We have been told by Lewisham Highways that two new pedestrian crossings are to be installed at key junctions in the area; Florence Road by the western end of Heald Street, and Brookmill Road just by the northern end of Friendly Street. These locations were highlighted in the concept map in the Healthy Neighbourhoods report following consultation with the community.
Both very welcome and needed in their respective locations. The Florence Road crossing also includes pavement widening and planting/rain gardens. The preliminary/concept designs are below for each of the sites.
A little bit more info was supplied by the designer at Lewisham Highways with regards to the Brookmill Road/Friendly Street crossing:
Brookmill Road, near Friendly Street has been highlighted during early engagement by local schools and residence as a key north-south pedestrian desire line. There are no formal crossing points at this location and one informal crossing point, north of Friendly Street. Pedestrian counts were undertaken through this section of Brookmill Road to determine where key pedestrian desire lines are to ensure the pedestrian crossing proposal is located correctly to maximise use. Surveys additionally saw motor vehicle volumes in this section of Brookmill Road are between 7,000 and 9,300 vehicles per day warranting the need for a formal crossing point.
The total volumes indicate Friendly Street is a significant pedestrian north-south route with peaks during school pick-up / drop-off times, supporting community feedback undertaken for the St Johns and Tanners Hill Healthy Neighbourhood scheme. The pedestrians crossing Brookmill Road to Friendly Street would therefore benefit from a formal pedestrian crossing, this would additionally provide a link to the park, be apart of the Active Travel Strategy Cycle Corridor 16 and link onto the cycleway C10.
We’re looking forward to seeing these key pieces of infrastructure go in. Bear in mind too that these are early designs, so if you have any thoughts or suggestions, you should contact Lewisham Highways.