For bus users, it must feel like there’s no end to changes to local services. Earlier this summer, people learned that several Southwark bus routes faced the axe and many more could be modified.
Then in August, far from people using buses less since Covid, we learned that many bus routes at risk of the chop had higher passenger numbers than pre-pandemic levels.
And now, people must contend with this latest curveball – that Southwark might make Rye Lane a one-way street, reducing bus services.
Many will say the proposal indicates a lack of joined-up thinking. Network Rail are pouring millions of pounds into the Peckham Rye Station upgrade, which will improve station accessibility. How then can the council consider making the station less accessible by removing half of the bus stops outside it?
In July 2020, during the pandemic, Rye Lane was temporarily pedestrianised to encourage social distancing and we saw the impact that had on people with mobility problems.
Brian Williams, a blind man who uses a guide dog, said he found the long walk from the bus to the station “challenging”. But it’s not just the old and vulnerable who could suffer. A whole cross-section of society needs convenient buses.
Cat Owen, who lives in Sydenham, told this paper in September 2021 that she “never felt safe” going down Rye Lane alone at night when it was fully pedestrianised. She felt the reintroduction of public transport was essential: “I always get catcalled. The walk to the next bus stop is about six minutes and that makes a difference when you’re being harassed.”
Once again – there’s that question of ‘joined-up thinking’. On the one hand, we have the Mayor of London delivering the Women’s Night Safety Charter. We also saw the Jubilee Line night tube reopened in May, with women’s safety a key reason for its reinstatement. How then does it make sense to then imperil women’s ability to walk Peckham’s streets alone at night by removing buses?
There is also the issue of businesses. Soon after Rye Lane was pedestrianised, Peckham bar ‘Canavan’s Pool Club’ saw problems with its beer deliveries which hit its revenues.
While full pedestrianisation is a more drastic measure than making the street one-way, we know the impact transport changes can have on local business and this must be considered going forward. There will undoubtedly be some who applaud the proposal and will vote in favour of it. More pedestrianisation may well help cultivate more of a community spirit. Some people may well like the idea of a Sunday morning stroll down Rye Lane without dodging dual lanes of taxis, buses, cars and bikes.
But with so many people concerned about the impact of the proposed changes, Southwark Council must seriously consider its implications for a multitude of demographics.