This blog post will look at the new crossings that have been put in place. Before many were cluttered, over crowded and not located on key desire lines. The pictures below shows before and after pictures to hopefully convey the scale of improvements made.

Before: The crossing in Hartfield Road was visually cluttered with street signage, traffic signals, planted areas and guard railing. As a result of this clutter there was not enough space for pedestrians to cross the road quickly and easily.

Before: Crossing in Hartfield Road

After:

After: New crossing in Hartfield Road

Improvements:

• It is now easier to cross the road. There is now physically more space in which to cross the road safely
• The crossing is more safe as a result of guard railing removal
• There is less visual clutter

Crossing outside Wimbledon Station

The crossing outside Wimbledon station has also been improved. Removal of sheep pen, guard railing and allowing pedestrians to cross in one phase has made this area more accessible.

Before

Before: Crossing outside Wimbledon Station

After: Crossing outside Wimbledon Station

It now means:

• The new crossing is more safe as a result of removing guard railing
• There is less visual clutter as a result of guard railing removal and mounting traffic lights onto existing street lights
• People can cross the road more easily because the crossing has gone from being two phase to one phase.

There are also several other crossing improvements. These include:

Missed Opportunities

The Bus Station

The bus station in Wimbledon is in a bad way and seems to have not been included in the recent round of urban design improvements. Often people cross the road and walk outside of the guard railing, walking behind or in front of moving buses. Scary!

People walking outside of guard railing in Wimbledon Bus Station

The Car Park

At the same time it’s also possible to see many people walk through the car park to get to Morrisons and shops beyond. It’s a key walking route because it’s quicker and quieter. Unfortunately no attention has been made to this and people have to dodge cars while walking through. Since the desire line is very close to a wall, it would be great to make this a designated walking route where parking spaces next to the wall would be removed.

Car Park at the back of Morrisons

Bad Crossing in Alexander Road

Despite being re-designed the crossing at the junction of HSBC and Argos on the corner of Alexander Road does not take into account footfall. In rush hour people try to cross the road informally and as a result spill out into the middle of the road.

Bad crossing in Alexander Road

Crossings with too much clutter or are too steep

The crossing next to the library is too steep for wheelchairs and pram users.

Steep crossing next to Wimbledon Library

Conclusion

The majority of the crossings in Wimbledon have been improved greatly by removing guard railing, de-cluttering and just ensuring crossings are located on desire lines. However there is still potential to improve areas such as the bus station and widening the crossing outside Alexander Road.

Bill Mount leading a tour of Exhibition Road

Last week I was lucky enough to go on a UDG tour of Exhibition Road led by Bill Mount who is the lead officer at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and responsible for both the improvements to Exhibition Road and Kensington High Street.

The scheme has been hugely successful. A combination of implementing shared use, clutter clearance, the creation of  public space in front of South Kensington station and hiring architects Dixon Jones have helped to make the area distinctive.

Please click on the pictures (with descriptions) below to see the improvements:

Trees in Worcester Park which add much needed greenery to the area

In Worcester Park there are several factors which affect the area visually, which are:

• Trees and planted areas
• Street furniture
• Traffic
• Lighting
• Architecture

Trees and planted areas

There are some nice trees and regular planted areas throughout the high street which adds much needed greenery and also creates a sense of rhythm. Unfortunately some planted areas are badly maintained which makes the area look tired and uncared for.

Street Furniture

There is a wide range of street furniture in Worcester Park some of which lacks  cohearance, local distinctiveness and general quality. Street furniture which belongs to a family of designed objects has the potential to help improve the overall cohearance of an area, increase property prices and even set the overall tone for an area. The City of London is an example of a borough who has taken this approach.

Street Clutter

Worcester Park is one of the few town centres I know locally where there is a large concentration of small, local independent shops. Its the opposite of clone town and I also personally like to see shopkeepers wares outside the shops. It adds interest and variety to the high street.

At the same time it needs to be acknowledged that some shopkeepers are slightly over zealous and take up a bit too much pavement with their wares and A boards. This creates barriers for people and pinch points. A balance needs to be had and a bit of common sense. Some shops do not need to have more than one A board if any at all and shopkeepers wares should be ‘mobility proof’ ie. people in wheelchairs and prams should be able to go past shops without hindrance.

Architecture

There is a range of architecture in Worcester Park. Architecture ranges from mock Tudor, neo-classical, art deco, post modern and gothic architecture. Architecture has the potential to make an area distinctive, memorable, attractive and as a result increase property prices and even aid legibility.

