Overview

We have been working in partnership with Southwark Council to deliver safety improvements at the Camberwell Green junction because its recent collision history ranks it as a priority for improvement.

Our plans aim to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists in the short-term as we continue to work with Southwark Council and the local community to develop more transformative proposals. Our designs are coordinated with Southwark Council’s other plans for the area, including ‘pocket places’ on side streets – see more about them here

We welcome comments or questions about our plans and ideas for other changes we might consider. You can tell us here by 3 September 2017.

Note: Bus stop Q is not shown on the plans as beyond the extent of the proposals but there would be no changes to bus services as part of these proposals and the only stop that would be moved is stop E relocated 35m north because of the proposed pedestrian crossing.

What we plan to do

For Pedestrians

Wider footways to remove existing pinch-points

A new crossing on Camberwell Road by Camberwell Passage

Wider crossings on Camberwell Road and Camberwell Church Street

More pavement space on the junction’s south east corner

Renewed footways

Modern signals with pedestrian countdown

Reduced street clutter

Southwark Council's proposal to move the Denmark Hill pedestrian crossing to Butterfly Walk. This was consulted on in July and August 2015.

For Cyclists

Two-stage right turns at the junction in the west to south and east to north directions

An early release at the traffic lights on all four arms of the junction

Deeper Advanced Stop Lines (ASLs)

Mandatory cycle lane on Camberwell Church Street westbound approach to operate at all times

St Giles bus stop moved further west from the Vicarage Grove junction to improve safety of left turning cyclists on the LCN 23 cycle route

Resurfacing throughout the junction.

Bus stop Q is not shown on the plans as beyond the extent of the proposals but there would be no changes to bus services as part of these proposals and the only stop that would be moved is stop E relocated 35m north because of the proposed pedestrian crossing. We will also retain the 20mph speed limit at the junction and on all the approaches.

Based on analysis of other junctions where these measures have been introduced we expect collisions to reduce by about 40%.

Our plans form part of the Mayor of London’s plan for Healthy Streets - a long-term vision to encourage more Londoners to walk, cycle and use public transport by making London’s streets healthier, safer and more welcoming. By providing more space for pedestrians, bus passengers and cyclists we can encourage more people to use these healthy and sustainable forms of transport, whilst keeping other traffic moving. These improvements will contribute to Healthy Streets by:

Improving road safety, in particular for pedestrians and cyclists

Encouraging more people to walk and cycle

Improving the public realm and contributing to the wider regeneration of the area

Maintaining reliable bus services.

We will monitor the impacts of this initial safety scheme and will continue to work with Southwark Council and the local community to develop more transformational plans.

We aim to start work on the safety improvements in spring 2018 for completion by December 2018. We will consider the use of temporary materials wherever appropriate to avoid abortive costs ahead of a longer-term scheme.

Please give us your comments or questions about our plans for safety improvements and ideas for other changes we might consider here by 3 September 2017.

See the drawings below for more detail

Click here for a larger version of the above drawings (PDF)

The background to our safety improvements

Camberwell is a busy town centre and residential area. Camberwell Green attracts a lot of visitors, especially when it has events.

The bus stops and bus services around the junction are an important interchange. There are no train or underground services in Camberwell, therefore many Camberwell residents depend on buses. The nearest rail station is at Denmark Hill, approximately half a mile away.

The 15 high frequency bus services that use the junction carry over 5,000 passengers in the AM peak hour and more than 6,000 passengers in the PM peak hour. The area can feel dominated by traffic and the footways are crowded.

The benefits and impacts

Our plans have been designed to reduce collisions and improve safety for vulnerable road users. Based on analysis of other junctions where these measures have been introduced, we expect collisions to reduce by about 40%.

We expect the changes to result in some changes to journey times for road users. These are outlined below. Major transport projects at Vauxhall, Oval and Elephant and Castle have already influenced traffic flows in the area. These have been taken into consideration in our calculations of the impact on journey times and traffic queuing through the Camberwell junction. We have tested different scenarios and with this design no new turning restrictions are planned. We expect little traffic re-routing onto local, residential roads.

We will monitor the impacts of this initial safety scheme and will continue to work with Southwark Council and the local community to develop more transformational plans.

Pedestrians

There will be an overall reduction in pedestrian waiting time to cross the Camberwell Road/Denmark Hill junction and a 32-second increase in time given to pedestrians to cross Denmark Hill.

A new pedestrian crossing will be introduced at Camberwell Passage/Camberwell Green and traffic signals will be removed at the junction of Camberwell Church Street/Grove Lane/Artichoke Place. These will be replaced with a pedestrian crossing on Camberwell Church Street. Pedestrian crossing s at other locations are retained and improved where possible.

Cyclists

With the early release at the Camberwell Road/Denmark Hill junction for the A202 and the two-stage right-turn west to north and east to south cyclists journeys will be improved and safer. Converting the mandatory cycle lane on Camberwell Church Street to operate at all times will mean cyclists are no longer obstructed by parked vehicles.

We will also resurface the junction and install cycle friendly gullies where possible.

Buses

While some bus services are predicted to see a slight reduction in journey times, others could experience an increase. In the AM peak hour, we anticipate bus journey times for Routes 436 and 36 will increase by between 90 and 120 seconds over the whole route, and Routes 171, 12 and 345 are predicted to increase by between 30 and 90 seconds over the whole route.

In the PM peak hour we anticipate Routes 35, 345 and 484 will increase by between 30 and 60 seconds over the whole route, Routes 436 and 36 to improve by 30 to 60 seconds, and Routes 12, 40, 148 and 171 are expected to improve by up to 30 seconds over the whole route.

General traffic

In the AM peak we anticipate westbound journey times along the A202 to increase by around 60 seconds because of the new junction design at Camberwell Road/Denmark Hill and new early-starts for cyclists. We anticipate northbound journey times along Denmark Hill to increase by up to 30 seconds because of the resulting timing changes to minimise impact along the A202.

In the PM peak we anticipate journey times from Coldharbour Lane to increase by around 60 seconds because of the resulting timing changes to minimise impact on the rest of the network.

Parking and loading

On Camberwell Church Street there will be an 8.5m reduction to the loading bay to reflect bay usage. On Camberwell Road the loading bay will be inset into the footway. The loading bay on Denmark Hill will be shared with the relocated taxi rank from Camberwell Church Street.

Wider vision and further improvements

These safety improvements are part of wider planned improvements to the Camberwell area including:

Refurbishment of Camberwell Green by Southwark Council

‘Pocket places’ on side streets by Southwark Council

A Low Emission Bus Zone which includes bus reliability measures and less polluting buses from Camberwell to New Cross in 2019

Improvements to the Denmark Hill/Orpheus Street junction and the relocation of the pedestrian crossing to Butterfly Walk by Southwark Council.

These safety improvements will be monitored and we will share the results with Southwark Council and the local community. We will also work with the community to plan further improvements to the junction. This could provide bus reliability, further improve safety, support healthy travel and reduce pollution.

Camberwell also has a number of sites identified for redevelopment, which should help unlock further improvements.