After so much investment was put into improving Sydenham Road and it looking great for a while, it really saddens and angers me that it is looking so tired and a bit of a mess already.
Current issues include:
Pavements that have not been reinstated properly after statutory services have been in
Trees dying
Dead planting at cobbs content roundabout
Parking signs broken and bent
Thick black oil spillages associated with takeaway businesses putting their waste out
broken wayfinding signage
Lamp columns not working
Chipped paint and flyposting on lamp columns
I know the Council has limited funds, but some of these things don’t need money to fix.
The Council should get the stats companies to replace the paving properly.
The Council should get their lighting contractors to repair broken lights, repaint columns etc.
The Council should get businesses to properly wrap up their trade waste.
The Council also shouldn’t put in things like the wafinding, if they don’t have the money to replace them when they are broken.
Rant over!
Degradation of Sydenham Road
Re: Degradation of Sydenham Road
My inclination is to agree. At one time even quite recently it could be said proudly that there were almost no empty shops. Now there are several and a run-down look won't keep our high street alive let alone vibrant.
I'm not smart enough to know what the eye of a would-be business wants to see but it's becoming more apparent what they won't want to see.
But what to do? I agree fully that utility companies ought to make a like for like repair, not just something that fulfils the very basic statutory obligation of making their service un-tamperable. Skanska (lighting) seems spread across boroughs so it'd be a year and a day at least before anyone not on the immediate schedule gets a look in. Perhaps the council should recognise that maintenance has to be part of procurement contracts. Wayfinder signposts is a prime example of spending money on unwanted and unmaintainable (cost) street furniture, or what finishes up as advertising boards.
Re chewing gum, maybe there could be basic chipboard panels saying "stick here" and see what art emerges, e.g. faces, scene-scapes, animals, geometric designs. Clearly people unaccountably delight in chucking it on the pavement even when a litter bin is a step or two away. That's the fundamental though. There has to be a will to smarten up irrespective of what can be laid at the council's door.
I'm not smart enough to know what the eye of a would-be business wants to see but it's becoming more apparent what they won't want to see.
But what to do? I agree fully that utility companies ought to make a like for like repair, not just something that fulfils the very basic statutory obligation of making their service un-tamperable. Skanska (lighting) seems spread across boroughs so it'd be a year and a day at least before anyone not on the immediate schedule gets a look in. Perhaps the council should recognise that maintenance has to be part of procurement contracts. Wayfinder signposts is a prime example of spending money on unwanted and unmaintainable (cost) street furniture, or what finishes up as advertising boards.
Re chewing gum, maybe there could be basic chipboard panels saying "stick here" and see what art emerges, e.g. faces, scene-scapes, animals, geometric designs. Clearly people unaccountably delight in chucking it on the pavement even when a litter bin is a step or two away. That's the fundamental though. There has to be a will to smarten up irrespective of what can be laid at the council's door.
Re: Degradation of Sydenham Road
Who knew so many people in Sydenham chewed gum. When you look at the amount on the floor on Sydenham Station Approach you wonder how Sydenham isn’t the chewing gum capital of the world!
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Pat Trembath
- Posts: 613
- Joined: 2 Oct 2004 10:54
Re: Degradation of Sydenham Road
You wont get me joining a conversation often on STF nowadays - and please don't ask me why. However, I'm very happy to join this conversation (at least at present), as it is very close to my heart.
I agree the state of the pavements is lousy, having walked the high street with the Sydenham Assembly officer last Friday noting the state of the pavements, toilets, roundabout, fly-posting etc. etc.
However a once every 3 months walk will not resolve the state of our high street, although in all fairness during these walks notes are taken and matters referred to officers for action. We residents are the everyday 'eye' of our high street and, if we are concerned, we can, and should be taking taking acton ourselves.
Chewing gum ON EXPENSIVE YORK STONE in Station Approach? A board to stick used gum - (not pleasant, but practical) was suggested by me some 10 years ago having seen this in operation in Gibraltar at the entramce to the funicular to access the Rock. A relatively simple, and cheap, idea. Not adopted, when the alternative was suggested - a gum removing machine to be used borough-wide between the 18 Wards, maybe twice a year. Some simpler suggestions are, perhaps, never too late and could be still be implemented. I can think of a few places where such boards could be fairly discreetly installed.
I have reported Tinsel Town posters since they appeared in late March to fixmystreets.com - several times - and some have been removed. I'm tired of doing this by myself - why are others not doing it? There are others who annually abuse the law using and spoiling the new-ish lamposts.. It is illegal. Even if their agents put them up, they do not appear to employ anyone to remove them at the end of such event. Fairs and Circus events are posted willy-nilly. I have decide to leave them there to see if anyone else is interested in removing them. Lewisham has been aware that for several years two of us have taken this task in hand. One now no longer lives locally, the other, me, thinks time is up - I'm getting older and others are becoming concerned and they should be actively doing something..
