New housing scheme prompts fresh calls for traffic solution

Local residents have called on the Council to revisit the problems caused by traffic feeding in to the Brockley Cross double-roundabout.

The calls have been prompted by the proposed redevelopment of 72-78 Geoffrey Road as an apartment block. Although the site is an obvious candidate for redevelopment, it is feared that the increase in parked cars will cause Geoffrey Road to become more congested since, though narrow, it is used as a rat-run by drivers.

Traffic calming measures have failed to deter drivers from using Geoffrey Road and the objectors believe that only a redesign of the road layout will improve matters.

In his recent interview, John Miller indicated that no way had yet been found to improve the traffic system.

In a letter to Cllr Darren Johnson, reprensentatives of the Brockley Cross Action Group have challenged the lack of any provision made for parking, arguing that even though it's envisioned as a development for people without cars (a "zero parking" scheme), there is no practical way of ensuring that this is anything other than an aspiration. It is believed that this could also create problems for residents of Manor Avenue, which is already very crowded.

The problem has thrown the spotlight back on the issue of how to improve the traffic system in this part of Brockley, in order to reduce the use of these residential streets as local rat-runs and enable new homes to be built in a sustainable manner. With the site on the corner of Geoffrey Road and Upper Brockley Road also targeted for redevelopment, the issue will only become more pressing.