Integration

Most of the high street is well integrated, with continuous, small human scale retail blocks which creates rhythm and in some cases adds distinctiveness to the high street. Some buildings which are not well so well integrated with the rest of the high street include Waitrose, the public library and the station. These buildings do not connect well with the traditional urban grain and little thought has gone into issues such as accessibility and permeability.

Facades of buildings have the potential to add visual interest and also make an area feel well cared for. Unfortunately due to many shops being empty, this creates a feeling of neglect. Shop signage could also be improved.

Traffic warden on Stonecot Hill

Photograph taken by Adrian Short: http://bit.ly/wHUl7e

Five years ago Adrian Short started a campaign against agressive parking measures on a small parade of shops called Stonecot Hill. At the time CCTV cameras were giving parking tickets, side roads as well as main roads were also designated as red routes, TfL tow away trucks were empounding peoples cars and traffic wardens were a regular feature. All this traffic enforcement resulted in Stonecot Hill  suffering from a reported significant loss of local trade. Most of the shops depended on people being able to park their cars, due to the fact that the shops supplied local traders in plumbing, electrical and carpets among many other goods.

After a successful petition (2000 signatures) to TfL to review the parking arrangements, several meetings ensued between traders, residents, Paul Burstow MP and representatives from TfL. As a result Stonecot Hill now has better more relaxed parking facilities in the side roads along Stonecot Hill.

At the same time when this was happening I wrote to TfL to ask them to either remove the empty planters which acted as a barrier to pedestrians or to fill the empty planters with plants. Councillor Brendan Hudson also appealed to TfL to put in a crossing opposite the doctors surgery.

After all this it seems our hard work in persuading TfL to improve Stonecot Hill has paid off. We now have relaxed parking bays where people can park up to two hours, at grade crossings, including one opposite the doctors surgery,  comfortable benches, improved pavements and the planters have been removed and replaced with trees. Success!

Public realm improvements

New at grade crossing opposite the doctors surgery

At grade crossing opposite cafe

New benches with generous arms and backs

New tarmac paving

Removal of planters which created barriers for pedestrians

Removal of cobblestones, planters and ugly bollards

Photograph taken by Adrian Short: http://bit.ly/xrZs6f

What it means for people

Relaxed parking measures means that hopefully the local economy will benefit. Stonecot Hill is also now a more accessible place because the removal of the planters and the new at grade crossings means that people can now cross the road where they want to.

The new trees will also add much needed greenery to the area and may even improve air quality. The area also now feels better maintained and more cared for.

Me sitting on a well placed bench

I was really happy yesterday to see the new benches where I live. They are made from wood, have backs and arms and a local resident successfully persuaded one of the construction engineers to place one of them facing pedestrians and not traffic.

Only one downside is that one of the benches was placed on the wrong side of a bus stop. To have a bench near a stop is in itself a huge luxury these days, as most people have to perch while they wait for a bus. But unfortunately the bench was placed behind Clear Channel advertising and so while sitting there you are unable to see a bus coming from very far away. Frustrating!

As designers we really have to think carefully where street furniture is positioned, this is just as important as designing street layouts.

Where the bench could have gone

Worcester Park Town Centre

Its just been announced that over £1.18 million has been awarded to the London Borough of Sutton as part of the Mayor’s Outer London fund. The money will be spent in North Cheam and Worcester Park to help rejuvenate the local economy, improve the public realm and to also build on the existing public transport improvements made in Worcester Park.

Over the next few weeks I am going to be posting regularly about how the public realm in Worcester Park can be improved with a focus on pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users. I am particularly interested in what local residents and local businesses think so please write your comments below.

Guard Railing

Throughout Worcester Park there is a large amount of unnecessary guard railing which prevents people from crossing the road where they want to.

These areas include along the Malden Road, on the approach to Worcester Park Station and throughout Central Road.

Guard railing along Malden Road

People walk outside guard railing at Station Approach

February 2012 People walking outside guard railing

May 2011 6pm People walking outside of guard railing and not bothering to wait for green man.

Guard railing next to crossing outside Pizza Express

Guard railing around planting and seating in Central Road

Whats wrong with excessive use of guard railing?

