As you may already be aware, Southwark council have introduced a number of road closures in our area. Their apparent reasoning for these closures is for a new ‘low emission neighbourhood’ to help encourage cycling and ‘social distancing’. However, this is very misleading, and these road closures will have a huge effect on all of us. The following issues listed below will occur as a result of the new changes: -

 

·       There are many elderly/vulnerable people who live in our community who rely on quick responses from the emergency services. With access being blocked on Cooks Road, in the event of an emergency, emergency service vehicles will have to use alternate routes to tend to these people. They will be required to use the roads that we will now be jammed up due to road closures. This will increase their emergency response time. Bear in mind that the 3 roads closures that I have highlighted in this letter are not the only roads that have been closed in the area. Go to https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3579192 to find out more.

·       For the drivers who live in our community, to get to Kennington Park Road or Walworth Road, your only exit out of the area is now via John Ruskin Street. The junction that connects John Ruskin street to Walworth Road is already heavily congested during the day so this will bring traffic much further down John Ruskin Street than before. Not only will this have a massive effect on travel time, John Ruskin Primary School and all residents of John Ruskin Street will now be subjected to very high levels of emissions. What the council have actually done is reduce emissions in one small area and made it extremely high in another. Where is the care for the residents of John Ruskin Street? Where is the care for the very young students that attend John Ruskin Primary school?

·       Many of our elderly neighbours rely on their cars to go to shops on Walworth road to buy essentials. They will now have to endure heavy traffic on John Ruskin Street just to do this.

·       What happens when Walworth Road or John Ruskin Street gets temporarily blocked due to a burst water main or an accident for example? There will be 0 exits out of the area for cars. You will be completely boxed in.

·       As drivers we pay tax to use these roads only to have further restrictions on where we are allowed & not allowed access to.

·       Where is the council’s care for the delivery drivers in our area who will now suffer financially, making far less deliveries, due the number of detours they must now take to access roads? These delivery drivers are the same people who, rightly so, the government have labelled ‘key workers’ during this current COVID-19 pandemic. Is this how we treat our key workers?

·       Lastly, how do road closures for cars help with social distancing? The council is using trigger words to make people think they are doing something for the greater good in order for them to receive support for these controlling changes that they continue to enforce on us.

 

If you disagree with the above closures being implemented permanently then please sign this petition. 

 

Also don't forget, to object/make a representation regarding this scheme you can do so by either: -

1.     Use the form labelled 'Parking - Road traffic and highway schemes - responding to statutory consultation notices' at www.southwark.gov.uk/statutoryconsultationnotices quoting reference ‘TMO2021-EXP03_LSP Walworth’.

2.     Send a statement via email to: traffic.orders@southwark.gov.uk

3.     Send a statement via letter to: Traffic Order consultations, Highways, Southwark Council, Environment and Leisure, P.O. Box 64529, London SE1P 5LX.