The lost orchards of North Sheen and Richmond Council's cunning plan to impose a new tax?

It seems the Richmond Planning department nowadays is quite liberally (and not very democratically) letting through semi-high-rise in North Sheen, with little consideration for the neighbours and terraced houses fabric that presently constitutes North Sheen. There seem to be no limits to empty offices on Lower Richmond road apparently).  As usual, concerns expressed during public consultations (like the lack of parking spaces in the new developments) were ignored.

North Sheen wasn't always like this, it was actually full of orchards (see Orchard road) as the maps below from the London Orchard Project show.

More reading:

• Planning application for the redevelopment of the Shakespeare pub, where the council totally ignored objections received on the parking aspects
• Planning application for "The Works", showing 77 new flats and 3,000 m2 office space and…. 85 parking spaces only.
• Planning application for the former Dairy Crest distribution centre, for 45 flats and 2,000 m2 of office space
• Planning application for the redevelopment of the former petrol station on 293 Lower Richmond road, 52 flats and only 35 spaces

See the trend?  I should add that North Sheen is the only ward that still hasn't got a controlled parking zone (CPZ), and is bordered  by Richmond, East Sheen and Kew –where parking is regulated indeed.  Of course, a CPZ is not free for residents: once established, the council can increase it pretty much at will, and it's very hard to prove that the CPZ permits fees only cover the administration costs.

After a few checks, it's quite obvious that the (previous Lib Dem) council had a policy of restricting car spaces, presumably to impose a CPZ tax to unsuspecting residents.

What's that got to do with orchards? During the public consultation, when the change of use was questioned, residents expressed anger that (at least some of) the land could not be changed back to agricultural or green space.

Since the play area located in the block formed by Bicester road, Lambert avenue and Manor road, there are no play areas for instance South of Lower Richmond Road.

Greed, a Capital sin for the Borough -but seldom punished...

Has cycling reached a critical mass in London?

London Cycling Campaign has blogged about how safe bike lanes and junctions will persuade us to cycle more. It commissioned a survey, which suggests over half a million Londoners already cycle at least once a week.

They're also running a petition Go Dutch which calls on the mayoral election candidates to commit to more people-friendly streets and continental-standard cycle facilities in the capital.

51% of Londoners said the next Mayor can take action to encourage them to cycle more, with 78% of those people naming safe and convenient bikes lanes all over London or safer junctions and roundabouts as their top priority.

See their principles here: www.lcc.org.uk/pages/key-principles.

Previous posts on cycling:

• Good to see cyclists campaigning against road planning
• My questions to Barclays Cycle Hire managers
• Cyclists living in fear
• Cyclists to be given the right to ride the wrong way
• Waterloo: more Boris Bikes but still no sign of life for the Eurostar old platforms
• TfL still has little ideas about cycling lanes...
• Cycle superhighways: an expensive joke?
• When are we going to see this in London?
• Reversing the burden of the proof would encourage cyclingss
• Kingston worst for bike thefts
• Some hope for London cyclists?
• Cycling in London: it's about time to do something!

Good to see cyclists campaigning against road planning

I've long said that TfL has got absolutely no clue on incorporating cycling into the urban fabric, or in other words they're absolutely rubbish and useless when it comes to Cycle Lanes.

That's why I welcome this: Be the change; why your help is needed on Blackrfriars Bridge (i b i k e l o n d o n
More details on London Cycling Campaign.

My questions to Barclays Cycle Hire managers

Thanks for your email,

It comes right in time. Together with other users, we were stuck at Waterloo yesterday around 1900 as all neighbouring stations were full. No staff was at hand to help of course.

I really do like the Boris Bikes, but unpredictability makes it hard rely on.

Just this week, for instance:

• no more bikes at Waterloo on Tuesday shortly after 0800 (it's usually empty after 0830 anyway), missed my train and wasted 30 mn
  

• picked up a bike from Red Lion Square on that same day and tried to return it in Covent Garden, circled for 15mn to find a docking point

Here are some suggestions to improve the service.

• Add more capacity in Waterloo. I mean way more, as London is clearly under-served compared to Paris: http://richmondtransits.blogspot.com/2010/09/boris-bike-vs-french-velib-unfair.html
  
• Busy stations need more staff to replenish and empty slots in the mornings and evenings
• The maps on the service points are next to useless: the detailed one should list station names (as it's hard to figure out which station indicated by the computer is which on the map) and the map of the larger area should indicate Boris Bikes stations.
  
• Also, they should always point to the North as normal maps.
  

Could you let me know what you're planning to do to address those points?

