The frequency of buses on the C10 route (Canada Water to Victoria via Elephant & Castle) is to be increased.
Transport for London has re-awarded the contract to run the route to Abellio London.
Under the new contract which begins in March 2016, a new fleet of single deck buses will be introduced.
The number of vehicles required to run the route at peak times will be increased from 15 to 19.
At present the C10 runs every 10 minutes at peak times and every 12 minutes during the day.
Rotherhithe councillors have delivered a 300-signature petition to City Hall highlighting local concern about the performance of the C10 bus route.
Councillors Stephanie Cryan, Kath Whittam and Bill Williams launched the petition back in January after official figures showed that many journeys had been curtailed early or missed out the Rotherhithe peninsula altogether, meaning extended waits for passengers. Some 6 per cent of journeys do not reach the peninsula.
‘The C10 is an important neighbourhood bus service which people rely on, and far too often, the Rotherhithe peninsula is missed out by drivers who may be delayed and need to make up time,” said Val Shawcross AM, who will now pass the petition on to Mayor of London Boris Johnson.
“TfL have told me that various road works are putting pressure on the route, and while I appreciate that this can cause temporary issues, the regularity with which buses are bypassing Rotherhithe has become a big problem.
“I congratulate Rotherhithe’s representatives for putting this petition together; I hope it will persuade TfL to take proper action now.’
Cllr Stephanie Cryan said: “Rotherhithe residents feel let down by TfL. The fact that a significant number of journeys are curtailed before they get to the peninsula causes regular inconvenience and disruption to people’s daily routine.
“With the population growing there will be increased demand on these services and TfL need to bring this bus route up to scratch.”
Transport charity Sustrans is carrying out a detailed feasibility study into its plan to build a bridge for walkers and cyclists across the River Thames between Canary Wharf and Rotherhithe.
Transport for London has granted funding of £170,000, supplemented with £30,000 from businesses in the area, for Sustrans to investigate the potential of the new bridge, and the detailed study is due to be completed in August.
Current plans envisage a new 400-metre long bridge spanning the river between Rotherhithe and the Isle of Dogs with an opening section in the middle to allow ships to pass.
Sustains claims the bridge could be open as soon as 2020.
“Sustrans is delighted to have received this funding from TfL and other partners to be able to move forward with the feasibility work on this crossing,” said Malcolm Shepherd, Chief Executive of Sustrans.
“It could enable millions of sustainable cross-river journeys and make it far easier for people to choose a healthier travel option.
“With high-quality links to destinations either side, it will make walking and cycling a real choice for hundreds of thousands of residents, workers and visitors”.
Richard de Cani, TfL’s managing director for planning, said: “As London’s population grows towards 10 million people, we need a number of new river crossings to improve connectivity and reduce congestion on existing road and rail services.
“A new pedestrian and cycle crossing between the Isle of Dogs and Rotherhithe and Canada Water would encourage more people to walk and cycle to Canary Wharf, improving access to amenities and jobs and providing an alternative to the Jubilee line for shorter trips.
“TfL is working with Sustrans and the private sector on developing this proposal by pledging funding towards the first phase of feasibility work.”
Isabel Dedring, Deputy Mayor for Transport said: “More than a third of London’s expected population growth is expected to happen in East London and we urgently need more crossings – for all types of transport users. So we are delighted to be able to offer this funding to help progress Sustrans’ proposed cycling and walking bridge.”
Liberal Democrat London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon added: “Unlike the Garden Bridge this is a bridge that is desperately needed and where public money should be spent.
“A pedestrian and cycling bridge linking Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf would help reduce congestion by making it so much easier to get between Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf by foot or bike. It would link two parts of London and help ease overcrowding on the Jubilee Line.
“I have long backed cyclists who have been campaigning for this new crossing and it is real credit to them and of course to Simon Hughes that this first step is now being taken in making this bridge a reality.”
From the Southwark Council website:
Stakeholders have asked that the council carry out a review of parking within Southwark Park.
The aim of the project is to improve the parking facilities for genuine park visitors.
The review covers the road that runs between Gomm Gate and Southwark Park Road Gate, as well as the car park off Hawkstone Road.
Boris Johnson says there are “no plans” to extend the cycle hire scheme – despite recent comments by his cycling commissioner who said he had been holding discussions with Southwark Council about bringing bike hire to more of the borough,
The Mayor’s remarks – in a written answer to a question tabled by Labour’s Val Shawcross AM – will come as a disappointment to those hoping to see red bikes on the Rotherhithe peninsula in the near future.
Cycle Hire in Rotherhithe
Question No: 2015/1057
Valerie Shawcross
I have been contacted by residents in Rotherhithe who are keen to see the cycle hire scheme expanded on Rotherhithe peninsula particularly near the riverfront as there currently are no cycle hire facilities in this vicinity. Please can this be considered?
Written response from the Mayor
As explained in MQ 2014 /3442, there are no plans to expand the scheme outside of the current footprint at this time.
