St Helier Avenue

Proposals

We want to improve bus services on St Helier Avenue and make the area a safer environment for pedestrians. We propose:

• Introducing over 1.5km of new bus lanes operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on a 1.6km stretch of road (both directions accounted for)
• Two new pedestrian crossings at Langdon Walk and Dore Gardens, making St Helier Avenue easier to cross as highlighted by the community
• Widening footways/pavements at side road junctions to increase space for pedestrians
• Increasing parking restrictions by changing single red lines to double red lines, changing parking operating hours and removing some parking bays, making bus journeys quicker
• Retain existing cycle track along western footway of St Helier Avenue
• Support existing speed restrictions (20mph)
  
  

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Summary of changes

• Parking bay just after Boxley Road to be removed and replaced with double red lines in order to provide better benefits for buses

• Footway buildout at Connaught Gardens provides more space for people walking and makes vehicles travel more slowly reducing risk of accidents occurring

• New bus lane at Connaught Gardens bus stop allows buses to pull in and pull out efficiently

• Footway buildout at Arras Avenue provides more space for pedestrians. Parking bay to be inset into the footway buildout

• New traffic light-signalled crossing at Langdon Walk, providing point for crossing St Helier Avenue safely

• New traffic light-signalled crossing at Netley Gardens, providing point for crossing St Helier Avenue safely

• Cycle track realigned at Langdon Walk to enable creation of new traffic-signalled safe crossing point

• Shared use area created for people walking and cycling at Netley Gardens to enable creation of new traffic-signalled safe crossing point

• More double red lines along St Helier Avenue increase restrictions and make buses run more reliably more frequently

• Buses suffer less delays due to parking restrictions preventing other vehicles blocking their travel on St Helier Avenue

• 1600m of new bus lane with 24/7 operation allows buses to proceed quickly and reliably along St Helier Avenue

• Footway built out at Rose Hill Roundabout bus stop increases waiting space for bus users and prevents situations where buses cannot pull out into traffic to continue journeys
  
  

Why?

Supporting large numbers of people reliant on bus travel

A lack of dedicated space on the road for buses hinders their journey times and reliability. This is not right and affects many Londoners who are reliant on bus travel. Buses are London’s most accessible mode of transport, with over 95% of stops being accessible for step-free users. Buses represent around one in five of all journeys made in London, with over 94% of Londoners living within 400 metres of a bus stop. Over 95% of stops are accessible for step-free users. Buses also remain the cheapest form of public transport as cost-of-living increases.

Making the bus service fast and efficient

New dedicated bus lanes with longer operating hours help ensure fast and efficient journeys on public transport. New bus lanes are vital to enhancing the bus network in outer London, as they help to improve the speed and reliability of bus services, making buses a more attractive option for more people. Increasing parking restrictions makes it less likely that other vehicles will delay buses, either through parking in bus lanes or narrowing space for buses to overtake.

Making London transport greener and more sustainable

The Mayor’s Transport Strategy aims for 80% of all trips by 2041 to be through sustainable modes. Buses are a sustainable mode of travel, moving large groups of people in less road space. Changes such as those proposed here are critical for London’s transport network, for creating Healthy Streets and enabling the city to transition to net zero.

Making the bus service fast and efficient

Increasing parking restrictions makes it less likely that other vehicles will delay buses, either through parking in bus lanes or narrowing space for buses to overtake. New dedicated bus lanes with longer operating hours help ensure fast and efficient journeys on public transport.

Protecting pedestrians with new crossings

Pedestrians are vulnerable road users: when accidents happen, they are the group most likely to be severely injured. There have been 11 incidents on St Helier Avenue in the last 36 months. Local stakeholders previously have suggested new crossings to TfL. Two new traffic-signalled crossings on St Helier Avenue provide ways to cross the road safely.

Encouraging lower vehicle speeds with widened footways

Higher than necessary speeds increase the likelihood of serious accidents occurring. Widening footways/pavements reduces the risk of this occurring in two ways. First, narrower traffic lanes encourage vehicles to travel more cautiously. Second, building out footways at corners means vehicles will need to slow down when turning.

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How it impacts you

The proposals will make buses run more reliably and effectively

• The inclusion of double red lines reduces the likelihood parked vehicles will disrupt buses
• 1600 metres of new bus lane and 24/7 operational hours provides smooth passage for buses along the road
• The proposals protect bus movements by amending two bus stops, reorganising them to help buses pull in and out of stops without disruption
  
  
  CGI showing proposed bus lane on St Helier Avenue

  
  

The proposals improve the area for pedestrians

• Increased footway space means a more comfortable environment for people walking
• Building out footways at corners and making turning angles more acute ensures vehicles turn at safe speeds
• Two brand new crossings on St Helier Avenue signalised by traffic lights allows people to cross safely
  
  
  CGI showing proposed pedestrian crossing on St Helier Avenue

  
  

To achieve a vision where we improve bus services and make the area safer for pedestrians, we had to amend parking and cycling infrastructure

• To prioritise bus movements, proposals remove some parking bays and reduce others in length. We undertook parking and loading surveys for all affected locations across the scheme to ensure our proposed changes were suitable
• Some bays are made inset or moved on to the footway to prevent them interacting with moving traffic.
• Operating hours of parking and loading bays updated
• Cycling lane modified at locations of two new traffic-signalled crossings, either by creating an intermediary space shared with pedestrians or re-aligning the cycle lane

For full details of proposed changes please view our maps and Frequently Asked Questions.

Equalities Impact Assessment

Our Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) identifies:

• The effects proposals could have on people with protected characteristics
• Our proposals for minimising any negative impacts

After we’ve considered all comments the EqIA will be reviewed. It influences decision-making on whether to proceed with changes following public consultation.

More Information

We have provided more information to help you respond:

Accessible Information

We want to make sure everyone is able to take part in our consultations. To help make it accessible to everyone we have provided:

Tell us your views

You can reply by completing our survey, which should take no more than 10 minutes to completeor if you are short on time, you can submit a quick response.

The closing date for comments is 26 June 2024.

Questions?

You can use our question tool during the consultation period. We will respond your questions as soon as we can.

You can also phone us on 020 3054 6037 to leave your name and contact number and we will call you back. Please quote 'St Helier Avenue' when leaving your message.

Or you can ask your question in person at our drop-in event:

• Wednesday 5 June (15:00-19:00), Morden Underground Station, London Road, Morden, SM4 5AZ

This will give you an opportunity to get further information about the proposals and provide your thoughts and feedback, to allow us to consider your views.

If you are unable to make this date and time and would like to discuss the proposals further with us, please get in touch and we can respond to your queries directly.

Next steps

These proposals are subject to the outcome of our consultation. Once consultation ends on 26 June 2024, we will spend time considering all the responses we receive and will prepare a consultation report.

The report will be available to everyone that takes part in the consultation and a copy will be published on our website.