Comments in response from CLP meeting on 28 November.

December 2018

Following a discussion at our Constituency Labour Party meeting on 28 November, I am writing with comments in response to your consultation, as we were invited to do by Councillor Ian Dunn. I have also completed the online questionnaire on the subject.

Firstly, we thank the council for your work in producing the report. However, we felt that the document lacked much substance, especially given its very long length. Since there was little in it that was specific, there was little to object to, and therefore we broadly support the report, but we would have liked to see more commitment to the following ideas:

• The focus on cycling and travel on foot is welcomed. However, cycle routes need to be design with safety in mind. A white line in the road does not provide safety for cyclists.
• With this in mind, traffic should be limited to speeds of 20 mph where appropriate, although the meeting acknowledged that this limit cannot be enforced by police at present. A reduction in the speed limit could be implemented straight away and would incur minimal costs.
• In addition, there is desperate need for more pedestrian crossings on the stretch of road (Crofton Road, Crofton Lane and Towncourt Lane) between Orpington Station and Petts Wood in order to protect and encourage pedestrians. There are other especially dangerous spots in Petts Wood, such as at the junction between St John’s Road, Tudor Way and Fairway, that also require safety improvements for those on foot.
• Though we welcome the suggestion that bus services should be improved in potential ‘leisure areas’ such as Downe and Biggin Hill, there are issues with bus services not running on Sundays throughout Orpington.
• There is a need to look at school admissions policies and restrict parking around schools in order to achieve a reduction in pollution levels.
• We were pleased to see addressed the issue of public transport services to local hospitals. However, parking around the Princess Royal University Hospital needs to be considered. Provision is very poor considering and scale of the hospital. Any further development in the area will cause traffic gridlock unless more parking is provided.
• We are strongly supportive of the introduction of step-free access to train stations throughout the borough.

We hope that our comments are helpful and look forward to seeing improvements in local transport provision in the coming months and years.

Many thanks.

Consultation on Bromley’s Local Implementation Plan for the Mayor of London’s Transport Strategy is online at https://www.bromley.gov.uk/info/200107/transport_policy/535/local_implementation_plan.
The deadline for responding to online questionnaire is 13 Jan 2019.