillor locally, Cllr Leonie Cooper, is co-chair of SERA (Labour's environmental group), you would have thought that a CPZ might have already been put in place given how long she has been a councillor. Doesn't really say much for her local action/credentials on the environment.

Given the lack of action shown by Labour, with my Lib Dem colleagues we are working to tackle issues such as this. If you'd like to get involved and help out do get in touch.