The Purley Village Blog

Original Message posted 17th Dec 2009 by Ian Harris

FUNDS for PURLEY DEVELOPMENT

Following the report in last weeks Purley Mail that over £2 million pounds has been allocated for improvements to the town in 2010, the committee of the Purley Business Association ( PBA) welcomes recommendations for the use of these funds. Such recommendations will be assessed by the committee of the PBA and included in further discussions and representations if appropriate. Representatives from the PBA have been , and will be in contact with the appropriate authorities to discuss the use of these funds, hence the request for recommendations . Ian Harris, Chairman PBA. email: ian@5012.net tel: 07870 568189

Reply posted 12th Jan 2010 by Peter Morgan, Coulsdon Roads & Traffic Consultant, Member of Coulsdon NP and of ECRA

Use railway arches to widen A22 Godstone Road and improve traffic

The council is talking about spending £2M to improve Purley.
I suggest that money would be best spent on the A22 road widening scheme - it is much more likely to produce real benefits commensurate with the money spent than cosmetic effects, such as have disfigured Coulsdon town centre recently.
A good road network is key to successful business.
If Purley Way was badly congested southbound, that is due to problems at Purley Cross.
The problem here is lack of egress from the gyratory.
This is more due to the A22 Godstone Road than the A23 Brighton Road southbound.
The solution here is to widen the Godstone Road, using two of the railway arches instead of one.
That would allow 2-3 lanes in each direction instead of just one up to Downscourt Road.
That would clear most of the delays along Purley Way towards Purley, and be a major step forward in relieving and improving Purley's traffic problems.
It would also increase northbound capacity from Kenley, and so relieve the very long queues along the A22 Godstone Road into Purley Cross.
To illustrate, the 407 take 4 mins from Kenley to Purley at 0530, but 20 mins at 0830.

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Reply posted 15th Jan 2010 by Dave Burbridge

Improve walking & cycling, don't encourage people to drive!

Another fantastic idea from Mr Morgan. Let's widen Godstone Road, make it apparently easier to drive along, thus encouraging more people to do so, and at the same time make it harder actually to get cross!

Reply posted 15th Jan 2010 by Ben Stafford

Funds for Purley Development

The 2 miilion wouldn't even pay for the compensation to the railway companies of closing the lines for several weekends. Much better to spend it on making things in town more comfortable for those walking around and maybe this will convince people to get out of their cars and do a bit of shopping while they are passing through.

Reply posted 16th Jan 2010 by Peter Morgan

Better to use the arches than build a tunnel

This Forum provides an opportunity for people to express their views.
I see no reason for the personal sarcasm.
My objective is to reduce the tendency for people to "get cross".
There is a wide view across Purley that there is a need to improve the flow of traffic through Purley Cross.
Many people have advocated building a flyover or a tunnel, or even a Bypass.
My proposal would be much cheaper, and would deliver almost as many benefits (apart from the Bypass option), and avoid most of the disbenefits.
Walking is fine for short distances, as I know from personal experience, but wholly irrelevant to almost all the traffic which needs to pass through Purley Cross.
Cycling is an unsafe minority pursuit, only suitable for the few, not the many - just ask them - and yes I do own and occasionally ride a bicycle.
My proposal would include changes to make it easier for pedestrians to cross the road.
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Reply posted 18th Jan 2010 by Phil

Purley Now Paying the Price for Past Mistakes

Peter Morgan is correct in some ways that the bridge on the A22 is a bottleneck, however, the Downs Court Road junction is also a major stumbling block and this junction needs improving as well as the narrow carriageway going towards Kenley. The A23, particularly southbound from Purley is also very slow.
Unfortunately there were too many NIMBYS in the 1970's who stopped the extension of the M23 further into central London and Coulsdon and Purley are now paying the price for this, with traffic chaos.
One only has to look at a road map of London and see that roads in from the south west - M3/A316 and A3, west - M4/A4, North West - M40 and A40, north - M1, North East - M11, East - A12 and A13, South East - A2 and M20/A20, all go to within a few miles of central London, as either 4 or 6 lane highways from the orbital M25.
What comes in from the south, within the M25 !? The M23 that stops at Hooley and reverts to a sort of dual carriageway for a short distance and the A22 that stops, as a Dual Carriageway at Caterham. The question needs to be asked to Central Government and TFL, why are road users from the south, so poorly served by an outdated road infrastructure ?

Reply posted 22nd Jan 2010 by Dave Burbridge

Past and current mistakes in road building

You are mistaken if you think that extending the M23 will magic away all the traffic on the A23. You will just end up with two clogged up corridors of traffic instead of one, blighting a larger area. Also I strongly suspect that most of the A23 traffic is local (i.e. generated within, say, 5 miles and making short journeys).
Oh, and cycling is not an unsafe minority pursuit. It can be hazardous if drivers aren't looking out for cyclists, but the more people that cycle, the more used drivers are to seeing cyclists and expecting them.
Again, the solution is to make it easier to walk & cycle, not drive.
Posters on this thread seem to think the important thing is to be able to drive from one side of Purley Cross to the other. What about those of us who actually live in Purley and want to be able to walk or cycle to the station?