46 comments

• Comment Link Thursday, 09 July 2020 12:43 posted by Ben

  The intention is good but the application is flawed. To slap on a title to the plan under the banner Lower Sunbury Covid-19 Social Distancing is farcical. This is not for Covid, this is racking up cost to justify Council budgets or they get reduced funding for the next financial year. There are less vehicles on the roads in Lower Sunbury at the moment so what is the point of controlling/reducing traffic now. Pedestrians are more frequent and traffic is down. This appears pointless on the face of it.
  
  Now there are major issues with this proposal which I will list below. I am a Civil Engineer by profession so I would like to think that I know a thing or two about urban planning. So please bear with me. This is long but I will also list alternative options after so please read on. I reference the plan supplied and my commentary follows the plan from left to right. This is a summary and all these options can be looked at in loads more details.
  
  1. Blocking off Thames Street and Nursery Road for traffic towards Walton pushes all residential traffic back to Sunbury Cross leading up to Windmill Road and further congesting Upper Halliford Road. Increasing time spend in your vehicle and noise/air pollution. This also cuts off direct access to businesses such as Squires which many a resident visits for essentials during Covid and before that a nice weekend breakfast.
  2. Moving in the other direction. Anyone trying to access Nursery Road to get to the school there and on Green Street would need to approach from Sunbury Cross. Reducing access from 2-3 ways in down to 1. When your suburb is flanked by a natural watercourse you cannot limit access routes or everyone will be boxed in at one time or another.
  3. Any traffic on Staines Road East trying to take a short cut through Lower Sunbury on the way to Kingston will travel down the Avenue, be pushed all the way down to Thames Street due to the 3 road closures, only to realise that Thames Street is blocked off at the island and have nowhere to turn around on one of the narrowest roads in our village. Likewise, if they do turn around they are back up the Avenue or up Green Street and congesting Sunbury Cross again. Keeping traffic in the area not dispersing it quickly.
  4. All residents between the Avenue and French Street will be funnelled to French Street and the suburbs to the right of that increasing the already busy Oakington to Bramwell Close route. This is an area at the beginning of the 'Green Strip' where many residents walk their dogs, ride bikes, take there young families and proceed on foot all the way down to Green Street to the parks that are offshoots to this pedestrian thoroughfare. Now more traffic will be diverted closer to pedestrians which is apparently the point of these proposals.
  5. The plan also shows that the Butts, off Elizabeth Gardens, is a vehicle access road. If the planner knew anything about Lower Sunbury, which up to now it's clear they don't, the Butts is a public footpath. Therefore, everyone in Kingsmead Avenue and adjoining streets are funnelled to French Street. Same issues as above and an absolute pain for those residents.
  6. Lastly the final closure Hampton Road/Kenton Avenue. Now there are 3 closures in this road along the Thames. Any resident living between these closures are forced to Staines Road East and will contribute to the congestion on that road. No question.
  
  I understand that the proposal will benefit residents who work locally. But my guess is that there are very few in comparison to those that commute and the elderly or disabled that require vehicular transportation to get around. The above is a critical assessment of the limited information presented to us as Lower Sunbury residents. If there is more info/data that backs up the proposal then show it. But right now all that this is doing is highlighting the absolute incompetence of the planner who sat in front of their PC and drew little red lines and circles on a plan thinking it was a good idea. And if there is no data then I can assure you any testing and traffic flow analysis during this time will not reflect the actual issues because of the impact of Covid-19 and reduced traffic flow. Planners would have to wait years to accurately assess traffic flows and patterns before proposing anything. If this proposal is for the safety and convenience of residents, it is doing the absolute opposite.
  
  In the spirit of positive criticism, one should present solutions and not just be critical. That's progress, therefore:
  
  1. The traffic calming measures implemented in French Street work well. It's a pain for French Street parking but it physically slows vehicles down. This should be done on Harfield Road, Manor Lane, the Avenue,etc.
  2. The money should be spent on upgrading all road surfaces. Harfield Road, Hampton Road, Green Street, Nursery Road and many others need to be upgraded and maintained. Use the money where there is a need.
  3. Install cameras to actually catch people who ignore the rules and pose a danger to residents. The ones' that this proposal is supposed to stop from negatively impacting residents that want to enjoy the area. 20mph is annoying but around the village centre with narrow streets it's necessary. Therefore I would support that throughout Lower Sunbury. Harfield Road is a boy racer paradise and quite frankly Lower Sunbury does have an issue with speeding vehicles everywhere. So use technology to implement positive change.
  4. Police the area more. There is a huge issue with anti-social behaviour, drugs, fireworks not confined to holidays and general nuisance from individuals who take advantage of an older community and couples with young families. Use funds for that instead of hair-brain road closure ideas.
  5. Work on better parking options for residents to clear congested roads with parking on both sides. Make parking lots around the village safer for residents as these are used by drug dealers and addicts. The crazy thing is all residents know the problems but law enforcement and the council do nothing. The politics of all this is actually to do the easiest thing and not deal with core issues. There is money there for your budget, use it!
  5. And one for the dreamers, a new footpath/cycle bridge over the Thames to the Walton side. Cyclists will then have both sides of the Thames to cycle along. Harmony for drivers and cyclists alike.
  
