TfL have shared some data with us. Some on request, some after a Freedom of Information reques to the Metropolitan Police.
The documents can all be download both in their raw form here and with annotations (in pink) by this campaign and are available as e-mail attachments on request. They include collision data, existing and forecast pedestrian flow and tree felling targets.
The news is really bad. It makes the proposals seem all the more baffling were it not for the political motivations that we know are behind the proposals, explained elsewhere on this website.
10% longer pedestrian journey times overall, up to 41% longer in some directions. Overall 19 and a half hours wasted in extra pedestrian journey time in the one hour at peak!
17% longer motorist journey times - increasing air and noise pollution
4 mature trees felled - reducing their mitigating effect on air pollution, heat absorption, wind tunnelling and noise pollution to high rise neighbours, particularly Perronet House (90 flats) and Skipton House (offices)
Currently pedestrian collisions comprised just 5% of the total in the 36 months to May 2013. Any collisions are bad, but this figure is hard to reconcile with TfL and Southwark Council's explanation for removing the subways as a way of improving pedestrian safety - no collisions happen down there and Community Wardens confirm you are less likely to be a victim of crime there than at surface level at this junction. This perception was confirmed by the Metropolitan Police who on April 23 sent us data for incidents recorded to the three years to May 2013. 978 incidents were logged at surface level at the roundabout vs just 19 in the subways - see the Met Police report here. Yet reducing crime is justified by senior TfL management and councillors for destroying the subways!
Cyclists are clearly most at danger but removing subways does not improve cycling safety, it increases danger by putting additional pedestrians in the line of cyclists.
Until late summer 2013, as a result of this campaign's pressure, they had made no survey of the likely negative environmental impact. We expect the results of this survey in late March 2014.
This campaign seeks analysis and will carry out research to fill this vacuum. If you are a researcher, perhaps a student, who would like to colloborate in developing research about these subways, please get in touch with lyla@saveoursubways.org
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