Safer school crossings a key element of £5m public realm renewal scheme

The new crossing, costing around £100,000, is being built in Garratt Lane near the junction with Wardley Street.

It is part of a wider series of measures to improve safety for children and their parents travelling to and from primary schools.

New push-button signal-controlled crossings will shortly be installed at Putney Common on the Lower Richmond Road close to the Oasis Academy. This will be complemented by an additional pelican crossing by the shops at the Lower Richmond’s Road’s junction with Roskell Road.

Council highways engineers are also drawing up plans for two more zebra crossings in West Hill including one in Victoria Drive designed to improve safety for children attending Our Lady Queen of Heaven primary school. The second is to be installed in Beaumont Road near the junction with Keevil Drive making it safer for residents visiting local shops.

And the council is also actively pressing Transport for London to install a signal-controlled crossing on its road network south of Battersea Bridge.

The installations are part of Wandsworth Council’s ongoing £5m public realm improvement programme that is delivering a series of refurbishments and improvements to Wandsworth’s streets, green spaces and infrastructure.

A total of £5m is being invested in renewing pavements and road surfaces, upgrading footpaths in parks and commons, improving street lighting, cleaning up bridges, investing in high streets and shopping parades, planting more street trees, and removing unnecessary street clutter.

This public realm improvement fund is additional money over and above existing budgets and is investing in the following areas:

• More pavement and road resurfacing - £2.05m
• Improvements to local shopping parades - £580,000
• River promenade upgrades - £440,000
• Rail bridge underpass lighting projects - £540,000
• Road Safety – Additional pedestrian crossings and compliance measures - £890,000
• Green spaces footpaths and railings - £500,000

Projects already delivered or underway include the refurbishment of the railway bridges at Wandsworth Town and Balham Stations, improvements to riverside walks, upgrades to paths in green spaces, new greener council vehicles, more plants and shrubs at key locations and more cycle parking spaces.

Transport spokesman Cllr John Locker said: “I’m delighted that work is progressing quickly to install this crossing in Garratt Lane and that plans are advanced for additional crossings points in Putney and West Hill.

“These latest plans mean pupils attending more primary schools can look forward to safer journeys to and from school, and will we hope encourage children and their parents to walk and cycle to school instead of travelling by car.

“The aim of our £5m public realm improvement scheme is to help boost Wandsworth’s recovery from the pandemic.

“We all saw how working practices, socialising and travel habits changed dramatically during the pandemic. People spent more time in local parks, open spaces and in their neighbourhoods. As a council we want to ensure this public realm is as good as it can be with well-maintained roads and pavements, better lighting and improved safety for pedestrians and cyclists.”