A23 Oval - Streatham

Overview

We are building temporary schemes to help people who can to walk and cycle more, to help maintain space on public transport for those who need it and help people to avoid people using their cars as much as possible. We are introducing these measures on a temporary basis, as part of our emergency response to the coronavirus pandemic. 

There are already large numbers of people who cycle regularly along the A23 between Oval and Streatham. Our data shows that, even with the current lockdown, over 500 people regularly cycle between Oval and Streatham in the peak period. We think there is the potential for more people to cycle along the A23, but only if we introduce new measures to encourage and support people to do so. Doing so will help to take pressure off buses and trains so that key workers, and people who cannot walk or cycle, can travel more easily. It will also help buses to run more reliably. We also need to take action to prevent people walking and cycling from being hurt and injured: there were 80 collisions along the A23 between August 2017 and March 2019 which led to people being hurt. 50% of these involved people walking and cycling. 

The map below gives an overview of the changes we will be making.

A23 Oval - Streatham overview map (PDF 160KB)

We are planning to begin construction of these temporary changes in mid March 2021. We will write to local people closer to the time to confirm when construction will begin.

Consulting you on the changes  

We are introducing these temporary changes with an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO). Traffic Orders make it legally possible for us to make certain changes to the road network, and ETROs allow us to introduce changes temporarily, and on an experimental basis, so that we can better understand the effects the scheme will have.   

Ordinarily we would consult local people and other stakeholders before commencing work on changes to London’s streets. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic means we need to take emergency action to help London’s communities to cope with the virus, and the measures that are necessary to control it.   

Your views are important however and we will consult you on these changes. Our consultation will begin once we have completed the changes: we will write to you at this point to tell you the consultation has begun and how you can respond to it.   

We will use the consultation to help us decide whether:

• It is necessary to make any changes to the temporary scheme once it is in place, and if so, what these changes might be
• The scheme should remain in place permanently, or if it should be withdrawn at the end of the experimental period  

You do not need to wait until the consultation to share your views. If you have any immediate comments please complete our feedback form.  

The changes in detail

We have grouped the temporary changes we plan to make in terms of who would be most affected by them:

Improvements for cyclists and bus passengers

• We will provide new sections of bus lanes to provide a continuous lane dedicated to buses, cyclists and taxis along the A23 between Oval and Streatham. This will make journeys much more reliable for people cycling and travelling by bus or taxi
• There will be larger advanced stop lines at junctions along the A23 between Oval and Streatham. This will help people cycling to pull ahead before traffic at a junction, so that they are more visible
• There will be low-level signals, specifically for cyclists. We will also provide an ‘early release’ signal to people cycling, so that they can move ahead at a junction before traffic receives a green light. These improvements will be made at the junctions of Brixton Road with: Stockwell Road and Gresham Road, Atlantic Road, Acre Lane and Brixton Hill, and Ferndale Road

Changes to local access and parking, to support the improvements for cyclists and bus passengers

• There will be some changes for general traffic, including some banned turns. These changes will improve safety and protect people cycling from being injured by vehicles turning left. As part of our monitoring programme we will work with Lambeth Council to review traffic levels in the area. The banned turns are:

- The northbound left turn from Brixton Hill into Blenheim Gardens. The alternative route is via St Saviours Road and Halliwell Road

- The southbound left turn from Brixton Hill into Fairmount Road. The alternative route is via Beechdale Road

- The southbound left turn from Brixton Road into St John's Crescent. The alternative route is via Villa Crescent

• At the junctions of the A23 with New Park Road, Fairmount Road, Trent Road and Caldwell Street vehicles will only be able to enter the bus lane if they need to turn left, otherwise this lane will be an ahead only bus lane for buses, cyclists, taxis and any other road user that can use a bus lane.
• We will also relocate loading and disabled bays from outside 90-98 and 108 Brixton Hill to St Saviours Road. This will enable us to provide a continuous bus lane at these locations, improving journey times for people cycling and bus passengers, as well as making cycling safer 
• We will widen bus lanes at bus stops to make it easier and safer for buses and overtake people cycling, and to overtake stationary buses

The pack of maps below illustrates all of these changes in more detail.

A23 Oval - Streatham maps A to F (PDF 215KB) 

A23 Oval - Streatham maps G to L (PDF 199KB) 

A23 Oval - Streatham maps M to R (PDF 224KB) 

A23 Oval - Streatham maps S to X (PDF 224KB) 

A23 Oval - Streatham maps Y to BB (PDF 148KB)