Regards,

Ludovic Windsor

---

From: Transport for London <Transport_for_London@info.tfl.gov.uk>
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 10:26 AM
Subject: Information for Barclays Cycle Hire members

If you are having problems viewing this email, you can view an online version To ensure our email updates are delivered to your inbox, please add Transport_for_London@info.tfl.gov.uk to your email address book Dear Mr Windsor, As a member of Barclays Cycle Hire, I thought you might be interested in taking part in an online "Meet the Managers" forum we will be running on Tuesday 18 October, from 19:00 to 20:30. The forum will provide you with the opportunity to contact both myself and other senior managers with any questions or suggestions you may have about the scheme, for example, regarding its operation or future plans. The scheme has now passed its first anniversary and we would welcome your input. To join in the live forum, please visit tfl.gov.uk/meetthemanagers Alternatively, if you will not be available to join us, we would be happy to receive your questions in advance. Simply email your questions to us at bchmeetthemanagers@tfl.gov.uk Yours sincerely, James Mead Head of Operations, Barclays Cycle Hire Transport for London These are our customer service updates about Barclays Cycle Hire. To unsubscribe, please click here Copyright in the contents of this email and its attachments belongs to Transport for London. Any unauthorised usage will infringe that copyright.

Wondering what rabbits would write on signs before their homes...

Restaurant review: Skylon

After some research for a business dinner close to Waterloo, I booked Skylon in the Royal Festival Hall.
The room was vast, gymnasium sized in fact, with a level of noise approaching that of a teenage basketball match, but the floor-to-ceiling windows opening up on the Thames make it spectacular. Shame they did not give us a window table as requested. The waiters are all in star-trek-like uniform, in tune with the retro-futurist location and name, plentiful and nice enough but they probably were beamed to another planet during main course as service got slower and slower.
The wine list is predictable but good, the sommelier was new and knowledgeable.
I haven't mentioned the food, and that's because it was passable. On the positive side, my onglet was perfectly uncooked as I ordered and like it but the smoked mackerel salad was some potted fish, swimming in light mayonnaise dressing and cos lettuce.

Final verdict: Skylon joins OXO in the category "you pay for the view, not the food".

Tube to cost £5 to fund Olympic, West London commuters bear the pain for no benefits

While salaries are on hold (except if you're a tube driver and can hold the government to ransom to get a grand's bonus), public transport costs continue to increase much faster than inflation.

Some of this is due to the Olympics bill.

As a West Londoner, I deeply resent this as we don't even enjoy the benfits of the games since all events are in the East.
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

An airport encounter

So there I was yesterday night having three hours to kill at FRA (Frankfurt airport), working in a half-empty noodle bar -MoshMosh; if you ask (sort of Wagamama; with better beer but not as good dumplings).
Weissbier tasting meant I had zip to the gents 5mn only to find a middle-aged woman sat opposite me. The waitress (tasked with watching my possessions) later told me she tried to say someone was sitting there, to no avail. Those long tables were quite narrow, so I felt a bit annoyed for a short while and then resumed crafting a powerpoint on my laptop.
She orders food, I eat a pho and then the next thing is that she spills her white wine on my laptop. She mubles sorry, I say nothing but am profoundly annoyed. She wipes it -ineffectively-, I mention she could drink champagne as it doesn't stain since it also made it onto my trousers. She answers it should not stain, to which I say I'll have to take a trip to the dry cleaner. She looks ashamed, glances sideways without a word for a good 10 mn, then picks up her things and flees without uttering anything else.
I was amazed by so much rudeness and wondered whether she would she have offered to picki up the drycleaner bill if she was a bloke? Anyway, I guess I'll go to a different restaurant next time, maybe Hooters?

When will TfL realise they need more BorisBikes at Waterloo?

Now the Summer's gone -and everyone's back-, it's cruelly obvious Transport for London need to add more capacity to its Barclays Cycle Hire scheme.

The scheme is over-subscribed in several locations, including in Waterloo where at peak time (after 0815) one can't hire a bike nor drop it off after 1815.

The staff at hand -two guys and a trailer- can't cope with the quick-forming lines, often 20 deep.

At a time when the motorist is robbed more than ever, when train tickets have increased for years above inflation (as incomes stagnated), it is time to better resource alternative transportation schemes. They are both 'green' and low cost, as well as popular.

King regards,


Ludovic Windsor

Why pay for the gym when you've got the Boris Bikes?

A new application for the Boris Bikes.

See also my previous posts on this cycle hire scheme:

Waterloo: more Boris Bikes but still no sign of life for the Eurostar old platforms

The Boris bike vs. the French vélib -unfair comparison?

Postman Pat's elastic bands lambasted for littering

According to BBC News in a piece titled "Royal Mail's red rubber band use revealed" (what a catchy title guys...), Postman Pat uses 4,000,000 rubber bands every year at a tune of £5m, an increase of 40% over 5 years.

No wonder why every day I find dozens in my street alone.

Why can't they make giant rubber balls with them like any other office workers? Or just reuse them?

