Bromley Council has been given an extra £225,000 to tackle potholes after the recent – and this weekend, current – freezing conditions, and they want residents to let them know where the money needs spending.
The Council has already been dealing with hundreds of potholes after last month’s cold blast, and is in the middle of a longer term investment programme to catch up on the general resurfacing backlog. The extra cash from central government will help to top up the emergency repairs budget and get our roads back in shape for the spring.
Of course the Council’s own highway inspectors can’t be everywhere, so if you know of any damage that hasn’t yet been identified (it will normally have been marked out with spray paint) then let the council know – either using FixMyStreet or via the Council website, or just let us know in the comments.
Hayes & Coney Hall Conservative Councillors 
Nice idea but perhaps you should concentrate your funding on controlling the speed of vehicles on Pickhurst Lane and Hayes Lane. Or maybe try adding some zebra crossing to the area so our children are safe when travelling to school. Hayes roads are not safe for children at the moment. Getting across the road to Husseywell Park feels like a gauntlet and not the feeling of safety our village should portray.
We’ve been made aware of the issues on Pickhurst Lane (the crossing further down was installed a few years ago in response to the same type of problem) and recently asked for a speed survey to be conducted to gain an accurate picture. We’ll be looking at this, and other traffic hotspots that have been highlighted recently, with Council officers in the near future.
Thanks for your response, I am glad attention is being paid to the issue, we look forward to seeing progress towards safety on these roads, especially Pickhust Lane as there seems to be little consideration from drivers that they are in a residential area rather then a motorway.
While we are discussing a safer environment for our children, there is also no safety barrier in place on the exit out of the The Knoll on to Pickhurst Lane. I understand that maintenance vehicles need access to the park, but when the gates are open there is nothing to stop children running straight on to a very busy road, I am sure you will agree, with the growing number of young families in the area that this needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency and a solution found that satisfies everyone’s needs. What can be done here?
Thanks again for taking your time to listen to my concerns. Apologies for hijacking your post on potholes!
Ridgeway is terrible pretty much the whole length of it, The Knoll has potholes at the Ridgeway end which have been there at least 2 years.
Potholes spotted: Hayes Lane Bromley between Norman’s Park entrance road which also needs repairing to Hayes road. Bottom stretch of Ridgeway at side of NewInn down to mini roundabout.
I have reported multiple potholes in Gates Green Road on LBB fix my street. In addition, on two occasions during the past month, the appalling condition of the road surface at the Glebe Way roundabout which is becoming extremely dangerous. This second issue as far as I am aware, is the responsibility of TfL and not LBB and has not been addressed by TfL.
All,
I recently wrote to Bromley Council to invite them to come and visit Hayes Hill Rd in the absence of traffic (road is closed for Thames Water works) and to see the minimal negative if not positive impact this diversion was having on Station Approach. Unsurprisingly I received no response. This was in the vain hope of a permanent access only situation, given the grave concerns there are over traffic on this road.
It has long been a source of concern to Hayes Hill Rd residents that we are sandwiched between two B roads and thus are effectively one ourselves. All traffic which should be routed through Hayes centre uses this shortcut, without exception. Huge juggernauts are not unusual. Because vehicles are often coming off the faster Kent Gateway, the speed at which cars travel down this road is totally unacceptable.
There are many elderly residents and families with small children, but no speed management measures (barring the ineffective SLOW markings on the road). We are regularly woken up at night by the sound of revving car engines. Since the roadworks began, my five year old has not woken up once after being put to bed. This would normally be around two or three times in an evening and at least once on a weekend when revellers from Beckenham or Bromley speed past in the early hours (and often stop outside our house for a cigarette, or to relieve themselves or vomit; the start of HHR is the first stopping point on the ‘fast route’ down from Bromley/Beckenham). Additionally turning right out of Hayes Hill onto Pickhurst Lane is absolutely perilous in a morning given the speed of traffic (surely a mini roundabout is required here). It can sometimes take up to five minutes to turn right.
I responded to a request from the PSO last year for volunteers to stand with a speed gun, but there was no follow up. I have written to the council several times about these issues and am aware that many other Hayes residents have done the same. The consensus appears to be that there haven’t been any fatalities so they don’t need to take any action. As a parent of a young child, I am truly shocked by their failure to take even basic traffic calming seriously. We moved here from Wandsworth, who treat the matter with much more respect; in a similar residential area there would be speed bumps and 20 mph limits. The contrast is stark. I can only describe Bromley’s attitude as irresponsible.
The road closure over the last few weeks has only served to highlight the negative impact of these traffic flows on our street. I have also been surprised at how little congestion the diversion has caused. With shops closing, Station Approach needs all the footfall it can get. It doesn’t seem like a negative that traffic is routed the way it should be going anyway, through an ‘urban centre’ as opposed to a residential street. It’s worth noting that the impact on many of the long-term residents of HHR has been profound; some of them can remember when there was no through road to Tiepigs Lane and their families bought houses in a quiet cul-de-sac. This is only going to deteriorate as more and more traffic uses this route. The issue of HHR aside, traffic calming and speed restrictions are required on all of the main routes through Hayes. The whole area has been allowed to become something of a race track and action needs to be taken.
I am writing now with a sense of despair that HHR is about to be reopened.
Regards
Louise Mooney
Sent from my iPhone
Thank you for your message.
We will talk to the police team re the speed gun situation. I’m not sure any form of permanent closure of HHR will be an option unfortunately – there has been a knock-on effect on congestion in Station Approach of the temporary closure and not really to the benefit of the shops as far as I’m aware.
Speeding along HHR has indeed been an issue for a while and has not been ignored by the Council. They do have to prioritise roads for safety measures though and the existing accident record is the logical and fairest way to do this – however, that doesn’t preclude measures on other roads in certain circumstances and we will be in conversation with Council officers regarding a number of hotspots around the ward soon.