Request ID: FOI-1548-2223 Date published: 24 October 2022
You asked
1. The Emergency Traffic Regulation Orders (ETROs) have a legal maximum shelf life of 18 months. The Streetspace Scheme was introduced to Clapham High Street in October 2020. Why then on expiry of the ETRO in April 2022 was the scheme still kept in Clapham High Street and not dismantled?
2. Why was research and assessment of the Streetspace scheme made using evidence collated after the expiry of the ETRO?
3. Why has TfL not directly assessed traffic levels of the scheme directly on Clapham High Street but used counters in Stockwell?
4. How has TfL assessed journey times for buses on the southbound lane of Clapham High Street?
5. TfL has stated that there has been an increase in traffic levels on Clapham High Street but then states that it does not believe that this increase is to do with the scheme; for what reason does it believe this to be so and what evidence does TfL have to justify this position?
6. Concerns have been raised about ambulances being stuck behind traffic on the southbound lane of Clapham High Street (about there exists much footage and photographic evidence). What mitigation has TfL undertaken concerning this matter, and what risk assessment has it made?
7. Please detail what engagement TfL has made with the community, local councillors and stakeholders in 2022 concerning the Streetspace scheme in Clapham High Street
8. Does TfL plan to hold any public meetings in Clapham to discuss the scheme?
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-1548-2223
Thank you for your request received on 27 September 2022 asking for information about the Streetspace scheme in Clapham High Street.
As advised in our acknowledgement, the first three questions of your request ask for explanation and not recorded information, therefore the responses below have not been provided under FOI:
1. The Emergency Traffic Regulation Orders (ETROs) have a legal maximum shelf life of 18 months. The Streetspace Scheme was introduced to Clapham High Street in October 2020. Why then on expiry of the ETRO in April 2022 was the scheme still kept in Clapham High Street and not dismantled?
A temporary traffic regulation order (TTRO) was made on 2nd October 2020. This enforced the on-street measures put in place to respond to the pandemic, and lasted for up to 18 months. In November 2021, we acknowledged that we needed to ensure that the road network continued to operate in a safe manner in the short term whilst we considered the longer term operation of the corridor, and make any necessary changes to be able to ensure this. In effect, in the interests of road safety, the previous restrictions were retained and an Emergency Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) was made on 31 March 2022 to allow the additional time needed to undertake this assessment and make an informed decision.
2. Why was research and assessment of the Streetspace scheme made using evidence collated after the expiry of the ETRO?
The data has been collected over time, however we needed to ensure that people’s travel options had settled after the impact of lockdowns and social distancing was removed before we made a decision.
3. Why has TfL not directly assessed traffic levels of the scheme directly on Clapham High Street but used counters in Stockwell?
Counters were placed along the corridor to consider the corridor as a whole, we need to balance the cost of the measurements at specific spaces with the need to have a corridor understanding
The remainder of your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require. You asked:
4. How has TfL assessed journey times for buses on the southbound lane of Clapham High Street?
TfL collects bus journey times for all routes throughout the day using our ‘iBus’ data system. We can then use this data to compare journey times before and after the changes, and draw conclusions as to whether they have improved or not. We also regularly monitor the network and have done ever since the changes were implemented.
5. TfL has stated that there has been an increase in traffic levels on Clapham High Street but then states that it does not believe that this increase is to do with the scheme; for what reason does it believe this to be so and what evidence does TfL have to justify this position?
The network conditions have changed since the covid pandemic, these trends are being seen across London. Several aspects of the road network have also changed with schemes such as this, Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, and changing travel patterns as more people work from home. We cannot directly attribute any changes in traffic to specific causes as we are unable to separate out the impact of any one scheme of those listed. However, due to the low level of interventions for the CS7 scheme, we would not have expected this scheme to have an impact of increasing traffic flows on Clapham High Street.
6. Concerns have been raised about ambulances being stuck behind traffic on the southbound lane of Clapham High Street (about there exists much footage and photographic evidence). What mitigation has TfL undertaken concerning this matter, and what risk assessment has it made?
TfL have extended the wand placement from 4m to 8m which allows for plenty of space for vehicles to pull in to and make space for emergency vehicles to pass. TfL have regularly consulted with emergency services who will contact us if they find any issues with the scheme.
7. Please detail what engagement TfL has made with the community, local councillors and stakeholders in 2022 concerning the Streetspace scheme in Clapham High Street
From the scheme's introduction in October 2020 and throughout 2021/2022 we have followed an ‘active listening’ approach to stakeholder and community engagement.
This approach involved making available on our website a survey through which local people and other stakeholders could tell us about their experiences of the temporary scheme. This website included information about the scheme, including a description of the changes we had made and an overview and detailed layout map of the scheme. The website was available here:
https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/clapham-oval.
We also engaged with key stakeholders at various points in 2022. These were:
• May 2022 - discussions held with London Borough of Lambeth regarding proposals to consult on retaining temporary changes. • August 2022 – announced our intention to hold a consultation on the future of the scheme to local councillors, stakeholders and all the people who had provided feedback on the scheme to us up to that point. Our announcement email remains available on our website at https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/12066/widgets/34164/documents/30931. • September 2022 - public consultation launched. To support the launch, we carried out the following activities: Councillor email - local councillors informed of the consultation launch date and the public communications we would use to promote it MP (Member of Parliament) and AM (Assembly Members) email – relevant Members of Parliament and Assembly Members informed of consultation details Residential and business letter – all property and business addresses, within 250 metres of the routeway informed of the consultation launch and told how they can respond Local stakeholder email – local stakeholders informed of the consultation launch and told how they can respond Email to everyone who had either written into us or taken part in our ‘active listening’ exercise prior to the launch of the public consultation announcing the consultation launch and explaining how people can respond Customer Relations Message – email announcing the consultation launch and explaining how people can respond. This included transport users and pedestrians between Clapham Common and Oval along the A3; bus users of routes 35, 36, 37, 50, 88, 137, 345, 417, N137, 322, 690, 417, 155, N155, P5, 333, 185, 436, N136; London Underground and Overground passengers to stations Clapham Common, Clapham High Street, Clapham North, Stockwell and Oval; people, businesses and other stakeholders located in the London Borough of Lambeth who registered their interest in TfL updates concerning the borough; people who had registered with us an interest in updates relating to walking and cycling activities Local face-to-face engagement – on street activities to promote the consultation. This involved a team of two engaging directly with members of the public along the routeway; Local business engagement - businesses along the routeway were visited by TfL staff, made aware of the consultation and encouraged to participate. Businesses were also asked to host a poster or consultation flyers to promote the consultation. On street marketing – we placed consultation posters in strategic locations to advertise the consultation; this included Underground and Overground stations, the local library and supermarkets along the routeway. • October 2022 – o Local face-to-face engagement – further on street activities to promote the consultation. This involved a team of two engaging directly with members of the public along the routeway. o Following the death of Her Majesty the Queen we decided to extend the consultation period and informed the following people: Email to councillors, Emails to MPs (Member of Parliament), AMs (Assembly Members), Email to local stakeholders Email to people that had contacted us or taken part in the consultation Letter to local residential and business properties Email to passengers using affected bus routes and stations.
8. Does TfL plan to hold any public meetings in Clapham to discuss the scheme?
We do not have plans to hold a public meeting to discuss the scheme. Instead we have offered, through our consultation promotional materials, the opportunity for people to have a 1-2-1 phone conversation with a member of the TfL consultation team to discuss the scheme. This can be organised by calling our Consultation team on 020 3054 6037.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please feel free to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