The main focus for the Cycle Hire scheme, at present, is to identify locations for more ‘intensification’ sites with our borough partners within the existing footprint of the scheme. By increasing the density of docking points, particularly in Central London, users will have greater opportunity to hire and dock bikes and the redistribution operation will be more efficient.
This said, I view the scheme as an expanding programme and TfL is more than happy to look at suggested sites and areas, subject to a range of criteria that must be met for docking station installation. These include topography, operational considerations and future funding.
Both boroughs and private landowners who are interested in Santander Cycle docking stations are encouraged to contact TfL. Duncan Robertson, Business Development Manager, is the first point of contact and can provide assistance on issues of funding, site locations, and other ways TfL can help.
TfL remains engaged with all London boroughs regarding intensification and any possible future expansion.
Last month we linked to IanVisits’s blog post about Southwark Park Railway Station in Rotherhithe New Road, remains of which have been uncovered during works on the Thameslink Programme to upgrade the lines into London Bridge.
Now Network Rail has released more images and maps relating to the station.
Southwark Park station, perched on a viaduct above Rotherhithe New Road, only served passengers from 1902 to 1915 before it closed for good.
Project manager Greg Thornett said: “The Bermondsey Dive Under is a key part of the Thameslink Programme, creating the railway necessary to provide a frequent and reliable service through London Bridge and make a huge difference to passengers’ journeys , cutting journey times and making the services more reliable.
“We uncovered the footings for the former platforms while we were preparing the top of the viaduct for new track and we are now working up in the roof space of the former ticket hall to fill in the old sky lights, ready to carry the final track alignment.
“Much of the existing stretch of viaduct will be replaced by the ramps into and out of the new dive under, but the arch that used to house the old booking hall will remain.”
The Bermondsey Dive Under will see two Victorian viaducts partially-demolished and rebuilt to allow Charing Cross trains from South East London and Kent to pass underneath the trains carrying Thameslink services from Croydon before returning to tracks on the same level.
In addition the same team, from Network Rail and contractor Skanska, are rebuilding 20 bridges between New Cross and Waterloo East to increase their strength.
Greg Thornett added: “Although the old viaducts will be replaced by modern structures, they are designed to remain in keeping with the older architecture. It’s exciting to see this transformation and it will be a real sense of achievement to see trains running on it.”
Southwark Park station was one of several in the area, including Spa Road, closed as a result of competition from trams and buses and the coming of the First World War.
The Bermondsey Dive Under is situated where the former Bricklayers Arms branch left the main line and a new access road follows the former trackbed under the remaining viaducts.
The site offices sit on the stub end of the trackbed leading towards the former locomotive shed.
Network Rail says that he 20 bridges being replaced are of an old design where the rails are carried on timber baulks. These need replacing every 5-10 years so the newer structures will be stronger and last longer between maintenance.
The 2015 London Marathon takes place on Sunday 26 April.
Each year the event has a considerable impact on transport around the Rotherhithe peninsula.
This year’s road closure leaflet has now been published.
Each meeting of Bermondsey & Rotherhithe Community Council chooses a formal question to ask of the leader of Southwark Council or one of the cabinet members.
This was the question agreed at the recent transport-themed meeting:
Can the cabinet member for regeneration, planning and transport set out what steps the council is taking to improve traffic flow at the Rotherhithe tunnel on Lower Road and to ensure the C10 and 381 bus routes better serve the Rotherhithe peninsula? Can he also explain what steps he is taking to lobby Transport for London (TfL) on these issues?
Last week the reply from Cllr Mark Williams was published:
Officers are working with TfL to develop plans for Lower Road in order to deliver the measures identified in the Area Action Plan as well as the proposed Cycle Superhighway (CS4).
Proposals to remove the Lower Road gyratory will be brought to public consultation later this year. TfL are also due to re-start design work on CS4 in the autumn and this will include proposals to address congestion at the tunnel roundabout.
The council also expects TfL to conduct a comprehensive review of the local bus network as a result of proposed development at Canada Water, which together with the removal of the gyratory will result in significant alterations to bus routing through the area. As part of this work we are calling on TfL to increase the number of bus services in the area.
Finally, the council has requested that TfL develop mitigating measures in response to the proposed tolling of the Blackwall Tunnel and the proposed Silvertown Tunnel. We are concerned that TfL’s proposals at Blackwall and Silvertown will worsen traffic levels and air pollution in Rotherhithe, and we will continue to press TfL on this issue.
Look out for a separate news item about the council’s concerns about TfL’s plans at Blackwall and Silvertown.
There was a tantalising hint about the prospect of an extension of the London cycle hire scheme to Bermondsey and Rotherhithe at Wednesday’s meeting of the London Assembly transport committee.
Listen to what Andrew Gilligan, the mayor’s cycling commissioner, had to say:
A century after it closed to passengers, traces of the short-lived Southwark Park Railway Station have been discovered by engineers working on the Thameslink Programme.