• Guard railing has a negative effect on streets and creates visual clutter
• It stops people from being able to cross the road where they want to
• Cyclists can get squashed between motor vehicles and guard railing on collisions
• Sometimes pedestrians walk outside of guard railing
• Young children can not be seen easily when guard railing is present
• Vehicles tend to drive faster where guard railing exists (according to a study completed for Transport for London.)
• Although guard railing can reduce pedestrian accidents at crossings and junctions, road safety is contextual and depends on a holistic set of measures used such as 20mph zones, narrowing the road and other traffic calming measures which help to increase road safety.

Case Study:  Kensington High Street

Kensington High Street

In Kensington High Street a holistic set of street improvements  such as pavement widening, new white lighting, junction and crossing improvements, installation of a central reservation area and the removal of 600m of guard railing meant that the borough experienced a significant reduction in pedestrian casualties along this stretch of road. (RBKC)

Crossings

There are some crossings where the time given to cross the road is insufficient for people with mobility difficulties. These crossings include:

• Crossings outside Worcester Park Station: average allocated crossing time is 7 seconds. As a result it is very difficult for people with mobility difficulties or for children to cross in time.

• Sheep pen crossing outside the Midas Touch public house opposite Green Lane: The sheep pen is inconvenient for pedestrians as phases of the crossing are not currently in sync causing an unnecessary waiting time. While visiting this crossing at 6pm on a weekday, most pedestrians walk outside of the sheep pen and do not bother waiting for the green man.

First Phase allocated crossing time: 6 seconds

Second phase allocated crossing time: 15 seconds

• Crossing outside Costa Coffee: The crossing time outside Costa Coffee is slightly more generous in providing 8 seconds to cross the road and 14 seconds waiting time

• Crossing outside Pizza Express: Allocated crossing time 7 seconds, waiting time 23 seconds.

Seating at Bus Stops

Many of the seats at the bus stops in Worcester Park town centre are perch style seats. Although these bus stops are standard and can be seen throughout London, the perch style seating is not very easy to sit on for very young children or people with mobility difficulties to sit on.

Pinch Points

The approach to Worcester Park Station currently does not provide adequate access for people in wheelchairs or for prams. Given that this area gets very busy in rush hour, the pavement needs to be widened here to allow for large flows of people.

Narrow pavement for prams and wheelchair users at Station Approach

Seating

There is a large amount of seating available in Central Road but seating locations need to be looked at in closer detail. Lots of the benches available do not have backs or arms making it difficult for people with mobility difficulties or for young children to sit here.

Seating with no back is not easy to sit on for people with mobility difficulties or for young children. Its also made from metal and is cold to sit on in winter.

Wood is generally a comfortable material to sit on but again no arms or backs means that only some people can sit on it.

This seating has backs and arms but because the bench is made from metal it is cold to sit on in winter and potentially hot in summer.

This bench has arms and a backs and is made from wood. However the back is not very generous and the metal bars at the end of the seat could make this bench uncomfortable.

This round bench is a good example of a seat that is in a good location and is comfortable because it has defensible space and potential shade in the summer months. However because it is made from metal it could be uncomfortable to sit on in winter and summer.

After a recent walkabout in Sutton Town Centre, it occurred to me that grit bins are a necessary but often ugly piece of street furniture. The grit bins in Sutton are bright yellow in order to be easily visible, but add clutter to the street and sometimes act as a barrier to pedestrians. The design below attempts to consolidate a grit bin into a bench, in order to achieve the objective of removing street clutter and to also combine the features of a well designed bench and the features of a well designed grit bin.

In my opinion a well designed street bench should be:

• Durable
• Comfortable to sit on throughout the year
• Drainable
• Easy to clean
• Comfortable
• Sleepable
• Beautiful

A well designed grit bin should be:

• Easy to shovel grit out
• Capacious
• Protected by weather/waterproof
• Easy to open and close
• Accessible for deliveries of grit
• Beautiful

Problems with the design:

• The design is not accessible for everyone and needs arm rests
• Without building a prototype it is difficult to know how comfortable the bench actually is
• The design is conceptual and not detailed, for example there is nothing holding the slats of wood in place and the wood in some areas is paper thin.

Good things about the design

• The bench is made from wood, so should be comfortable to sit on in winter (unlike stone!)
• Its durable
• It is minimalist
• It has a curved back to increase comfort
• The grit is easy to access from the front. It has a lid which opens and the slats of wood can be lowered to increase accessibility.
• Grit can be poured in from the back of the bench as well

Once councillors for our local area had agreed to allocate funding for the hanging baskets, the London Borough of Sutton then had to ask permission to do this from TfL. Unfortunately this was a lengthy process and TfL took three years to finally agree to it.

