The Sydenham Society has launched its plans for Sydenham Gateway - a grand plan to smarten-up the area around Cobbs Corner and Sydenham Station in preparation for the coming of the tube. It features;
* New green areas around Spring Hill & Venner Road
* Reorganised bus/rail interchange
* New station access, buildings and retail units
See the full details here:
http://www.sydenhamsociety.com/
http://www.sydenham.org.uk/sydenham_gateway.html
Please tell us what you think of it and vote (if you are registered & logged on).
Sydenham Gateway Launched
Sydenham Gateway Launched
Last edited by admin on 5 May 2005 11:25, edited 1 time in total.
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Muddy Waters
- Posts: 137
- Joined: 2 Oct 2004 17:05
Yes please - let's have something better than the miserable station with its minute side gate that is all we poor commuters are allowed as an exit most nights after 6.30 pm.
Bus stops near the station make common sense, there is too much distance between the present ones.
We need toilets and proper rubbish facilities - the area around the station is a disgrace
The whole area is in need of a makeover - well done, Sydenham Society -I'm joining up to support you!
Bus stops near the station make common sense, there is too much distance between the present ones.
We need toilets and proper rubbish facilities - the area around the station is a disgrace
The whole area is in need of a makeover - well done, Sydenham Society -I'm joining up to support you!
Excellent ideas! 
Putting the station entrance closer to the main road would be good – the station approach seems to be a bit of a crime blackspot perhaps because it is set away from the road.
The thing I find most annoying about the buses is that there is no one location where you can pick up a bus towards Crystal Palace (this might well apply to other destinations, this just happens to be where I’m most likely to want to travel by bus). Getting from Crystal Palace to Sydenham is a doddle because all the buses leave from the same stop. It would be great if there was a more co-ordinated bus/rail interchange so everything hooked up at the same point rather than having to try to untangle all the interweaving bus routes.
Putting the station entrance closer to the main road would be good – the station approach seems to be a bit of a crime blackspot perhaps because it is set away from the road.
The thing I find most annoying about the buses is that there is no one location where you can pick up a bus towards Crystal Palace (this might well apply to other destinations, this just happens to be where I’m most likely to want to travel by bus). Getting from Crystal Palace to Sydenham is a doddle because all the buses leave from the same stop. It would be great if there was a more co-ordinated bus/rail interchange so everything hooked up at the same point rather than having to try to untangle all the interweaving bus routes.
Urban design initiative
It is clear that changes are desparately needed at Cobbs Corner and down past the station. The station itself is not the best kept station around, and the area is rundown, dirty and totally pedestran unfriendly. The concepts proposed by SydSoc have much merit, however there are negative aspects to the proposals which need to be considered as deeply as the positives.
Simply moving the station entrance onto the main road creates hazards for pedestrians, commuters and drivers which cannot be ignored. The pavement on the main road is already too narrow to cope with pedestrian traffic and without widening the bridge how could the pavement be improved?
Placing bustops either side of this bottleneck section on a road that simply cannot cope at the moment will result in more traffic jams and that means more buses sitting in the jams, more commuters missing their connections and more frustrated drivers going nowhere.
The station is set to become one of the busiest on the line and that will attract more commuters and more traffic. I cannot see how these issues could be addressed in the present proposals and they must form part of the basis for the redesign of the area. If these issues are not properly dealt with no urban design initiative can succeed, however worthy the intentions.
I trust that the entire matter will be up for full public consultation before anything is agreed and that the issues I have raised, as well as countless other issues I have not picked up, will be addressed properly, publicly and accountably - no-one wants another roundabout fiasco in Sydenham town!
Simply moving the station entrance onto the main road creates hazards for pedestrians, commuters and drivers which cannot be ignored. The pavement on the main road is already too narrow to cope with pedestrian traffic and without widening the bridge how could the pavement be improved?
Placing bustops either side of this bottleneck section on a road that simply cannot cope at the moment will result in more traffic jams and that means more buses sitting in the jams, more commuters missing their connections and more frustrated drivers going nowhere.
The station is set to become one of the busiest on the line and that will attract more commuters and more traffic. I cannot see how these issues could be addressed in the present proposals and they must form part of the basis for the redesign of the area. If these issues are not properly dealt with no urban design initiative can succeed, however worthy the intentions.
I trust that the entire matter will be up for full public consultation before anything is agreed and that the issues I have raised, as well as countless other issues I have not picked up, will be addressed properly, publicly and accountably - no-one wants another roundabout fiasco in Sydenham town!