13 November (Part 2) - Transport Committee discussion on roads
The
silver car left before I needed to set off for the Transport Committee meeting
last night and to be fair I could have got through the available gap without too
much difficulty, it was cars emerging from behind the flats opposite which could
not get out without using the footpath.
The Committee meeting consisted of four parts, five if Introductions are reported
separately, they being Rail, TfL, Transport Police and Roads.
Roads is the only item which produced any information that arguably is best not
left waiting so Roads is going first. It is basically the Highways Manager
saying his piece and Councillors asking questions.
There was nothing new to report on cycling issues but there were developments on
electric vehicle charge points. Ecotricity (?, the acoustics are very poor and
the Agenda doesn’t say) who had planned to install 100 charging points in Bexley
has somehow produced 102 but no one is complaining.
Another provider may provide another tranche by using a £450,000 grant made under the
On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme. Around 80 possibly higher powered units could
come from that but everything is delayed.
The original chargepoints, twelve sites in Nuxley Road, near Belvedere Station, St. John’s Road,
Sidcup and elsewhere have all gone because BP decided without warning to pull the plug and just
go! Fortunately they were persuaded to leave the underlying electrics so
replacement is not too difficult and being pursued.
The previous Government twice in 2024 provided £275,000 to fix potholes which
allowed 200 to be repaired along with 19 much larger ‘road patching’ operations.
They fixed another 100 or so clusters of potholes while the annual total of
pothole repairs is nearer 1,500 fixed.
A metre square hole can cost between £300 and £500 to repair.
Nothing has been heard about further Government funding for next year “We are in limbo.”
Councillor John Davey (Conservative, West Heath) said he had seen utility
companies fill holes with concrete and they seemed to last longer than the usual
asphalt fix and wondered about the economics of adopting that technique. The Highways Manager said
he disapproved of the practice, concrete top surfaces introduce anti-skid
issues. He went on to say that too many of Bexley’s old roads
were never very well constructed and are prone to sagging and cracking.
Chairman Cameron Smith asked if the worst part of North Cray Road is in line for
resurfacing? He had seen people swerving to avoid the worst sections. He was told that officially
they don’t individually meet the emergency repair criteria but there are so many
of them that they will be given attention.
Ruxley roundabout “is quite
dangerous” and may have to be repaired over five nights.
Cameron also asked for an update on the
CPZ consultations in the Abbey Wood
area. He was told there were no plans to re-visit the existing CPZs but around
Abbey Road, South of the railway line, the top end of New Road, Woolwich Road
and around Belvedere and Slade Green Stations were all being looked at.
“A consultation, more of a survey”, had been undertaken among residents “to get
a feel from the locals”. There would be problems if some areas were for the CPZ
but the one in the middle was not and the discussion now includes ward
Councillors. The Belvedere ward Councillors, including the newly elected one,
are pushing for the Abbey Wood CPZ. Residents have made their position clear.
It is possible that there will be more Consultations before a decision is made.
In December a bid will go into TfL for more Zebra Crossing funding.
Councillor Sally Hinkley (Labour, Belvedere) said that the view from the top of a bus (a tenuous
transport link there!) showed that “Riverside Gardens has been going on for
ever” but was pleased to hear the refurbishment night be completed by next Spring.