Good news that £3.2m is now available from Transport for London for improvements to Beckenham Town Centre. The working group under the chairmanship of Cllr Tickner of Copers Cope Ward has been reconvened to go over the issues that were the focus of the bid to TfL last autumn and to ensure that they are still relevant and workable. WBRA attends this group.
This £3.2m is in addition to money already provided by TfL to re-align the junction at Beckenham Junction – ie Southend Road / Rectory Road / Albemarle Road / High Street. The plans include reducing the pavement outside O’Neill’s pub and moving the traffic island over so that vehicles turning left from Rectory Road will have a wider turning circle. This is aimed at reducing the hold-ups there when large vehicles get stuck, avoiding them mounting the narrow pavement outside the locksmiths, and encouraging them not to travel through the High Street to avoid this turn. Sadly it is not possible to widen the footpath outside the locksmiths as this would defeat the object of the scheme because lorries would still not have enough room to turn. Countdown timers will be installed on this junction, as they have already been at the lights at St George’s and at Thornton’s Corner.