Although construction is not completely finished, Woodcote Road (the high street) is now a much more pleasant place. It’s a more attractive place to shop and there’s an increase in outdoor cafe culture. Waiting for the bus is now a positive experience and Wallington has become more of a “place” than a traffic corridor.

Improvements include:

• New paving, which lightens up the whole area.
• New puffin crossings which can detect pedestrians as they wait and as they cross the road.
• Removed guard railing making it easier for people to cross the road where they like. Hopefully it’ll also slow down the traffic.
• A removed splayed junction at Beddington Gardens and a new crossing means that now pedestrians can walk straight across without having to stop half way.
• New, large minimalist, bus stops have been put in place to meet the demand for high bus usage.
• There have been changes in parking provision, in some cases parking has been removed on Woodcote road and where loading bays are available, there is a shared space approach, using different tactile paving to delineate the loading bay.
• Out of date planters have been removed, making the high street easier to navigate
• In some areas paving has been widened to make pedestrian access easier
• New street lights which shine downwards, are in keeping with the local architecture and have a pedestrian arm.

A new bus stop

Problems

It was disappointing to see that some stand alone advertising plinths have been kept. Unfortunately they damage important legibility and sight lines, restricting views to the rest of the high street for pedestrians and at the same time take up valuable pavement space.

There is an opportunity cost, what would the high street be like without these advertising plinths? There would be more pavement space, the area would be clutter free and pedestrians would have improved legibility of the area.

The new bench put in place opposite Wallington Town Hall, whilst being a user friendly,  and durably designed bench, is not well positioned. Sitting with my back to traffic, I felt uncomfortable. Having watched where people sit, I find that people like to sit facing activity or a vista, so they can watch the world go by, in areas that are away from traffic and are protected from the elements wherever possible.

Missed Opportunities

While construction is not complete, it appears that the project does not include brightening up the railway bridge. This is unfortunate and would have been an easy win for the council. At the moment there is Andrews estate agents advertising displayed. Walking underneath the bridge is also extremely unpleasant, it is dark and feels unsafe. A fresh coat of paint and some creative lighting could have made this gateway into the high street seem magical.

The cycle stands are also badly designed. They have a letter P and a symbol for a bicycle which is completely unnecessary. Surely it is obvious they are bicycle stands? This level of detail adds too much visual weight to the area and makes the bike stand less user-friendly.

The alleyway between Barclays Bank and Wallington Library while improved with new paving, is still an area for car parking and a loading and unloading area for vans and cars. It would be great to not have parked cars here, but I am aware that perhaps Barclays Bank owns some of the land. This issue needs to be addressed and perhaps part of the project could have included the compulsory purchase of the land by the council.

Possible Future Projects

The constraint of having Wallington station and the railway bridge unfortunately means that improving permeability on Woodcote road is limited. Sutton Living Streets consultation feedback suggested that an entrance to Wallington station could be made on both sides of Woodcote Road, therefore improving permeability.

Click here to see more photographs with descriptions of the improvements to Wallington High Street.

Yesterday I met up with the Streets for People Working Group to assess the physical improvements that have been made near Worcester Park Station and Green Lane.

Some of the improvements included:

• Removal of guard railing around Worcester Park Station- much needed
• Improved street lighting – removal of orange lighting to white lighting – it now feels safer and there are less shadows
• Improved paving – the area near Worcester Park station now has a lovely sandstone coloured paving, making the area feel brighter
• Improved paving along desire line access to the station
• Improved crossing access for pedestrians
• New seating – increasing capacity and providing comfortable seating
• Installation of trees – in years to come will provide shade, improve air quality and provide a relaxing element to the space

Overall the physical improvements have been a success, but some future improvements (subject to funding) such as a holistic town centre urban design treatment could include:

• Removal of guard railing and consolidate signage- there is a lot!
• Improved seating with backs and arm rests
• Pedestrian level white street lighting where appropriate
• A greening of the area, perhaps to include more trees, small planters with sustainable, maintenance free planting
• Sandstone coloured paving – durable and easy to clean
• More informal clutter free crossing points like the crossings in Kings road
• Grants/loans made available to improve shop fronts

Please see my flickr page for further improvements which could be made in the local area.