Kidbrooke junction closed after 5 year old hit by motorcycle
A busy junction in Kidbrooke is closed after a five year old was injured after being hit by a motorcycle.
The child’s injuries are as yet unknown.
Bus routes 178 and 335 are on diversion.
Poor street design
The area’s roads and this junction have barely changed despite this area seeing substantial changes in recent years as thousands of new homes were built in the vicinity with thousands more underway or planned.
Alongside new homes on all sides and a new Aldi supermarket opening it remains a site of vehicle primacy with some arms of the junction even lacking signals for pedestrians to cross.
Less than two weeks ago a petition was also set up to reduce speeds with parents complaining of speeds past a nearby school. It has been signed 392 times at the time of writing.
It stated: “It is heart-wrenching to think that any momentary lapse in concentration or reckless driving could result in a tragic accident involving our children.”
Both the council and the developers are responsible for this failure to communicate and address the problems for cyclists and pedestrians here. You’ve raised this many times Murky but it’s ignored. And yet more foot traffic to come with the ‘council build’ homes across the way. It seems the street planning here always comes AFTER the new builds not before, and if at all in many cases! As a cyclist through here for decades it is appalling still. I used to responsibly use the pavements along here for years as they were rarely used prior to all the new builds came and made them busy. As a vulnerable older person with family responsibilities I could not afford to be injured let alone dead! There’s never any cash return in street planning but if the council had raised all the funding money from the developments it should have, and as other councils have, the money would be there. We don’t know the specific circumstances of the child here, but what’s for sure is that the probability of these incidents (not ‘accidents’) could be and must be reduced with proper planning, and in turn make a more pleasurable environment for the locals both old and new. We can be hopeful here that it appears not to be a mortality with another family grieving, but let it be a wake up call in an case to the appropriate councillors and council as a whole, and the developers. Get your heads together before a grieving family wishes to knock them together. Our wonderful Government itself helps little with its wishful electioneering rowing back on road safety to theoretically benefit the motorist. Sunak’s attack on councils 20mph introduction a case in point. AAAgh what a thoughtless idiot, and one hopes members of his own family never fall foul of his plans by being hit by a heavy vehicle at 30mph. If it happened it would be on his watch. Lets see more common sense from all our politicians, whether or not they had been voted in by us, and politicians who act for the community not their own personal benefit or their own power seeking.
Surprised it took this long for such accident. Its not only the school, there is even a park for children next to such a busy road.
And now, it seems that recently berkeley opened a new consultation that will increase the height of the buildings near south cator park that are close to the road, leading to more pedestrians in a road dominated by cars.
Horrible road planning.
Both TfL and Greenwich Council had a blank slate here in much of the area with all the building work and both have failed miserably to provide a safe and usable junction and road network for what is a rapidly changing area.
TfL maintain the junction, traffic lights and A2. As stated it doesn’t even have green lights for pedestrians to cross at the signals. Do they think we are using the dirty and dingy underpass? No chance.
Greenwich Council maintain all the approach roads and gained the money from new housing. Where’s it gone? Not on safe streets that’s for sure. They claim they have no money yet we know each development has seen them gain revenue. The road on approach from the south is very wide which encourages speeding. There’s no cycle lane except some faded paint. Yet this is a new road. It’s a woeful indictment of both how badly designed the road network is here.
I wouldnt be surprised if Greenwich are awaiting the opening of the Sivertown Tunnel when TfL could pay to do something about this junction. In time I think the Kidbrooke turn off will be permanently closed to either north or south bound traffic – or both – to allieviate the inevitable congestion to and from the new tunnel and prevent rat-running.