Sutton Living Streets supports all of the proposed streetscape improvements for High Street, Sutton (Crown Road to Angel Hill) as outlined in the London Borough of Sutton’s informal public consultation leaflet (Local Safety Scheme reference T3074). If implemented, the proposals should help achieve the primary objectives of reducing accidents in the area, making the ‘road’ environment safer for pedestrians and cyclists, and reducing the speed of traffic accessing residential streets.
There are, nevertheless, certain reservations with some of the proposals as presented in the consultation. These generally relate to a concern that there could be an element of “lost opportunity” in the overall scheme, and that an even greater enhancement to the public realm could be achieved if the proposals were a little more robust. Additionally, it has been noted that several of the ideas put forward at the Community Street Audit in June 2009, and detailed in the London Borough of Sutton Community Safety Audit Report of the event, have not been adopted for the consultation stage. These include consultation options for a zebra crossing in Oakfield Road, an extension of the paved pavement across access points to car-parks and service roads, and a 20 mph speed limit.
Read the full response here:
ResponseToLocalSafetySchemePublicConsultation_September2009.
Jeremy Leach (Photo: Charlotte Gilhooly)
A presentation was given by Jeremy Leach of Southwark Living Streets[13], about what their group did and how they do it. Tips included starting summer meetings with a walkabout in an area of interest, invite local councillors to present on issues that they are working on, and to work at borough level (e.g. 20 mph speed limits), area level (e.g. particular project – Windsor Castle), and local level (e.g. planting, greening, and ‘splayed’ junctions[14]). Getting to know how the council works, by starting with local councillors and working across political parties. It helps if a member of the group is also a member of the local party. Now is a good time to present ideas with an election due next year. Continue reading ‘Workshop Two — Making your local group more effective [Supporters' Conference 2009]‘
Daniel Moylan (Photo: Charlotte Gilhooly)
Daniel said there were three things he wanted to briefly talk about, (and apologised for them being London-centric): shared space, Boris and some suggestions for us (i.e. the Living Streets organisation) Continue reading ‘Daniel Moylan, Conservative councillor and deputy leader Kensington and Chelsea, board member TfL [Supporters' Conference 2009]‘
Tony Armstrong (Photo: Charlotte Gilhooly)
Tony began by saying that Living Streets existed to make walking safe and attractive, and then went on to give some reminders of what could detract from these ideals, including: subways[1]; complicated and bewildering junctions (poor desire lines, often prioritised against people on foot); railings (as many are not there for safety but were installed before parking restrictions)[2]; pavement parking; lack of capacity (narrow pavement width with capacity traditionally provided for the motorist); the breakdown of communities (as highlighted by Professor Donald Appleyard in Liveable Streets, San Francisco (1981), and in a study by Joshua Hart, Bristol (2008)); and the obsession with street signs that, amongst other things, can give too much information to the motorist[3]. (Another twist on how roads are given priority over pavements was highlighted through the example of how roads were gritted during the snowy weather in February but pavements were not[4]). On the positive side Tony was generally supportive of the current policy climate including Manual for Streets (which Tony described as “an amazing document”, although he noted that some traffic engineers still do not know of its existence or, if they do, they may not refer to it simply because there is too much prescriptive guidance elsewhere), and sustainable transport initiatives (and again it was noted that there were some gaps between policy and reality). Continue reading ‘Tony Armstrong, chief executive Living Streets — new strategy and plans for years ahead [Supporters' Conference 2009]‘
Mike Loveday (Photo: Charlotte Gilhooly)
Mike gave a history of the organisation, highlighting decade by decade advances. In 1928, when the Pedestrians Association was formed, there was no Highway Code, no driving test (a driving license could be purchased for 5 shillings), and no speed limits. There were around 100,000 vehicles on the road and 6,127 road deaths were recorded during the year. By 2008 the number of vehicles has risen to 21 million while the number of deaths had fallen to 2,947. Continue reading ‘Mike Loveday, chair of Living Streets — putting Living Streets 80th year in context [Supporters' conference 2009]‘
Stonecot Hill in Sutton can look forward to a brighter and more colourful summer after volunteers from Sutton Living Streets gave the street planters a seasonal makeover.
Bright purple lavender plants and pink geraniums now shine alongside the more muted trees and shrubs, which themselves have had a timely trim.
The planting is part of Sutton Council’s Take Part Take Pride week, which encourages residents to organise events in their neighbourhoods to bring people together socially and to improve the places where they live.
Campaigner and keen gardener Charlotte Gilhooly said,
The planters have been dull for a long time and we wanted to do something about it now that summer’s here. We were really pleased when we heard about Take Part Take Pride and asked if we could use the opportunity to brighten up our neighbourhood. We’re delighted with the results and looking forward to keeping the planters in shape.
Sutton Council has been awarded Beacon status for promoting greener, safer and cleaner public spaces. The citation reads:
Sutton has a strong vision for the local area. The ‘Take Pride, Take Part’ theme is effective and there is strong emphasis on the environment. The Phoenix Centre is an excellent example of bringing services into the heart of a deprived community. The youth service, particularly the radio station which provides young people with skills in broadcasting and sound engineering, was really impressive. The Bee Hive café, which is run as a social enterprise, was inspirational.
Council leader Sean Brennan said:
This award is a tribute to the park rangers, the street teams, the conservationists and to our partners in the police service and in Smarter Travel Sutton – they have all worked together to ensure Sutton residents can enjoy clean streets, award-winning parks, top-notch recycling services, green travel opportunities and low crime rates.
Yesterday I went along to a free training event organised by Living Streets, Campaign for Better Transport and CTC. I was only able to go in the afternoon but I found the workshops really useful and above all it was a good chance to talk to people who were bringing about change in their local neighbourhoods.