  If we as residents allow these 'temporary' closure measures to be installed then the battle is lost. They will stay there indefinitely and we will all just bemoan the time the council lied to us but be stuck with an absolute horror of a commute every day. We should have legal representation on this and residents should be informed and allowed to vote on any future traffic calming/alteration measures. The council has everyone's addresses so post a letter to each resident, but don't send this out via back channels and call it a public consultation.
  
  I respect the need for innovation. But not every idea is a good one. Let's be sensible about this one and confine it to the bad idea pile and move on. And perhaps try out a few of the suggestions that might actually improve Lower Sunbury. Just a thought. I hope that someone who can actually make a change will be able to read this.
• Comment Link Thursday, 09 July 2020 12:18 posted by Michelle Gillham

  I would like to know what LOSRA are going to do about this.
• Comment Link Thursday, 09 July 2020 09:04 posted by TS

  Forget the hot sunny days of lockdown, that wasn’t real life.
  This scheme is madness.
  We already have a by-pass, it’s called the A308. Most of the people who drive in or through Lower Sunbury are other locals from the surrounding area, either bringing their children to school on their way to work, or driving through from Laleham to Kingston, or Hampton to Walton, as they’ve always done, - in the same way I might drive through Shepperton to get to Staines. We are just part of a string of riverside towns and villages.
  Don’t make like more difficult for everyone, not now. Leave things as they are.
• Comment Link Wednesday, 08 July 2020 20:37 posted by anne clinton

  Pros and cons for me, this scheme makes my drive to work far far longer, condemning me to heavy traffic queues. On the other hand I do try to cycle to work 3 times a week and this will make my cycle so much safer, it can be very dangerous through Sunbury on a bike. The road through Sunbury on Thames simply isn't wide enough for vehicles like buses and lorries, and for cars driving at speed. On balance safety must come first.
• Comment Link Wednesday, 08 July 2020 18:19 posted by K. P

  I think this is fantastic idea. My husband is a key worker in Walton and has been able to cycle to work for the first time past 3 months without fear of being knocked off his bike. The roads have been so much calmer and safer. The more people who have the confidence to cycle or walk to their destination is potentially one less car on the road causing congestion.
  There’s far too much unnecessary reliance on cars here that it penalises those who truly need to use them. .
• Comment Link Wednesday, 08 July 2020 17:47 posted by JO

  Bad idea - poorly thought through.
  We live on the western edge of Lower Sunbury with two young children and we’d essentially be locked out of the Avenue parade of shops and would also need to travel at least an extra 30 mins to head to the east of us (ie Hampton/Kingston etc) which we need to for work and school. Walking or cycling these journeys is not feasible for us. This would be bad for the local economy/businesses and bad for the wider environment due to longer commutes for workers and families in their vehicles who have no other alternative. It will also significantly increase traffic issues to other streets in the area.
• Comment Link Wednesday, 08 July 2020 10:11 posted by JH

  I think this is a brilliant idea. Did you enjoy the peacefulness during lockdown? I did. Making Lower Sunbury quieter, calmer, and safer has only positive outcomes. It just means you have to go a slightly different route to get to your destination, that's all.
• Comment Link Wednesday, 08 July 2020 09:40 posted by Sharon

  I used this route four times a day to get to work in Kingston as many others do. So your only going to divert the traffic to all other areas and have the same problems. Its a rubbish idea.
• Comment Link Wednesday, 08 July 2020 07:17 posted by Jim Morrison

  i appluad the council for trying to come up with new ideas but i cant see how this could be implemented & policed. Its a good idea to try and encourage those who could feasibly walk to their destination (like the lady who drives her grandkids from Claremont Ave to Nursery Rd) rather than drive however i would rather see the effort spent on a foot/cycle bridge to Walton. That would also increase cycling and walking.
• Comment Link Tuesday, 07 July 2020 19:29 posted by Angus McClellan

  So this is going to increase traffic on all surrounding roads which I live on. It means it puts my children at more risk due to increase in traffic especially when walking to and from school.
  These closures are also going to increase traffic congestion which will have an impact on pollution in Lower Sunbury. I will be sending my concerns to both the highway agency and LORSA. I furthermore feel these closures are illegal as not proper consultation or communication has been gained by local residents.
  I do feel it is disgusting that the council thinks to put this in place to protect people on bicycles from most outside the area yet nothing is put in place to put things in place to protect our own local children on bicycles.