Wallington public transport improvements – Update 3

At the Stakeholders Meeting last night we discussed progress to date on the Wallington Integrated Transport Project and planned work for the next two weeks. We also considered three options for the new bus shelters in Woodcote Road. The group agreed to order two of Transport for London’s new shelters and electronic ‘Countdown’ equipment to show the expected arrival time of buses. These shelters will be £10,000 cheaper than the ones that were originally proposed and we hope to use the money that has been saved on a surface treatment for the new paving to make more resistant to dirt and chewing gum.

Two members of the group raised concerns about the way people are ignoring the one-way system at the eastern end of Beddington Gardens and about people parking in Hendfield Court.

The Stakeholders Group (pictured above) include representatives of residents association, local businesses, councillors, SCOLA and Orchard Hill Colleges, the police, the Friends of Wallington Library amongst others.

Wallington public transport improvements – Update 2

We are now in the third week of the Wallington Integrated Transport Project and good progress is being made to widen the pavements, move services and install new drainage.

I am aware that it is tricky for people to cross Woodcote Road at present. With just one traffic light controlled crossing point outside Wallington Square lots of people are taking a chance and still crossing near HSBC. A new crossing with pedestrian control will be in place between HSBC and NatWest by 14 March. The new pavements outside HSBC will not have been completed by this date, so there will be some barriers around the crossing but we will have a second safe place to cross.

The temporary bus stops are operating well, but there have been a few problems with loading and unloading. This is difficult for the traders but the council will be patrolling to ensure that the bus stops are not being used dangerously.

As the work outside the Old Town Hall progresses the CCTV pole will be disconnected and new, improved CCTV will be located in a better location outside Barclays on the same day. The police prefer this spot because it allows monitoring of Woodcote Road and the access to the car park.

Moving further north in Woodcote Road 5 trees will need to be removed because they will be too close to the new kerbs. They will be replaced with 6 trees in new locations and most of the existing trees will be transplanted into parks - although two are diseased.

Beddington Gardens

Work on a new 4.5 metre deep soak away in Beddingon Gardens will start in the next couple of days. The soakaway will take rainwater from Beddington Gardens and Shotfield and help to alleviate the kind of flooding we have had under the railway bridge in the past. Similar soak aways were installed in Railway Aproach last year. The work will take approximately three weeks to complete.

Finally one bit of bad news. A few people have ignored the new one-way access into Beddington Gardens and continue to use this as a way out into Woodcote Road. Clearly this is very dangerous and the police will be involved if necessary.

Old BT phonebox out - and Spectrum soon I hope!

A derelict BT phone box will be removed from Beddington Gardens in the next few days. The phone box does not work and BT have agreed that it can be scrapped ahead of works to improve pavements, lighting and stopping arrangements in Beddington Gardens.

The council will also relocate two BT phone boxes that are near Boots to a new spot further south in Woodcote Road.

Two more derelict and broken phone boxes close to Barclays Bank are proving to be more tricky to remove. Despite being an eyesore and not working the owners, Spectrum are digging in their heels and asking for compensation for them! We've had problems with a similar company called Interphone in the past and I successfully got their broken phone box removed from outside Chicken Cottage. I think the Council should remove the Spectrum boxes and put them into storage for Spectrum to collect. I’d be interested to know what you think about this idea?

Air Quality Monitoring Station

You have probably noticed the large lavender covered air quality monitoring station outside Iceland (middle of photo). This has been in situ for some years now and provides important information about pollution in the air in Wallington.

The box needs to be moved to allow the pavements to be widened and this has given us an opportunity. As with many things the technology for air quality monitoring has improved over time and it is now possible to do the same work with a much smaller unit. So the old box will be removed and a smaller box will be installed a few metres away next to new seating.

The old box will be sold to another local authority.

Pedestrian Crossing Wallington Square

A number of people have contacted me to raise concerns about the traffic lights in Woodcote Road adjacent to Wallington Square.

These lights have not been working properly and people have had to wait a long time for a pedestrian ‘green man’ to allow them to cross the road. Transport for London fixed the problem yesterday and the lights are now working as they should. The lights were previously connected to the set that have been removed from the junction with Beddington Gardens, but they had not been reprogrammed to take account of the changes.

They seem to be working fine today.