See also the Keep Britain Tidy (@KeepBritainTidy) campaign.

richmondtransits.blog

At last, TfL goes mobile

Transport for London has finally realised that people need travel information the most, well, when they're travelling.

Armed with this great finding, they've released a mobile version of their website -a great initiative.

Just a suggestion though: why don't they use geolocation to figure out where one to speed up the journey planner or find the closest and next bus about?

Dear email subscriber, I am writing to let you know that you can now access TfL travel information on your mobile by browsing the TfL website direct from an internet enabled phone. The website will automatically recognise the model of your phone and tailor the screen view accordingly. Journey Planner and live travel news can now be used directly via your mobile. In addition, you can check for planned weekend improvement works and find traffic updates on London's roads. For more information, visit tfl.gov.uk via your mobile. Yours sincerely, Vernon Everitt Managing Director, Marketing and Communications       Copyright in the contents of this email and its attachments belongs to Transport for London. Any unauthorised usage will infringe that copyright.

Cyclists living in fear

Seen on the BBC Helmet cameras capture bad driving: a cyclist is wearing a camera to record evidence of dangerous driving -in this case a quite graphic example of a van driver cutting off a cyclist and then abusing him.


IMHO, a consequence of lax policing (speed cameras don't do much for cyclists safety) and bad cycle lanes design.

See related posts:

• Sustainable transportation in Richmond?
• Cyclists to be given the right to ride the wrong way
• Waterloo: more Boris Bikes but still no sign of life for the Eurostar old platforms
• TfL still has little ideas about cycling lanes...
• Cycle superhighways: an expensive joke?
• When are we going to see this in London?
• Reversing the burden of the proof would encourage cyclingss
• Kingston worst for bike thefts
• Some hope for London cyclists?
• Cycling in London: it's about time to do something!

cycle, cyclelane, cycling, DfT, London, richmondtransits.blog, TfL, transportation, UK,

Curing the symptoms: plod in a van at the level crossing

After realising red  light jumping at levels crossing is rife and having established that people running in front of trains isn't exactly the best for health and safety statistics, Network Rail has shelled out £60k on a high-tech camera van. 

The sixty grand mobile enforcement control room comes complete with PC Chris Sheppard watching herds of commuters and vehicules running across the railway as light flashes.

Check this video, mostly filmed at Mortlake station (the van is parked on a double yellow line..): BBC: New spy camera to check level crossings.

It's worth pointing out that the Sheen lane crossing does have a pedestrian bridge, allowing school children to cross instead of running across unlike at North Sheen station.

My take on this? Once more, they're trying to cure the symptoms rather than tackling the issue. Which is quite simply that a level crossing on a busy line (translate: closed for 15+ mn at a time) is archaic in a densely populated connurbation. The line should be buried or a tunnel dig, or else. 

 

Final thought: the story doesn't say if the plod-van comes with a toilet?

BBC - Mind The Gap: Why do south London trains suffer most in the snow?

BBC - Mind The Gap: Why do south London trains suffer most in the snow?

Another proof that our transport system is antiquated and no longuer fit for purpose:

In south London the companies like Southern Railway, Southeastern and South West Trains have to operate using the "third rail system".That is, the electricity is transmitted to the train using an electrified third rail that the train picks up through a bit of metal called a shoe. So, while Network Rail have been running "ghost trains" (empty trains) and de-icing trains through the night there comes a point when it doesn't help.
When the snow and ice hits, if the conductor third rail is cold as soon as snow hits it, it freezes.

uk, trains, transportation, rail, railways, london, southwesttrains, southernrailways, southeastern, richmondtransits.blog

Giving up infrastructure is rarely a good deal for users and tax payers

Read this am: BBC News - High-speed rail link London to Folkestone is sold

Since it cost GBP 5bn and was sold for 2.1b, I'm failing to see where's the "great news for tax payers and rail users". For the latter, the failure of British Rail privatisation and of the tube PPP maintenance contracts clearly shows that selling out transportation infrastructure is a dodgy bet for the least.
When it works, it usually means giving private companies a nice little monopoly and a steady cash flow -take the French privatisation of motorways for instance, where more is going to share holders and less to building of new roads (which was incidentally the excuse in the first place for instoring tolls on those autoroutes).
But usually it doesn't work, and either companies end up bust with taxpayer having to mop up the collateral damage. Think the great

Plus relinquishing a tool to boost a nation's economy and litterally shape a nation fabric is neither a good news for users. Prove me wrong...

richmondtransits.blog, rail, railways, transportation, HS1, HS2, UK

Waterloo: more Boris Bikes but still no sign of life for the Eurostar old platforms

Two good posts this week on Londonist.

• The first one is on the continuing mystery of the old Eurostar platforms and why they cost £4.1 to keep in mothball state -quite a good example for a pathetic failure on behalf of people in charge of the nation's rail infrastructure. It's especially enraging when you're waiting on the approach to the station in a commuter train for a platform...  I've blogged before about this, see links below.
  
