Residents on a set of South London roads feel “let down” by their local councils following requests for speed cameras as they fear the continuous traffic will cause someone to “lose their life”.
Locals living on Winn Road and Mottingham Lane have asked Greenwich Council to consider adding traffic calming measures to the area.
Michael Pudelek, a local resident, said at a Greenwich full council meeting on October 25 that half the people living on Winn Road lived in Lewisham borough and the other half in Greenwich borough.
He said the street had seen a marked increase in traffic from lorries since the opening of a building materials supplier on the nearby Sidcup Road.
Mr Pudelek said at the meeting: “Will you allow the residents of Winn Road to appoint a firm of consultant traffic managers to liaise with Greenwich Traffic Management department and Lewisham Traffic Management Department to come up with a solution that makes our lives worth living again? We feel very, very let down by both boroughs.”
The resident said that locals were happy to independently raise funds to appoint local traffic consultants themselves, and asked Greenwich Council to consider improving Mottingham Lane’s layout with its junction at the A20.
Other residents also suggested adding a pedestrian crossing and speed cameras to Winn Road, as well as speed bumps on Mottingham Lane.
Mr Pudelek said: “It is a source of continuous traffic. We’ve asked for traffic cameras to be installed. Will you put traffic cameras on Mottingham Lane, so you know the extent of the problem?
"We’re living with it, you don’t know what it is. You will never know what it is unless you put traffic cameras on Mottingham Lane.”
Labour Councillor Averil Lekau, cabinet member for climate change, environment and transport for Greenwich Council, said in a written response that the authority was collecting data to prioritise areas in the borough for future traffic management schemes.
She added that she would not be able to comment on potential locations for the schemes until early next year
The councillor also said the A20 was primarily the responsibility of Transport for London, while only 70 metres of Mottingham Lane was in Greenwich borough and feared how traffic measures would affect neighbouring boroughs such as Bromley and Lewisham.
She added that Winn Road was largely maintained by Lewisham Council.
A petition to add traffic calming measures to Winn Road was previously sent to Greenwich Council in 2019. Council documents said the road’s steep incline caused many drivers to break the 20mph speed limit in place.
Local resident Richard Mather said at the meeting: “There’s a real major problem there… It’s very serious because someone is going to get killed and it’s frightening. Coming out of where I live, it’s dangerous.”
Cllr Lekau said she understood the concerns of residents and did not take them lightly.
She said she was happy to open discussions with Lewisham Council and would update residents on the topic, but said there were challenges on roads with historic borders.
The cabinet member said at the meeting: “It is incumbent on us to look at what we can do with the resources that we [have].
"If we had endless resources, I could put cameras here there and everywhere if everybody wanted a camera. But it is about the resources that we have.”
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