Is anyone prepared to organise a once-a month walk up and down the high street? Traders themselves can help by removing flyposting on upstands in the high street. Why cannot we, as residents, not talk to our traders to make this a joint effort?
The situation at the roundabout has been reported and a resident of Sydenham has volunteered to remove rubbish which has been blown into the roundabout. The current situation re the plantings, despite replacements earlier this year, is due to the current weather and cannot be blamed on an anyone. However, maybe someone (or group) could adopt the roundabout and ensure a regular planting - like others we've seen on the Paxton roundabout, just over the borough border in Southwark.
If we could start a local residents' action group - removing fly-posting, getting an agreement with Network Rail/Lewisham Council for a couple of 'waste chewing gum boards', working with Glendale to improve the roundabout, weeding/planting the planters outside SG Smith, I'm sure we could all think of other areas we could try to enhance.
It really is up to us, the residents, to show how much we care...
I agree the state of the pavements is lousy, having walked the high street with the Sydenham Assembly officer last Friday noting the state of the pavements, toilets, roundabout, fly-posting etc. etc.
However a once every 3 months walk will not resolve the state of our high street, although in all fairness during these walks notes are taken and matters referred to officers for action. We residents are the everyday 'eye' of our high street and, if we are concerned, we can, and should be taking taking acton ourselves.
Chewing gum ON EXPENSIVE YORK STONE in Station Approach? A board to stick used gum - (not pleasant, but practical) was suggested by me some 10 years ago having seen this in operation in Gibraltar at the entramce to the funicular to access the Rock. A relatively simple, and cheap, idea. Not adopted, when the alternative was suggested - a gum removing machine to be used borough-wide between the 18 Wards, maybe twice a year. Some simpler suggestions are, perhaps, never too late and could be still be implemented. I can think of a few places where such boards could be fairly discreetly installed.
I have reported Tinsel Town posters since they appeared in late March to fixmystreets.com - several times - and some have been removed. I'm tired of doing this by myself - why are others not doing it? There are others who annually abuse the law using and spoiling the new-ish lamposts.. It is illegal. Even if their agents put them up, they do not appear to employ anyone to remove them at the end of such event. Fairs and Circus events are posted willy-nilly. I have decide to leave them there to see if anyone else is interested in removing them. Lewisham has been aware that for several years two of us have taken this task in hand. One now no longer lives locally, the other, me, thinks time is up - I'm getting older and others are becoming concerned and they should be actively doing something..
Is anyone prepared to organise a once-a month walk up and down the high street? Traders themselves can help by removing flyposting on upstands in the high street. Why cannot we, as residents, not talk to our traders to make this a joint effort?
The situation at the roundabout has been reported and a resident of Sydenham has volunteered to remove rubbish which has been blown into the roundabout. The current situation re the plantings, despite replacements earlier this year, is due to the current weather and cannot be blamed on an anyone. However, maybe someone (or group) could adopt the roundabout and ensure a regular planting - like others we've seen on the Paxton roundabout, just over the borough border in Southwark.
If we could start a local residents' action group - removing fly-posting, getting an agreement with Network Rail/Lewisham Council for a couple of 'waste chewing gum boards', working with Glendale to improve the roundabout, weeding/planting the planters outside SG Smith, I'm sure we could all think of other areas we could try to enhance.
It really is up to us, the residents, to show how much we care...
Re: Degradation of Sydenham Road
I will have a walk around in the next few days and report fly posters to fixmystreets.
Re: Degradation of Sydenham Road
I regularly report flyposters to Fix My Street plus various other things that I notice when walking round.
I have also suggested to a number of traders that they might remove fly posters when outside their shops. Some do!
I can't organise a monthly walk round simply because I am away from Sydenham so much, this limits my availability.
The chewing gum boards idea would be great if it stopped the gum problem on the pavements!
I havent seen the Paxton Roundabout ...will go and have a look. If a group has adopted it, do you know who pays for the planting Pat? Is it the Volunteers?
I have also suggested to a number of traders that they might remove fly posters when outside their shops. Some do!
I can't organise a monthly walk round simply because I am away from Sydenham so much, this limits my availability.
The chewing gum boards idea would be great if it stopped the gum problem on the pavements!
I havent seen the Paxton Roundabout ...will go and have a look. If a group has adopted it, do you know who pays for the planting Pat? Is it the Volunteers?
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Pat Trembath
- Posts: 613
- Joined: 2 Oct 2004 10:54
Re: Degradation of Sydenham Road
My mistake and maybe wishful thinking. The Paxton roundabout is looked after by Southwark Council contractors - and very well they do it too!
Re: Degradation of Sydenham Road
Well still sounds great idea but wondering I Health and safety would query as roundabout surrounded by traffic?Pat Trembath wrote:My mistake and maybe wishful thinking. The Paxton roundabout is looked after by Southwark Council contractors - and very well they do it too!
Re: Degradation of Sydenham Road
Is there someone we can contact about getting the paving cleaned?