Creating a car free space outside HOP station

Hi everyone (and particularly HOPers),

I moved into Honor Oak Park a year ago, and love it.

But I’m always struck coming out of the station that there are actually two bridges for traffic (the north and south side of the road on separate bridges), and that pedestrians are squeezed along a narrow pavement.

I’ve started to imagine what it would be like if traffic was removed from the north bridge (immediately outside the station entrance) and both directions routed over the south bridge. There seems to be enough room.

Some potential benefits…

• Create a new public space, much needed in the area. Could be used for some public seating outside the (excellent) on the hoof cafe, or a market at the weekend.

• Slow down the traffic that bombs down the high street after coming off the hill

• Space to plant some trees (possible on a bridge right?)

• Safer, with only one pedestrian crossing instead of two.

Anyway, just an idea, and wondered if others thought I was mad or not.

I’m not involved the group attached to the station, so very keen to hear their thoughts.

Let’s discuss!

James

Can you imagine what it used to be like before the south bridge was built and that narrow chicane north bridge was 2-way traffic!
Mind you, at least we had a pedestrian subway crossing Honor Oak Park between the nth and sth corners of Grierson Rd.

Could the pavement be made wider and the road narrower?

I’m - just about - old enough to remember the days before the second bridge, and I seem to recall that even in those days of much, much lighter traffic it was an incredible bottleneck: which, of course is why the second bridge was built.

Removing traffic from the north bridge now would, I fear, be a recipe for regular gridlock around the whole Honor Oak Park area - which I guess none of us would be happy with.