• And it looks like TfL has heard about my winging on Boris Bike stations being located far away from stations: Huge New Cycle Hire Station For Waterloo.  Shame common sense did not prevail in the first place, I still wonder why they looked at Montreal rather than Paris for municipal cycle hire best practices...
  

See my previous posts on those subjects:

• Waterloo plans mean no end of misery for commuters
• Londonist: What Next For Waterloo?
• The Boris bike vs. the French vélib -unfair comparison?s

borisbike, cycle, DfT, London, richmondtransits.blog, transportation, travel, UK, velib, London, rail, railways, richmondtransits.blog, TfL, transportation, tube, waterloocity, trains, rail

North Sheen level crossing: don't miss the public meeting on the 21st

As posted todat on the Facebook group: Stuck at North Sheen Level Crossing, there will be a public meeting about the level crossing with Zac Goldsmith, Network Rail and local councillors at DUKE STREET CHURCH in DUKE STREET, RICHMOND on THURSDAY 21st OCTOBER at 7.30pm. Bring your tales of misery and woe!

See my previous posts on the level crossings:

Near miss at North Sheen level crossing

Some news on the level crossing: consultation next Thursday!

At last: the North Sheen footbridge is coming... alas, this is not what you expected!

Richmond Transits: Join the Facebook group "Stuck at North Sheen

Richmond Transits: Airtrack and North Sheen Crossing

Richmond Transits: Monday Mayhem at North Sheen level crossing

Richmond Transits: Update on the North Sheen station footbridge

Richmond Transits: Here's the new camera at North Sheen level crossing

Richmond Transits: Update on the update on the North Sheen station

Richmond Transits: Susan Kramer's progress on North Sheen Station

Richmond Transits: Another train tragedy in waiting at North

Richmond Transits: Still waiting at the level crossing...

Traffic pandemonium: just a sign of things to come?

More on Manor road and Heathrow

Richmond Transits: Level crossing tragedy in Barnes

Richmond Transits: Update on the North Sheen station footbridge

Richmond Transits: Preliminary plans for North Sheen footbridge rebuffed

Richmond Transits: Campaing for suppressing level crossings

Richmond Transits: Richmond and Twickenham Times: Commuters see red over level crossing

Richmond Transits: Susan Kramer's progress on North Sheen Station footbridge

Richmond Transits: Time to remind Susan Kramer about the North Sheen Station footbridge

Recommended reading:

• Pedestrian Safety at Public Road Level Crossings: Committee Report

Tags: planning, north, sheen, level, crossing, railways, rail, transportation, footbridge, richmond, richmondtransits.blog

Near miss at North Sheen level crossing

On Wednesday, a mother on a bicycle with a child on the back and another on a bike attempted to cross while the lights were flashing.

They got trapped by the barriers and had to be helped out to safety by some bystanders who held the barriers.

There is no emergency phone or "panic button" at the crossing.

Such a crossing in a dense urban area is an accident waiting to happen. What will it take for action to be taken?

See my previous posts on the level crossings:

• Some news on the level crossing: consultation next Thursday!
• At last: the North Sheen footbridge is coming... alas, this is not what you expected!
• Richmond Transits: Join the Facebook group "Stuck at North Sheen
• Richmond Transits: Airtrack and North Sheen Crossing
• Richmond Transits: Monday Mayhem at North Sheen level crossing
• Richmond Transits: Update on the North Sheen station footbridge
• Richmond Transits: Here's the new camera at North Sheen level crossing
• Richmond Transits: Update on the update on the North Sheen station
• Richmond Transits: Susan Kramer's progress on North Sheen Station
• Richmond Transits: Another train tragedy in waiting at North
• Richmond Transits: Still waiting at the level crossing...
• Traffic pandemonium: just a sign of things to come?
• More on Manor road and Heathrow
• Richmond Transits: Level crossing tragedy in Barnes
• Richmond Transits: Update on the North Sheen station footbridge
• Richmond Transits: Preliminary plans for North Sheen footbridge rebuffed
• Richmond Transits: Campaing for suppressing level crossings
• Richmond Transits: Richmond and Twickenham Times: Commuters see red over level crossing
• Richmond Transits: Susan Kramer's progress on North Sheen Station footbridge
• Richmond Transits: Time to remind Susan Kramer about the North Sheen Station footbridge

TfL still has little ideas about cycling lanes...

A sobering read in today's Evening Standard on the Elephant & Castle roundabout redesign. It is described as a cycling blackspot where a a fitness instructor died on her bike last year.

Yet, the proposal design still doesn't show segregated cycle lanes.

Will they ever learn from best practices? All it takes is a trip to Rotterdam!