Following a campaign from the Liberal Democrats, residents and businesses who have been enduring “traffic chaos” around Lower Road are now being offered a consultation on a major redesign, incorporating many of the solutions the Liberal Democrats have championed.
Cllr Adam Hood, who represents Surrey Docks ward, announced the win in a new online video which parodies “Star Wars” – indicating the scale of the Lower Road “Saga”. This comes after a previous video announcing smaller wins went viral with Cllr Hood sporting a party hat and popping a party popper.
In a document sent to residents and local businesses, the council conceded that since the scheme opened last year “congestion has increased in the area and will continue to do if not addressed.”
The proposed redesign includes removing parking bays to introduce a second lane of traffic, a major win for the Liberal Democrats who proposed this in a motion initially rejected by Labour councillors in July last year
However, Cllr Hood, who has been campaigning on behalf of residents and businesses facing unbearable traffic issues for over a year, has slammed the council for getting it so wrong in the first place, despite multiple warnings.
The Surrey Docks councillor had previously celebrated some small concessions the council had made around parking bays and technical changes, but maintained that a rethink of the whole road network around Canada Water was needed.
Cllr Hood has also been holding regular meetings with officers to press the need for change and receive updates. He understands from these meetings that further changes, such as reversing the flow of Cope Street, may yet come in the future.
Commenting, Councillor for Surrey Docks Cllr Adam Hood said:
“This is a huge win for our campaign, and hope that residents will engage positively with the consultation to get these latest changes through. It’s a shame that it took so long, and so much time and money has been wasted on a traffic scheme local councillors and residents have long warned would be a disaster, but I’m hopeful that these new changes will alleviate some of the traffic pressure, and look forward to further improvements to come”.
