Weeks of debate and disagreement between Transport for London (TfL) and Southwark Council preceded the release of a report criticising the Dulwich Village Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN), emails reveal.
As reported by the News in July, the Herne Hill Signal Junction report by TfL said the Dulwich Village LTN was the “root cause” of congestion on Norwood and Croxted Roads. Many residents argued that this vindicated their long-held beliefs.
Croxted and Norwood Road congestion caused by LTN says TfL report
Now, emails released via a freedom of information request to TfL show a council officer feared the report would be “like a red rag to a bull”.
They also show that Dulwich Village’s Labour councillor Richard Leeming felt the report’s assertions were “unproven” and that he asked TfL to “reissue the report”.
Cllr Leeming’s concerns about the report were as follows:
- The report did not account for the impact of LTN scheme in Lambeth.
- It “could appear to describe the impact on bus journey times in Norwood Road and Croxted Road as a direct response to of the Dulwich scheme”.
- The description of the root cause of delays was “partial and unevidenced” and “cannot be published in its current form”.
- The lack of data to support assertions.
Refusing his request for changes, a TfL officer wrote: “The report has been reviewed and endorsed by both local authorities and as such, we won’t be making any updates to it.”
On July 7, Labour councillor Dulwich Village Margy Newens also emailed the same TfL officer saying the assertion that Dulwich Village was the sole cause of increased congestion was a “lazy assumption”.
In her email, she wrote: “It strikes me that a lazy assumption that the measures in Dulwich Village are the sole cause of increased congestion has hitherto stifled any inclination to properly investigate and understand the actual cause of the problem.”
Some Croxted Road residents have long argued that their street has been clogged up ever since the Dulwich Village LTN was introduced.
Foreseeing their reaction to the report, a Southwark Council officer emailed the TfL officer warning the report “will be like a red rag to a bull”.
Days after the report was issued, Catherine Rose, Southwark Council cabinet member for parks, streets and clean air, emailed TfL officers saying there were “clear issues on the sharing and dissemination of information and reports from TfL to officers, Cllrs and then residents”.
She said there was a “clear need” for a “parallel” report that took into account wider infrastructure changes such as the Ultra Low Emission Zone and road works in surrounding areas.
Cllr Rose concluded by saying engagement with Croxted Road residents was “best served” by TfL and Lambeth Council, adding that Southwark would “support this”.
In a statement given to the News Cllr Richard Leeming said: “Right from the start of the Streetspace project Southwark Council has understood the importance of sharing as much accurate information with residents in Dulwich Village as possible. That’s why I asked TfL to write a detailed summary describing the work they had carried out to the traffic signals at Herne Hill. Unfortunately, the report that came back to us was badly written, contained several inaccuracies, left out lots of relevant information and drew conclusions that were not supported by any evidence. It did not meet our standards for high-quality, accurate and detailed communication with residents. In my haste to stop this badly drafted report being made public I inadvertently cc’d local residents on an email. This was an error for which I apologise.”
Cllr Catherine Rose, Cabinet Member for Parks, Streets and Clean Air, said: “While we agree with much of TfL’s report, we refute their claim that the Dulwich Streetspace measures were solely responsible for congestion on Croxted Road during 2020 to 2021. Our more recent survey work shows current levels of congestion are caused from multiple directions through Herne Hill.”
Cllr Rose said that changes in Lambeth, works reducing space under the Herne Hill Bridge, traffic during school term time, and other variables, all could have caused congestion too.
Cllr Margy Newens said: “Both TfL and Southwark Council traffic count data show that the volume of traffic on Croxted Road is consistently lower than it was pre-pandemic. This fact together with area-wide data and the interaction of multiple traffic interventions on both sides of the borough boundary point to a complex problem that demands an area-wide solution. Oversimplifying the causes of the problem serves simply to deflect attention from the real issues and delay their resolution.”
In a joint statement, former Tory candidates for Dulwich Village Clive Rates and Tristan Honeyborne wrote: “The correspondence reveals both their denial of the pollution and congestion they have caused and an embarrassing attempt to cover up their failures; they have sought to raise a smokescreen and shift the blame to Lambeth, the neighbouring Labour council.
“Southwark Labour has a duty to work effectively with TfL if they are going to deliver real transport improvements for the borough, and they are clearly struggling to do this. In Dulwich, our Labour Councillors are sticking their heads in the sand, on the failed Dulwich LTN and on other issues, and continuing to let down our community.
“Councillor Rose claims that the failed Dulwich LTN has been a success based on falls in the measured traffic flows. This is no success – it simply reflects the fact that traffic has been reduced to a standstill. As TFL have confirmed, congestion has demonstrably increased.”