Miles this week: 0
Weekly Average: 3.1
Public transport days: 0
Oyster costs: £0.00
As I said last week this has been a week of annual leave; hence no cycle commuting, in fact very little cycling at all.
I mentioned the lump last week and then did not expand but promised you an update. Here it is.
On about Wednesday of last week I became aware of a lump in my groin. I had been having a look and feel for a couple of days before that, but had been undecided. But by Wednesday I was pretty certain there was something going on.
I am not prone to panic for no reason but having thought about it for 36 hours I decided that I needed some medical input.
I made the appointment for Monday morning. Knowing that Mrs Tyt does not take this sort of news terribly well I decided not mention it until Sunday. Minimum time for her to get all concerned about things.
At 10.30am on Monday I entered the surgery with some apprehension. The description of my symptoms to the doctor took less than 30 seconds before he responded ‘hernia’ without even having had a look. The following examination took less than two minutes, whilst the diagnosis was confirmed.
I expressed two immediate concerns: cycling and giving blood. Yes to both for the moment.
An appointment to see a specialist will be sent to me in the post. There is likely to be an operation – day surgery. Presumably there will be time off from the bike at that point.
I have picked up a proposal for redesign work to be carried out on my commute route. Lewisham Council have asked for consultation within a fortnight:-
.................. The Client requested last week that they wanted the whole scheme wrapped up very soon hence the short liaison period.
.......the two primary reasons for the scheme are as follows: -
1) Pedestrian enhancement - to improve crossing facilities at the two junctions particularity in light of the proposed / recent development in the immediate area. As you are probably aware the Sainsbury's junction doesn't at present have suitable pedestrian facilities and the primary focus of this scheme is to readdress that aspect. In undertaking these improvements the opportunity is also being taken to readdress the balance between carriageway and pedestrian footway / facilities by reducing the overall intensity of carriageway in the area to make it less dominant.
The Worsley Bridge Road junction is also being upgraded in terms of pedestrian improvements, as a strong pedestrian desire line exists through this location. The link between the two locations is limited in what can be achieved due to the constraints imposed by the bridge however I understand there are longer terms aims to better link up the two junctions in terms of pedestrians / cyclists however these are not the subject of this project and would obviously necessitate major works in terms of the bridge should they progress.
2) Queuing / congestion along Southend Lane as a result of gaining access into Sainsbury's, particularly at the weekend was the other primary aspect to be readdressed.
As regards the exclusion of ASL's; then this was discussed when the scheme was developed and a combination of recorded low cycle usage along the route and the subsequent effects caused by the redefined stop lines on the modelling meant they were left out of the design.
Having said that, a cycle audit was undertaken and that also recommended their introduction so we will recommend looking at their inclusion again, perhaps not at this stage, but later in the design stage (as there is expected to be an additional 'tidying up' stage to fully complete the feasibility).
Barriers on the central islands are subject to assessment which is also likely to be undertaken at the tidying up stage...........
Firstly one wonders who ‘The Client’ is. I will leave you to ponder that.... The clue may well be in the text!!
I am not really affected by the Bell Green part of the proposal so I will limit my comments to the Worsley Bridge Road bit. I can confirm that this is a dreadful place for cyclists. I have also walked the route pushing my bike so I am aware of how horrid it is for those on foot. It is a junction that desperately needs improvement.
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| Just high enough for a single decker. |
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| The footway is just a metre wide. |
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| Traffic approaching the gyratory. |
As has been mentioned above the main cause of the problem is the railway bridge. It is exceedingly narrow (and low) there is only enough space for a footway on one side and that is just a metre wide. It is really not fit for purpose. I note the hint of a suggestion that there may be a longer term plan for improvements to this little bridge. I am sure that this is a LIE. Somewhere in a squalid little archive is a docket with a wish list in it. It reads something along the lines of ‘If we ever have any spare road improvement funding we would like to spend it inter alia on the Southend Lane Rail Bridge’ probably written on an Olivetti typewriter in the 1960s. It has never seen the light of day since leave alone been given any consideration. Call me cynical if you wish.
So there will be no improvement to this bridge and it is in this light that I consider the proposals above.
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| Traffic passing the entrance to the Riverview Walk |
Southend Lane is a very busy road it is the A2218 and is the rat run between the A21 at Peter Pans Pool and the South Circular at Sydenham cutting out the Catford bottle neck.
It is therefore an important traffic corridor. The first constriction on this rat run is the little railway bridge at Worsley Bridge Road. Traffic flows in two lanes as it descends the hill towards traffic lights at the junction. On the other side of the lights the carriageway is strangled down to one very narrow lane to pass beneath the bridge before it is immediately filtered into a multi-lane gyratory system where traffic management is very poor.
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| Worsley Bridge Road towards Southend Lane |
On my commute to work I join this traffic hell from the nearside Worsley Bridge Road. I am forced into a left turn towards the bridge. There is no Advanced Stop Line (ASL) at the junction but it is usual for me to get around the corner ahead of any motorised traffic – it is slightly downhill and a bike will usually beat a car in these circumstances. As soon as I join Southend Lane I have to take the primary position for two reasons.
1. The lane is too narrow and the distance to the bridge too short for a safe quick overtake by a motor-vehicle.
2. I need to turn right onto the Riverview Walk just the other side of the bridge. By accident rather than by design there is a traffic island here and the hazard lines on the approach to the island provide a refuge for me to wait to complete my manoeuvre in the event of oncoming traffic.
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| Viewed from Worsley Bridge Road. |
Despite being the lead vehicle out of Worsley Bridge Road and taking the primary position I frequently have a motor vehicle ‘go for it’ to make the overtake before the bridge. This is very unnerving as it interrupts my driving plan to the above mentioned refuge.
The homeward journey is a different kettle of fish altogether. The journey between the end of the Riverview Walk and Worsley Bridge Road is actually too dangerous for me on a bike and I HAVE TO TAKE A DIVERSION. I have never taken this section of my route without coming into conflict with motor traffic. In rush hour traffic coming from the Bell Green gyratory is nearly constant. This forces a cyclist to go for a highly unsatisfactory filtering movement to join the flow of traffic which, having negotiated the multi lane Bell Green gyratory, is immediately being strangled into one narrow lane to pass under the railway bridge. There is constant conflict between motor vehicles struggling for primacy. The addition of a cyclist into this mix is a hazard too far for most drivers.
Having joined the traffic I am immediately forced to take the primary to prevent motor traffic from trying to overtake so that I can select the offside lane ready for the right turn into Worsley Bridge Road just beyond the bridge. It doesn’t need me to describe the reaction of the driver who I have just forced my way in front of, now finds that I have deliberately blocked his further progress by holding the centre of the carriageway.
So in the evening I actually avoid this altogether. Just before the end of the Riverview Walk there is a little footpath leading beneath the railway and onto Moremead Road. From here I cycle to the junction with Southend Lane and emerge just to the East of the junction with Worsley Bridge Road. At this point I am again faced with a constant flow of fast motor traffic which, having passed through the bridge bottle-neck, is seeking to make progress at speed. I am frequently held here for in excess of two minutes waiting to make the right turn (in two stages) to get to the junction with Worsley Bridge Road.Finally therefore the only benefits I see for me from this proposal is that a traffic light controlled pedestrian crossing could assist me to get more safely from Moremead Road to Worsley Bridge Road. There is of course a faint possibility that if the phase on the traffic lights was long enough traffic would back up beneath the railway bridge which might make it slightly safer to join Southend Lane at the end of the Riverside Walk.
TyT
