I think that there are a number of problems with the junction itself. It was previously enlarger to accommodate trams and [in my opinion] is not functional for modern traffic.
I've very quickly annotated an aerial view to outline in yellow the roads that comprise the junction, outline in red the vehicular stop line, outline in green the advance stop line used for bicycles, and outlined in blue what I believe the pedestrian islands to be.
[attachment=3727]
The junction is a huge area without any road marking for traffic to follow. It is confusing for drivers who are not used to it as the road course follows a right angle rather than a natural progression up the South Circular, past the station and along Dartmouth Road.
The huge are of the junction means that the car "start" lines are very far apart meaning that it takes longer for traffic to enter and exit the junction thereby reducing the efficiency of the junction because the time between traffic phases is increases.
The future traffic phase is not clear to pedestrians and the long pauses between phases induces crossing on red.
Personally, I see a lot of "near misses" between pedestrians and cars. I also see the crossing zone nearest the station being full on a regular basis and pedestrians waiting outside the containment fences.
I do not consider the junction to be well designed from a road planning perspective. The poor design leads to slow traffic progression, which increases pollution, especially associated with the slow moving traffic starting and waiting on the hill close to the station. It creates conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles. It is aesthetically hideous and an eyesore to Forest Hill. From my experience speaking to people who do not live in Forest Hill, it is what people associate with the area: "That junction on a hill: I've driven though it."
I'm sure that people familiar with road design could identify further issues or more precisely describe those that I mention above.
Search
Help
