Boris’ transport plans for area not serious

EQRA is fighting tirelessly for improved transport links into town.

Boris’ attitude thus far (read City Hall’s latest response here) to transport in North Peckham has been sorely disappointing, and shows ignorance of the problems faced by residents. But we haven’t stopped raising the issue with City Hall.

Below are the points raised in our most recent letter to the Mayor.

• In the North Peckham area, approximately 6,000 residents are more than a mile from any railway station.
• The same 6,000 residents are served either by bus route 343 alone, or by bus routes 63, 343 and 363, all of which suffer overcrowding.
• Further home-building which is nearing completion will add to the population of this area, adding further pressure to the already inadequate public transport services.
• The area has benefitted from considerable urban regeneration work over recent years, nevertheless there remain pockets of deprivation.
• Poor public transport provision means North Peckham residents suffer poor access to jobs, education and services, hampering efforts to tackle the deprivation which persists in this area.
• The existing bus services provide few direct links to major centres of employment or main shopping areas, particularly from Southampton Wayand the surrounding streets where route 343 is the only local public transport service. The West End, for example, is approximately 3 miles away, yet requires a change of bus or changing from bus to tube to complete the journey. Since ?transfer? fares are not offered, this also means paying twice for the inconvenience of having to change.
• Extending bus route 168, which serves much of the same corridor as the Cross River Tram proposal, from Old Kent Road to Peckham would have provided very similar links to and from the North Peckham area.
• A suggestion to TfL (made by London Travelwatch) to extend bus route 168 from has been dismissed by TfL for being too costly, despite being priced at less than £1million per year.
• Cross River Tram would have opened up new journey opportunities to and from North Peckham. That the scheme was developed at all, prior to your review in 2008, suggests that there was a strong business case for it. It therefore makes no sense that there is apparently no case for improving bus services (at far less cost than building the tram).
• Thameslink is not a substitute for the Cross River Tram. We understand that the service levels from Peckham Rye station from 2016 will be 4 trains per hour, of 8-car length. The current service level is 4 trains per hour, of 8-car length, which already operate through the Thameslink tunnel to Farringdon, St Pancras and beyond. Completion of the Thameslink programme will therefore deliver no additional service frequency nor capacity compared to that which is currently provided.
• East London Line is not a substitute for Cross River Tram. Although the East London Line will open up some new links from Peckham Rye, these will be orbital rather than radial, avoiding Central London.
• We understand that the introduction of the East London Line may result in a worsenment in existing train services from Peckham Rye to Victoria, with fewer trains than at present.
• Neither the East London Line nor the Thameslink services will stop within 1 km of North Peckham.
• It could be argued that, in view of our proximity to Central London, residents of North Peckham could travel by bicycle. Many of the properties in this area are flats or apartments, where bicycle ownership may not be practical.
• The impending Cycle Hire scheme will not provide any docking stations in or near North Peckham.
• The proposed Cycle Superhighway from Lewisham to Victoria, running on an east-west axis through Peckham, is not a substitute for the Cross River Tram (or any alternative public transport service) running northwards from North Peckham into Central London.
• Whilst cycling is a practical mode of travel for some people for some journey purposes, it is certainly not practical for everyone, nor for every journey purpose.
• We would welcome an extension of the Underground to provide a tube station local to North Peckham. However, any such extension is currently no more than an unfunded aspiration which is not going to be delivered for at least another 15 years.
• The two additional journeys on route 343 are, of course, welcome as a much-needed first step, as are the measures introduced to run a more reliable service. Nevertheless, we believe they will fall far short of addressing the overcrowding problems which affect existing bus services in this area and northwards towards Elephant & Castle.
• Increasing the 343 also fails to provide the links which this area needs, to major centres of employment or shopping particularly in Central London. It is a shame that the resources being used to increase the 343 could not have been put to better use, for example by extending route 168. We would also remind you that since we pay taxes and Council Tax, we are paying for adequate levels of public transport yet we believe these are not being provided in the North Peckham area.

EQRA is awaiting a response which properly acknowledges and addresses the transport deficiencies afflicting the area.