Do you use Balham High Road?
If so, could you spare a couple of minutes to take part in the current Transport for London consultation on some changes to cycle lanes to the stretch near Tooting Bec station?
https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/cycling/balham-high-road/consult_view
I think it doesn’t go far enough – what do you think?
There have been lots of accidents on this part of the road and lots of people have signed the petitions to TfL to address this and look at all of the road from Tooting Bec to Balham station. These have included petitions by parents at St Anselms and Rutherford House School.
It is very disappointing that this proposal is just for a small stretch of road, is just thinking about cycling rather and could be a scheme to make Balham Boulevard dual carriageway a very attractive area for everyone. It looks like cyclists will still have to weave in and out of parked cars and around buses instead of having a dedicated and separate cycle lane. In other roads cycle lanes have been put in and bus stops are in the road rather than on the cycle lanes (e.g. the new cycle superhighway at Vauxhall) and here is the opportunity to put these in on the High Road too.
The current plans are really just tinkering with the Ritherdon Road junction and don’t look any safer or more attractive or enough to encourage more people to use this road for cycling.
It also doesn’t include a key demand of local residents to increase the length of the pedestrian lights at Tooting Bec.
Please do take part in the consultation by Sunday 15th November and include some of these points if you agree:
– does this make it safer for everyone including pedestrians and motorcyclists?
– why is this such a small stretch of road, and where are the plans for ‘Balham Boulevard’ which should all be joined up and not done separately
– we want proper separate cycles lanes not more shared ones, and ‘hanging bus stops’ in the road rather than the cycle lanes
– increase the length of the pedestrian lights at Tooting Bec station
– make the area outside Rutherford House School much safer – this doesn’t seem to be in this scheme either