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davide
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(Date Posted:07/02/2008 12:20 PM)

In the two years I have lived here I have noticed a definite increase in traffic.

There was always traffic in the morning rush hour, as Rectory Grove is used as "rat run" by those wishing to avoid Clapham High Street when driving towards the city. Because of the one-way bridge in Larkhall Rise however, it cannot be used as a return route in the evening.

However the traffic now seems consistently heavier throughout the day. As I sit here at 6pm there is an almost constant stream of cars, when once the road would have been quiet.

I get the impression that the council have worsened the junction next to Clapham Common Tube, by reducing the road to one lane at a certain point, since there seem to be more often queues there. So I wonder if more people are avoiding the Clapham High Street route and seeking other routes.

Also in the past six months the council has made the North Street / Wandsworth Rd junction a "No Right Turn" (yet more unnecessary tinkering with road layouts, IMHO), and I wonder whether people are now using Rectory Grove to get to Vauxhall, since they can no longer turn right into Wandsworth Rd. They have a Lambeth Council car with CCTV sitting there almost every day trying to catch people turning right.

Has anyone else noticed changed traffic patterns in this area, and have any ideas why?

I also noticed there was a traffic survey being conducted recently (those measuring cables laid across the road) in Rectory Grove and North St; does anyone know what that was for and whether there are any more road changes being considered?
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RE:Traffic in Old Town (Rectory Grove)
(Date Posted:13/02/2008 4:24 PM)

I live in Rectory Grove and  have noticed a definite increase in traffic in the last year.  I agree with you that the no right turn at the North Street/Wandsworth Road junction, together with the lamentably ill-conceived  changes up by the Underground Station are surely to blame.  I plan to write to the Lambeth Transport and Roads people to ask them to do something about it as these days traffic should be discouraged from using residential areas as rat-runs.  Some radical thinking is perhaps needed here.    Pedestrianisation of the Old Town area where the buses currently stop may be an idea.  I suspect we shall see more and more anti-car policies in the coming years which will help alleviate the problem anyway, but in the meantime perhaps we can ask the council to make the area a Home Zone with a 20 mph speed limit, and put in more raised pedestrian crossings.
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RE:Traffic in Old Town (Rectory Grove)
(Date Posted:17/02/2008 2:39 PM)

I think it would be great for you to raise this issue with the Council directly. They ought to be listening to the concerns of residents an not making arbitrary rules
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RE:Traffic in Old Town (Rectory Grove)
(Date Posted:18/02/2008 2:12 PM)

There was actually a lot of consultation about 4 or 5 years ago, with lots of grand ideas.  In fact many of us lobbied to keep the Larkhall Rise railway bridge closed permanently when it was shut for being unsafe about the same time. Particularly as it is part of the London Cycle network

The no right turn at North St is bizarre, because now people come through the back roads such as Orlando to get Wandsworth road which is ridiculous. 

The right turn detection camera is nothing more than a council income generator as well.

Could luck with the council lobbying!
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RE:Traffic in Old Town (Rectory Grove)
(Date Posted:25/02/2008 10:21 AM)

I sent the following to the council on 8th Feb, copied to my councillor. No reply as yet.

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Re: Wandsworth Road / North Street Junction

 

I am sorry to find that you have decided to make the junction of North Street / Wandsworth Road (approached from the North Street side) a “No Right Turn” junction. This is a significant junction and, in my opinion, traffic needs to be able to turn right here. There is no obvious alternative route from Clapham Old Town towards Vauxhall.

 

I have noticed a significant increase in traffic along Rectory Grove since this change was made. This is a residential road with speed bumps, parked cars, and a weight limited, narrow bridge – as well as newly created cycle lanes. It is not suitable to carry a major traffic flow between Clapham and Vauxhall.

 

I request you please to reverse this unnecessary road change, and alleviate the adverse effects this has caused for my neighbourhood.


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I agree the junction by Clapham Common Tube also seems to have been made worse by the road layout changes last year. The road has been narrowed from two lanes to one for a few yards, causing a bottleneck where previously there was none. The council is obviously anti-car, but since this junction is used by buses as well these also now have to sit in the queue.
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RE:Traffic in Old Town (Rectory Grove)
(Date Posted:26/02/2008 6:44 AM)

I used to live on Larkhall Rise, and just off it on Brayburne Avenue after that, and the traffic down LR was horrific (this was around '98/'99).  Traffic used to be choc-a-bloc in both directions as it was the best rat run to avoid Clapham High Street and Wandsworth Road.  Then they closed the bridge over the railway in both directions, and the change was astounding, obviously, with nothing passing through.

Even when they re-opened the bridge to one-way traffic, the road remained very calm compared to how it was - and even now, I'm amazed at how quiet it is around the Larkhall Rise area, although it's been a while since I was there during rush hour. 

However bad it is now, trust me, it's a million times better than before!
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RE:Traffic in Old Town (Rectory Grove)
(Date Posted:27/02/2008 8:06 AM)

Thanks Phil, interesting to know. I have only been here since 2005 so don't know what it was like before that.
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